The Transformation Team: An Enabling Structure for Organizational Learning in Action

Abstract

The majority of work occurring in human service organizations (HSOs) today, is ameliorative in nature, leaving the original sources of problems in our communities or society unchanged. The current tendency is to unreflectively reproduce these ameliorative practices that at best are superficially addressing a problem, and at worst are perpetuating the issues our communities face. In this paper we bring in two key concepts from Organizational Theory to inform Community Psychology theory and practice: reflective practice and organizational learning. We demonstrate the necessity of critically reflective practice in HSOs to promote learning, critical consciousness and critical community practice, in order to create more transformative rather than ameliorative practices. Utilizing our learning from three case studies, we propose the use of a Transformation‐team (T‐team) model as an enabling structure for reflective practice and organizational learning. Outlining benefits as well as eight necessary conditions of a successful T‐team, we delve into the possibilities that such an organizational structure can offer our HSOs.

Bekar, Beatrice R; (2022) Building a green learning organisation: how employee-drive innovation can enable organisational sustainability transitions

“…As the previous section presented, we have begun the study by building a theoretical understanding of employee-driven sustainability innovation) and how this approach is connected to organisational learning (Howard, 1990;Tsoukas and Chia, 2002;van Poeck et al, 2018;van Mierlo et al, 2020, Lundkvis and Gustavsson, 2018, Evans and Kivell, 2015, and sustainability transition theory (van Mierlo and Beers, 2020;Meijia and Balanzo, 2018;Plummer and Van Poek, 2021). Such a theoretical foundation has answered the first part of the study's research question regarding how EDSI can contribute to organisational sustainability transitions.…”

“…As a learning organisation, Company B dedicates resources to raise their staff's level of awareness around key labour market challenges and encourages employees to actively shape their workplace by proposing new initiatives, projects or ways of working through regular organisational competitions or challenges. As shown in this paper, creating opportunities for continuous learning to boost innovation has vastly been studied in the literature (see Evans and Kivell, 2015;Van Poerck et al, 2018;Lundkvist, andGustavsson, 2018 andvan Mierlo et al, 2020…”

“…In the following section, the study will analyse the existing literature on EDI, sustainability transition theory (see van Mierlo and Beers, 2020;Meijia and Balanzo, 2018;Plummer and Van Poek, 2021;Wijsman, 2013 andRotmans, 2006), organisational learning and change (see Howard, 1990;Tsoukas and Chia, 2002;van Poeck et al, 2018;van Mierlo et al, 2020, Lundkvis andGustavsson, 2018;Evans andKivell, 2015 andBianchi et al, 2021), environmental management (see Bent et al, 2015;Boiral, 2002;Boiral, 2009 andPaillé andValéau, 2021) and human resources (see Ciocirlan, 2018 andHarrach et al, 2020).…”

“…Brown et al argue that such process goes beyond the creation of new knowledge, as it involves 'questioning the taken for granted ' (2003, p. 311) (or unlearning) and re-thinking those aspects that reinforce path-dependency and prevent the creation of new practices (in Van Poeck et al, 2018, p. 301). In the context of EDSI, recent studies on organisational learning have provided key learning approaches to successfully lead organisational sustainability transitions from the bottom-up (see Lonzano, 2014, Evans and Kivell, 2015, Tilbury, 2017in Didham et al, 2017. For instance, van Mierlo et al ( 2020) group these into two categories: discursive interaction and reflective action.…”

“…Secondly, it set out to understand what factors or processes can initiate EDI processes for organisational sustainability transitions. Based on the literature, the study has firstly proposed two key principles -building an intrapreneurial fabric and delivering learning programmes -that have been recognised by scholars as enablers of EDI processes (see, for instance, Weisnburger et al 2018;Ciocirlan, 2018;Evans and Kivell, 2015;Van Poeck et al, 2018 andvan Mierlo et al, 2020). Finally, to corroborate such principles, the study has provided further qualitative empirical insights drawing from the direct experience of three individuals working in three separate organisations operating in the field of innovation -technology, management consulting and construction.…”