Donald Shon was one of the first to recognise that our societies and all of their institutions are engagesd in "continuous processes of transformation". "We cannot expect new stable states, " he said, "that will endure for our own lifetimes." Consequently, "we must become able not only to transform our institutions, in response to changing situations and requirements; we must invent and develop institutions which are ‘learning systems’, that are capable of bringing about their own continuing transformation."
Elsewhere in this site you will find a short blog on the negative impacts of Command and Control thinking on the emergence of effective Learning Systems.
The issues are complex and require much thought and discussion, but the either-or Models 1 and 2 that Schon and his colleague Chris Argyris developed and refined in their long association are an invaluable starting point for that process.
In very broad terms, they tell us that our societies are currently incapable of purposefully transforming themselves to meet the complex threats we face. Those transformations will only happen if our leaders can leave behind their Command and Control conditioning and become more and more - as Schon put it - Reflective. What Schon meant by Reflective Leaders is also explained in a little more detail in the blog.
