Ascending-Descending Model

Workplace-Organizational Learning seem to be the buzzwords for training professionals today and I guess that's where your Training and Development division should be doing a lot of their thinking sooner than later. So, the thinking should be around how learning can be a part of people's day to day work-life as against limiting it to a strongly structured experience in a training room.

 It’s very nice to have efficient project teams, but it’s even nicer to see knowledge move from within project teams to the rest of the organization. The learning professional needs to think about how capabilities and innovations become more explicit across the firm; how people can avoid reinventing the wheel and how "best practice" solutions can be easily available across projects. Leveraging technology becomes a key skill here, given that face to face communication is usually not feasible. So while low-tech solutions such as Open-Spaces are excellent communication methods, it’s the technology driven solutions of podcasting, video-blogging, tagging, crowd-sourcing that overcome the limitations of time, space and distance. Again, none of these are path breaking yet putting together the right combination of technology to solve the workplace learning problem is what the learning professional can help with.

Experiments were conducted concerning fixation movements while climbing or descending the staircases at a subway station.  In climbing or descending, fixation movements differed, but tended to occur near the stairs and at occluding edges of floor or walls, and were greatly changed depending on if they were visible or not.  When climbing the staircases, fixation also changed depending on where the subject was located at the stairs, whether making a turn or walking straight at landing.  Fixation movements on the occluding edge, blocking off the turn following immediately after the stairs, inform us the danger that exists.

Visual information is critical for planning and guiding locomotion. Visual information provides advance notice about the size, composition, and location of obstacles in the environment so that we can control locomotion prospectively

National Gallery of Canada this structure is based on "impossible staircase" devised by the famed twentieth-century psychiatrist, geneticist, mathematician, and chess theorist Lionel Penrose. Escher formulated the structure so that one line of monks is continually descending the stairs while the other line is always ascending; they follow each other in a never-ending spiral that never reaches any destination.

In most cases the impossibility becomes apparent after viewing the figure for a few seconds. However, the initial impression of a 3D object remains even after it has been contradicted. There are also more subtle examples of impossible objects where the impossibility does not become apparent spontaneously and it is necessary to consciously examine the geometry of the implied object to determine that it is impossible.

The unsettling nature of impossible objects occurs because of our natural desire to interpret 2D drawings as three-dimensional objects.

The way you look at an object can affect how you see it. Sometimes there are two images in the same picture, but you can only see one at a time so your brain chooses one. Ambiguous figures demonstrates our ability to shift between figure and ground which provides the basis for the two.

They exemplify the fact that sometimes the same perceptual input can lead to very different representations. Teaching us to learn to our best, when faced with any ambiguity.

Spiderweb Model

People have got to get to know each other in social change work. Sometimes we assume that just because we share a common interest we’ll get to know each other, and that’s just not true! Projects will go on for months before people really get comfortable with each other.

When a group of people are preparing to participate in social change, there needs to be some breaking down of inhibitions before they become group participants. "There is no 'I' in T-E-A-M". Before a group can build effective solutions to the problems facing their communities, they need to trust each other and communicate.

The idea is to discover which style represents your personal - your Comfort Zone. And to recognize the benefits and drawbacks of style - both in how you approach projects and in how to communicate with people who have a different style to you. And to develop the less-strong side - which, for many of us, should mean developing the 'just do it!' side.

People with the 'just do it!' approach learn-by-doing. Like the Spider's Web approach they have stretched themselves more, too. And, while they may not have successfully got everyone through the web, they have learned a lot about each other, about their personal styles, about what works and what doesn't work, and about how teams can pull it together.

We human beings are natural experimenters: after all, learning by doing and experimenting is how we learned to walk and talk. But at this early stage we were encouraged continually - even when we got it wrong.

It was only a bit later, when we began school, that we learned that there were 'right' and 'wrong' answers and that taking the time to get things right is rewarded. This is when we discovered that were penalties for being impulsive, for not thoroughly thinking things through and for unconventional views or impulsive actions.

Recognizing the penalties involved in not 'getting it right', many of us developed strategies for playing safe - avoiding such penalties. One such strategy was to avoid being spontaneous, or impulsive, or just having a go. And a great way of doing this was to evaluate and plan and talk and talk. We learned that it is wiser and safer to talk and to think rather than have a go.

Of course, it's not a matter of becoming a 'just do it!' person.

That's a bit too simplistic for a complex world. It's a matter of having the flexibility to do what will work best at any stage in a situation - and recognizing when to use which style. And for many of us this means we must first recognize our learned tendency to over-intellectualize rather than balance thinking with action.

In selling they will just dive in, make the pitch and ask for the sale - while the rest of us are wondering if this is the right time or if perhaps we should wait a bit longer while we develop a better relationship with our customer.

They do more. So they make more mistakes - many more.

But in doing so they learn much more. And, because they haven't bought into the get-it-right-every-time they are continually extending their repertoire of skills. And developing their self-belief and self-confidence along.

Tree Model

The Tree of Life is an eternal emanation of the Divine principle, and it lives and emanates within each unique human personality.  Every human being is a Tree of Life: we all have the powers or attributes that correspond to the divine. When you sit down and think deeply about the powers of your soul, your deepest self, it is possible to comprehend aspects. It is possible to look at any aspect of life and see the imprint of the Tree of Life, to sense the eternal vibration of its emanations. 

The trees that bend a little to the harmless breeze will later grow to withstand the wild wind. Similarly, if we maintain a degree of flexibility in our attitudes and viewpoints we will not be broken in any storm of criticism or opposition.

Leaves, though they can be small, are vital to the life of a tree. Similarly, expressions of encouragement and appreciation, whether it be by spoken word or in the form of a simple "Thank You" card can go a long way to build the spirits of the receiver. If they are wholly restrained, the motivation of others to work with us and support common goals may die at the roots.

Mighty oaks do indeed grow from little acorns. Efforts, when enriched with strong motivation and determination, will grow to fruition. Remember that the mighty oak tree was once a little nut that held its ground.

As David Zindell observed in "The Broken God", an acorn is unafraid to destroy itself in growing into a tree. Invigorate your life by letting go of the past and pressing forward to something new.

In forests, individual trees support one another. Whereas even a giant Sequoia growing by itself could be blown over, by interlocking its roots with other trees around it, Sequoias are able to stand as a grove against any wind. How much support do you share with those around you? Teamwork can accomplish much more than the sum of individual efforts, often making the difference between success and failure.

Leadership characteristic is to provide an environment that empowers and enables others to take on greater responsibility so that they, too, can develop into full-grown leaders.

Trees have extensive root systems. Some trees, such as mesquites, grow taproots that are often larger than the trunk and that can extend down into the ground hundreds of feet to reach vital sources of water. How extensive is your root system? Is it solidly embedded in principles and values that provide valuable guidance when life-decisions need to be made? 

It's important to have roots. In today's complex world, it pays to branch out. If you really believe in something, don't be afraid to go out on a limb. It's perfectly okay to be a late bloomer. Be flexible so you don't break when a harsh wind blows.

In nutshell you can't hide your true colors as you approach the autumn of your life.

Iceberg Model

A primary component in effective teaching or learning is the continual process of expanding your base of knowledge and skills because, although only the pinnacle is visible, but others will perceive the magnitude of the hidden base that defines your diving/teaching ability. 

On a more global scale, this principle underlies all credible teaching and is a good basis for anyone who desires to impart skills and knowledge to others, regardless of the target age group or the subject matter under discussion.

There's a lot going on in organizations that doesn't meet the eye.

It's a puzzled maze, Organizational life is something like an iceberg. Most leaders are aware of only about one-tenth of what is actually going on -- the tenth they can see and hear -- and often they think that is all there is. Some suspect that there may be more, but they don't know what it is and have no idea how to find out.

Not knowing can set an organization on a dangerous course. Just as a sailor's fate depends on knowing about the iceberg under the water, so an organization's fate depends on understanding the needs and patterns and feelings that lie beneath everyday organizational events.

Fortunately there are solutions to many of these puzzles. And for the ones without solutions, there are enabling ways to build bridges of learning and understanding. It is the role of leadership to find and share the known solutions. It is the role of leadership to guide the entire organization onto the path of building new bridges. By learning to see the structure below the water and to help the entire organization to see it as well.

In this age of rapidly expanding technology and means of connectedness, we are learning many new things about relationships with people. It is in this arena of relationship that successful organizations are born and thrive. We're entering a new era of the development of mankind where people can begin to work and live more comfortably with one another. 

Organizations are in the beginning of another evolution. Probably never before have so many people been discouraged and dissatisfied with the state of affairs in organizations. There are huge pockets of people demanding change. There is a cry for greater individual self-esteem and the nurturing contexts that support it.

"Organize don't Agonize"