Army and Team Learning

Peter Senge introduces the subject of team learning in The Fifth Discipline as one of the necessary disciplines that a group must foster if it is to become a learning organization. It is the fifth "discipline" that organizations must master in order to remain vibrant and viable in a competitive environment. Measuring team learning is a means for an organization to assess the extent to which junior leaders meaningfully contribute to the growth of the organization as a whole, because they believe that their contributions are valued by the organization. An understanding and appreciation of team learning has particular value to the U.S. Army because its success is absolutely dependent on not only the performance of junior leaders, but also on their continued service. Accordingly, this monograph looks to assess the extent to which the U.S. Army fosters team learning, particularly in battalion and brigade-level units. Following a review of the efforts to evaluate the usefulness of team learning as a concept, the monograph relies on a survey presented to officers at the Command and General Staff College and the School of Advanced Military Studies to assess the vibrancy of team learning in the Army. The monograph also analyzes a means of assessing the health of team learning in the Army through a consideration of those publishing in selected military journals. The overall assessment of the monograph is that while the avenues are in place for the Army to foster team learning at the battalion and brigade-levels, those avenues are not being adequately exploited to develop and encourage junior officers. The recommendation is that battalion and brigade commanders reconsider the types of OPDs conducted and the methods used to conduct them. Additionally, military professional journals must reengage junior officers to increase their article and letter contributions to the journals.