Preface:
“Everyone touts learning organizations, but few actually exist”. World renowned organizational psychologist Edgar H. Schein draws on decades of pioneering research to explain why.
You might wonder how is this true, especially when companies spend millions of dollars on learning and development. In the words of Schein, Individual learning has to be differentiated from organizational learning. Investments in learning and development are more short term oriented and focused on skill enhancements. While this helps individuals get better at their jobs, it does not automatically translate into organizational learning and growth.
In this blog, we will go deeper to understand Schein’s work, understand why ‘anxiety from learning’ is a necessary condition for growth to take place and more importantly how can individuals and organizations address this paradox.
“Despite all the time, money and enthusiasm that executives pour into corporate change programs, the stark reality is that few companies ever succeed in genuinely reinventing themselves. That is because the people working in those organisations more often than nor fail at transformational learning”
What creates transformational learning
Schein mentions that there is an inherent paradox surrounding learning. Anxiety inhibits learning, but anxiety is also needed for learning to take place. Schein mentions that most of the learning is surface level, and does not really translate into real shifts in the individual or organization. Most people just end up doing the same old things in superficially tweaked ways – practices that fall short of the transformational learning.
Transformational learning occurs when individuals and collectives challenge their deeply held beliefs and assumptions about their identity and in response, thinking and acting in fundamentally altered ways. When leaders become learners, they acknowledge their own vulnerabilities and set a good example and create the psychologically safe environment for others to learn.
Understanding Schein’s Work
Schein identified two kinds of anxieties that individuals and organizations experience when focusing on growth and change: a) Learning anxiety and b) Survival anxiety.
a) Learning anxiety – Learning anxiety comes from being afraid to try something new for fear that it will be too difficult, that we will look stupid in the attempt, or that we will have to part from old habits that have worked for us in the past. Learning something new can threaten our self esteem and in extreme cases, our sense of identity. You can’t talk people out of their learning anxieties, they are the basis for resistance to change.
b) Survival anxiety – Given the intensity of the learning anxiety, none of us would try something new unless we experienced the second form of anxiety – survival anxiety. It is the horrible realization that in order to make it, you’re going to have to change. This is the fear that if one does not learn new things, adapt, or change, there will be negative consequences.
Understanding the two anxieties:
According to Schein, effective learning and change occur when survival anxiety is greater than learning anxiety, but not so overwhelming that it paralyzes individuals and organizations. Let’s understand this better.
- Greater learning anxiety: When learning anxiety is stronger than survival anxiety, individuals and organizations are likely to resist change. The fear of the unknown and the discomfort associated with learning new skills outweigh the perceived necessity or urgency to change.
- Greater survival anxiety: When survival anxiety is more significant than learning anxiety, the urgency to avoid negative outcomes becomes a stronger motivator and the fear of facing consequences pushes individuals and organizations to overcome their learning anxiety.
– Creates a strong motivation for change and helps people endure the learning process
– Helps in overcoming resistance to change by breaking old habits and adopting new ways of thinking
– Drives focus and commitment by creating a sense of urgency
Balancing the Two Anxieties
While survival anxiety must be greater than learning anxiety to spur growth, it is essential to manage both these anxieties effectively:
- Managing Learning Anxiety: Organizations should create supportive environments that reduce learning anxiety. This includes providing psychological safety, adequate resources, and an environment that encourages experimentation and learning from mistakes.
- Amplifying Survival Anxiety: Communicate the risks of not learning and adapting clearly. This helps increase survival anxiety to a level that motivates action without causing overwhelming stress.
“The Evidence is mounting that real change does nor begin until the organisation experiences some real threat or pain. Whatever its source, this threat or pain creates high levels of learning and survival anxiety, ultimately prompting the organisation to launch a serious change program. Not surprisingly, it is often the CEO and other executives who feel most threatened by any new learning because it reveals their behavior to be dysfunctional. – Edgar H. Schein”
Conclusion:
In summary, Edgar Schein argues that for growth and transformational learning to happen, survival anxiety must be greater than learning anxiety. This dynamic ensures that the motivation to avoid negative outcomes outweighs the fear of the learning process, thereby driving individuals and organizations to engage in continuous learning and adaptation.
There is a role for leadership to ensure that the survival anxiety does not become overpowering and paralyze the organization. Rather by amplifying survival anxiety and reducing learning anxiety, the leader creates the optimal conditions for transformational learning to take place.