Learning to Team, Teaming to Learn: How the Learning Organization Works by Amy C. Edmondson

by Amy C. Edmondson

New breakthrough thinking in organizational learning, leadership, and change Continuous improvement, understanding complex systems, and promoting innovation are all part of the landscape of learning challenges today's companies face. Amy Edmondson shows that organizations thrive, or fail to thrive, based on how well the small groups within those organizations work. In most organizations, the work that produces value for customers is carried out by teams, and increasingly, by flexible team-like entities. The pace of change and the fluidity of most work structures means that it's not really about creating effective teams anymore, but instead about leading effective teaming. Teaming shows that organizations learn when the flexible, fluid collaborations they encompass are able to learn. The problem is teams, and other dynamic groups, don't learn naturally. Edmondson outlines the factors that prevent them from doing so, such as interpersonal fear, irrational beliefs about failure, groupthink, problematic power dynamics, and information hoarding. With Teaming, leaders can shape these factors by encouraging reflection, creating psychological safety, and overcoming defensive interpersonal dynamics that inhibit the sharing of ideas. Further, they can use practical management strategies to help organizations realize the benefits inherent in both success and failure. * Presents a clear explanation of practical management concepts for increasing learning capability for business results * Introduces a framework that clarifies how learning processes must be altered for different kinds of work * Explains how Collaborative Learning works, and gives tips for how to do it well * Includes case-study research on Intermountain healthcare, Prudential, GM, Toyota, IDEO, the IRS, and both Cincinnati and Minneapolis Children's Hospitals, among others Based on years of research, this book shows how leaders can make organizational learning happen by building t

Genres: Leadership, Business, Nonfiction, Management, Psychology, Audiobook, Buisness

Unknown Binding

First published August 1, 2005

About the author

Amy C. Edmondson is the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School, where she teaches courses in leadership, organizational learning, and operations management in the MBA and Executive Education programs.

Reviews

[John Stepper · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're interested in making your teams more effective, especially at learning and getting better, then this is a very useful book.

I admit to being spoiled by Gladwell and other great non-fiction storytellers. So my initial reaction to this book but was that it read too much like an academic paper. "Academic" isn't bad of course, but it can be less engaging.

Yet there are many useful ideas here, and they're backed up by solid research over a long period of time. What I especially appreciated were the practical tables that summarize how to apply key ideas to different kinds of teams along the Process Knowledge Spectrum (a simple way of viewing different kinds of work). These, plus the sections on psychological safety at work, made it well worth reading.

And there are good stories, particularly from hospital settings. The last chapter may well be the best (and I wish it was the first!) as it captures the essence of the book in an accessible, memorable way.

[Jurgen Appelo · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very dull read that adds nothing to what was already described in countless other management books. "The team needs a purpose." "The leader must create trust." Oh wow, really?

The point of reading this book was to learn how to manage an organization where people are continuously reforming into new teams. That was also the premise of the book. But the writer offered only very generic advice about teams in general, not about the organizational ability to start *teaming* in a fluid structure. Very disappointing.

[Melisa Buie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful read for anyone interested in teamwork and how to effectively form teams. This book is rich with resources.

Top take-aways:
1. Leader is responsible for framing initiatives / changes for employees. Framing appears to be a determinant in success of team and performance of team.
2. Creating psychological safety is necessary to create environs where team members feel safe.
3. Failure is important ... Learning from failure isn't easy. Leaders must make this learning happen with specific actions.
4. Boundaries to teaming exist. The differences can either inhibit or enhance teamwork and learn.

Execution-as-Learning vs. Execution-as-Efficiency is an important concept. Execution-as-Learning is organizing teams to learn as you go. Execution-as-Efficiency is where leaders provide answers. The author

This is a wonderful Lean book with one exception. The exception is the blame placed on Linda Ham for the Columbia disaster. Each time this incident was mentioned, I just cringed. Rather than looking at NASA's processes. The author appears to blame Ham. There are so many examples in the book where the author does a deep dive and looks at the process as the source of failure - not an individual. Why was the Ham example singled out?

[Bethany · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was so difficult to read! Between the jargon and the redundancy, I blame the editor more than (as much as) the writer, but you can essentially get through the whole thing just reading the headings. No crazy revelations here, either, and even when the insights are interesting, the path to application is weak or nonexistent.

My favorite chapter was on framing, but I've seen it written better in other places.

[Marcin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic research based resource that is grounded in earlier work by Argyris, Senge or Schein. With a clear structure to promote teaming (Amy's alternative name to working in teams) supported by culture of psychological safety and with plenty of specific examples from across industries this book is an indispensable guide to creating thriving and effective workplaces for the 21st century.

[Nilesh Makan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Amy Edmondson was beyond her time when writing this. So many challenges that businesses are facing today, whether it be around psychological safety, innovation, experimentation, complexity, leadership etc. Are covered with great case studies and examples to support the research. I'm a fan.

[Emil Fichtner · Rating 1 out of 5]

Leider nichts neues und absolute Zeitverschwendung

[Jonathan A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

People are different (thank you Mr. Obvious).
We think differently, we have different values, different hopes, and different smells. This means it can often be difficult to do things when people get together. Some people want to work only with square, red pegs. Other people only want to work with round, blue pegs. Others want to have round, red pegs, and others square, blue pegs. And then there are those who just want to take a nap.

And yet we somehow have to learn how to get along.

In her introduction to Teaming: How Organizations Learn, Innovate, and Compete in the Knowledge Economy, Amy Edmondson states, “…to excel in a complex and uncertain business environment, people need to both work and learn together” (page 1). We need to figure out how to all get along.

That is one of the premises of Edmondson, that in a quickly changing knowledge based climate different people from different disciplines need to figure out how to work with each other. I will say outright, she has done a great job offering ways to execute such collaboration.

Edmondson is writing to the business community, but I think it is something that can be applied to church contexts, and even (to some degree) parenting experiences. A large part of what needs to happen is to create a learning environment for all to work in. This means making people feel safe, letting people know that it is ok to wonder and question, looking at the good in failures, and then looking at multiple disciplines for insights as to the next steps.

Not only is the environment important, but the leadership is key. If the leader maintains a top-down, hierarchal approach then collaboration will not work. The leader needs to set the stage and tone.

Edmondson’s book is clear and easy to follow. She offers a way of management that is not intuitive for many, but can be embraced. As a pastor it is one that offers much insight into how to work with my boards and volunteers. It does not offer direct steps or an “in-the-box” plan to follow but instead concepts towards encouraging an esprit de courps. I strongly recommend it for pastors and others who are willing to think, reflect, and consider how to cultivate an environment where people can work to get along.

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mostly a synthesis of Edmondson's past work, so it didn't seem like anything new from her. It did help validate the findings of my thesis!

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Key takeaways:
(1) Make it safe to be honest
(2) Leadership matters

[Barry Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author coined the term “teaming” to represent a blend of “relating to people, listening to other points of view, coordinating actions, and making shared decisions,..developing both affective (feeling) and cognitive (thinking) skills” (p. 2). Written to both leaders and learners, each chapter provides insights on “teaming as a verb,” closing with bulleted summary lists titled Lessons and Actions. The content of this insightful and practical book is presented in three sections - Teaming, Organizing to Learn, and Execution-As-Learning.

Part One, Teaming, spoke of the importance of flexibility, coordination, and collaboration in approaching decision-making to help team members to grow personally and professionally. These members learn to speak up, ask questions, and share ideas. Edmondson described this as execution as a learning opportunity, introducing the Process Knowledge Spectrum, increasing uncertainty in moving from routine to complex to innovative operations. Even as important as teaming is in the new economy, few teams and organizations do it well. Teaming behaviors take place in iterative cycles, resulting in better organizational performance and more engaging and satisfying work environments. The inevitable tensions that result should be addressed with identification of the nature of the conflict, modeling good communication, identifying potential solutions, and encouraging the practice of difficult conversations. Organizing to learn should include developing a framework for learning, providing psychological safety, developing the ability to learn from failure, and increasing awareness of occupational and cultural boundaries.

Part Two, Organizing to Learn, emphasized the importance and power of framing, the interpretations that individuals rely on to understand their environment. Successful leaders practice reframing to shift behaviors and get team members actively involved in change. New initiatives are necessary to learn about new roles and goals for both leaders and team members. Explicit communication of interdependence by leaders is critical, including their fallibility and need for collaboration. The resulting learning frame will involve four iterative steps - enrollment, preparation, trial, and reflection. Reinforcement of these frames uses both verbal and visual discourse, facilitating new routines and building confidence through artifacts that visually support the frame’s elements. Teaming and learning results come from positive self-talk and actions, communicating this enthusiasm to others. This section emphasizes the importance of trust and respect, speaking to the critical function of psychological safety, and addressing the challenge of developing teams across diverse boundaries, including physical, status, and knowledge boundaries. Edmondson provides guidance for addressing these three challenges in some detail.

Part Three, Execution-As-Learning, took the insights from the first two sections into application by the organization. Figure 7.1 (p. 223) provided a powerful visual of this process as the team learns on the go. Four key points are presented in the top of the learning pyramid - diagnose, design, act, and reflect. Edmondson contrasted Execution-as-Efficiency with Execution-as-Learning, offering a detailed consideration of the use of a knowledge process system across diverse operating contexts. She provided numerous examples from diverse organizations in stepping through the four key steps noted above for routine, complex, and innovative operations. The critical function of leadership is the focus throughout this rich work, Lifelong learning and the intentional transcending of boundaries are stressed in this unique approach, with many examples from diverse businesses and industries.

Edmondson closes this exceptional and insightful book with the following words: “When execution and learning become intertwined, the focus appears to shift naturally to increasing the size (and quality) of the pie, away from fighting over pieces and scraps. ...without teaming, new ideas cannot flourish in organizations. Teaming across distance, knowledge, and status boundaries is increasingly vital, as old models (economic, political, organizational), old technologies, and old mindsets proved cumbersome in the face of new challenges” (p. 287).

[Erika RS · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the ideas in Teaming, but the book didn’t deliver on the core premise of “teaming” as something distinct from traditional teamwork. Edmondson defines teaming as a verb, as something dynamic and temporary, but most of the content applies just as well to any team context. The specific challenges of forming teams quickly, collaborating with people you don’t know, and learning to work together without a shared history were mentioned, but not explored in much depth. In practice, this felt more like a book about how to build teams that can learn and innovate, not one that truly focused on what’s different about teaming. That’s fine — there’s a lot of value in that topic — but the mismatch between framing and content was noticeable.

The writing was repetitive. Key ideas like psychological safety, framing, and learning from failure were defined and redefined throughout the book. This makes it easy for readers to drop into individual chapters, but less interesting to read cover to cover. I found myself skimming more than usual. That said, the end-of-chapter summaries and action lists were useful. The case studies helped ground some of the concepts but were rather low on the "how".

On to the content!

To become better at learning, especially in complex and unpredictable environments organizations must shift from “organizing to execute” to “organizing to learn.” Rather than building systems around control, certainty, and error avoidance, Edmondson argues that modern organizations need to embrace flexibility, experimentation, and feedback. This requires a culture that supports speaking up, sharing ideas, and adjusting in real time.

Psychological safety is key. It’s not about being nice or avoiding conflict. It’s about creating conditions where people can take interpersonal risks, like admitting mistakes or asking questions, without fear of embarrassment or punishment. Edmondson is clear that safety and accountability are not opposites. High-performing teams rely on having both.

Organizations need to be able to learn from failure. Edmondson distinguishes between preventable failures, complex failures, and intelligent failures (the kind that result from thoughtful experimentation). She makes the case that too many organizations treat all failure as blameworthy, which shuts down learning and hides valuable signals. What’s needed instead is the ability to differentiate between different types of failure and detect and reflect on small failures early (before they combine into bigger ones).

Leadership plays a critical role in enabling all of this. Leaders control whether work is framed as a performance challenge or a learning opportunity. They influence whether problems are seen as threats or data. They create space for preparation, trial, and reflection, the ingredients for teams to improve together.

All of this isn't something that happens on the side. Edmondson introduces “execution-as-learning," the idea that the day-to-day work of doing should be tightly connected to learning, not separate a step. Especially in innovation or complex work, teams need to continuously diagnose, design, act, and reflect. This cycle keeps performance aligned with changing conditions and allows organizations to improve over time.

In the end, this is a solid, if sometimes dull, book on building learning-oriented teams. If you go into it expecting a deep dive into temporary or fast-forming teams, you might be disappointed. But if you treat it as a guide to leadership, collaboration, and learning in uncertain environments, there’s a lot to take away.

[Srivatssan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book packs some well-done research on team efficiency. The only problem I have with this book is the author giving verbose explanations and many time redundant one's when the concept is clear right from the start. Maybe this is just me and one should take my review with a pinch of salt. I love the idea of all organizations to be aligned as organizations to learn instead of organizations for efficiency. However, I am sure that this idea should be coupled with other leadership ideas like "Decentralizing Leadership", "People centric policies, baselines, standards and procedures" and a strong commitment from Senior leadership on not to have a "Command-Control" type leadership in any part of the organization. This will have to be complemented with a highly transparent communication flow from senior leadership until all the way down. While I appreciate the authors viewpoint on this crucial people leadership discipline, and all the references provided under each of the chapters, somehow I feel that we should find the balance in the leaders in these organization who should both embrace teaming and implementing what it takes to realize the organization's vision. It is undeniably true that an organization that is backed with their employees trust will reach the stars and break all records, however, it also depends on an individuals eagerness and passion in that field which will ultimately define the success for themselves and for the organization alike.

Irrespective of all my feedback, the benefit of learning the concepts shared by the author definitely outweighs any gaps between my opinion and the research shared. This is a must read to all People Leaders!

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The core message of Teaming: How Organizations Learn, Innovate, and Compete in the Knowledge Economy by Amy C. Edmondson can be distilled down into a very simple Concept. Teaming is an action rather than a result of a company’s organizational structure and it takes active intention to keep teams engaged.

The core of this idea is what the whole book revolves around. It is exhaustive and it's exploration of these Critical aspects of leadership. This is not a prescriptive book, but rather a work that encourages an attitudinal shift. It focuses on exploring the mentality or mindset to approach the challenge of teaming in the modern era.Highlighting research on team efficiency and focusing on both management intention and employee reflection, as well as the need to focus on individual motivations of the various staff involved in the team.

Featuring extensive research examples and deep dives into how individuals form teams that can adapt and learn, and highlighting the incredible value of psychological safety in an organization. The author uses a vast array of examples and revisits them often to anchor her points to a real world example.

I appreciated this eagerness and passion for a field with a relatively small aspect of leadership that none the less can be incredibly transformative and valuable to both individual teams and to an organization as a whole. I'd recommend this book for anybody who has to deal with these particular issues and wants I'll look at it from a new perspective.

[Jeroen Verbraak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting view on teams and team dynamica. According to Amy, teaming is an active process, a fluid network of people who are interdependent to reach certain outcomes. Simply put: we can no longer survive in the knowledge economy without effective teaming. The downside is that it is not straightforward to reach this maturity, and it requires breaking through barriers. It is mainly about taking (interpersonal) risks, confronting failure (else we don’t learn or innovate) and cross boundaries to expose the team to different knowledge domains. Without this, we can no longer innovate nor compete.

To reach ‘teaming’ certain behaviors are critical, such as: speaking up, collaboration, experimentation and reflection. Whereas those behaviors sound like common sense, they aren’t. It requires individual risk taking, and a psychological safe environment to cultivate these behaviors. It starts with how organizations look at failures.

In her book, she refers to the ultimate stage of ‘execution-as-learning’ - the top of the piramide. This will ensure we continue to learn and thrive as an organization. Teaming serves as the foundational block and without it, we will not reach this ultimate stage.

Let’s keep our minds open and learn from those companies who have been successful in cultivating learning across the organization.

[Jules · Rating 3 out of 5]

A deep dive into how individuals form teams that can better learn and adapt. While I already knew much about the underpinnings of psychological safety (if I hadn't, I might've rated this more highly as more revelatory), it was still valuable to look at learning and teaming challenges in different environments, to delve into the leader's role, and to reflect on some of the key questions to ask in understanding the teaming needs of an organization.

Not a step-by-step playbook, if you wanted one; however as Edmondson would keenly point out, there IS no step by step when it comes to these complex challenges. It's a messy yet essential mindset shift that requires adapting in the moment to the environment and to your peers; there is no checklist for it. A decent companion piece to Simple Habits for Complex Times that's a bit more for beginners to the topic of teams -- perhaps a pre-read.

[Angela Lam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Presents the concept of "Teaming--dynamic collaboration and building blocks to a learning organization. The framework is ok, but both the writing and approach is highly academic, making it pain to read.

There are some useful ideas here not found in other books (like Team of Teams, The Fifth Discipline -- both of which are great books). For example, I liked the distinction of Teaming as a verb/process rather than trying to manage a static team + looking at strategies from the perspective of the process knowledge spectrum. But the rest of the concepts (execution-as-learning and organizing to learn) sound like just a reframing of other existing ideas like lean starup + innovation management.

Overall, it gave me some perspectives to broaden the way I think about teams, but I doubt i will actually apply anything specific from the book or its framework.... a bit too academic for me.
Book summary at: https://readingraphics.com/book-summa...

[Em Flynn Pesquera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great management book that focused on new methods to bring together different groups and spark creativity and productivity in teams of all shapes and sizes. Loved the focus on intention and reflection, and the need to focus more on the needs and motivations of each individual staff. Highly recommend.

[Julie Barbosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The content in this book makes so much sense, yet is not how people naturally behave. It provides important guidance to move organizations forward towards innovation by creating safety in experimentation and learning from failure. It identifies three different types of failure, which leaders need to understand and respond accordingly.

[Doruk · Rating 4 out of 5]

İnformational but could be more insightful and eye opening. That is, the reader expects a clear articulation of how today's innovative teams operate and solve complex problems. İf a well known harvard scholar do not provide this who will be?

[Susan0920 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear concepts

This was our choice for a leadership book club. There were enough examples for implementation and stories of real world success. Worth a read. It was a quick, simple read.

[Laura Clary]

Educational read on how leaders and organizations should lean in on the skills and requirements of teaming and less on concrete teams in the 21st-century business world. Fast-paced leadership needs to work in flexible, smart teams who are about to be resilient and innovative.

[Brittany Duffy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pretty boring at times but had some good high level concepts to explore like psychological safety and accountability within an organization. I appreciated the comparisons to NASA and the Chilean miners to demonstrate the importance of the concepts.

[Migcenel Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good reading for new managers and leaders.

It’s a good management book that compiles a lot of useful information regarding teaming, organization behavior, ways of execution and more.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great topic and tips

A bit dryer than the other book I read by Amy Edmonson but still has some great takeaways. Reads a bit more like a textbook that compilation of stories so just be prepared.

[Rodrigo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book's premise is simple (when working in teams, you've got to maintain focus in teaming, i.e., teaming is an action), but the author gathered a lot of good information around the topic. It contains excellent insights and suggestions.

[Derek Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good ideas into building a team - which is more than simply gathering people together and hoping for the best. Team building must be intentional and this book provides some great ideas and methods. This is not a recipe but a change in mindset.

[Matti Haapamäki · Rating 3 out of 5]

The substance of the book is very good, but I had a hard time finishing it. I found it hard to digest more than 15 minutes of the audiobook at a time, as there are little storytelling elements in the book and it’s more of an expanded academic study.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read that goes a theoretical layer deeper than airport bookstore management books. I find myself referencing it.

[Glennie Mercer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great concept extremely relevant to today's environment. A dense/academic book with lots of useful references and worth having on my bookshelf.