By engaging in systems thinking, organizations evolve into learning organizations. To paraphrase Peter Senge from The Fifth Discipline, the learning organization is an organization that deliberately plans to learn and establishes systems and processes to capture and use learning to continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire. It is a place where people are continually learning how to learn together, and it creates a culture which embraces systems thinking, the fifth discipline. Learning organizations also embrace the other four disciplines:


Personal mastery: Personal mastery is the ability to continually clarify and deepen personal vision, focus energies, develop patience, and see reality objectively.

Mental models: Mental models are deeply ingrained assumptions or generalizations that influence how we understand the world and how we take action. Working with mental models involves surfacing and examining organizational assumptions in order to understand organizational systems better and to develop more effective solutions.

Building shared vision: This discipline entails building and holding a shared picture of the future and developing the capacity to meet that vision.

Team learning: Team learning involves engaging in dialogue and the process of thinking and learning together.

Learning organizations engaged in systems thinking are characterized by collective celebration and accountability and by an attitude of wholeness, where learning and growth are continual. They are flexible and informal organizations based on shared vision and shared power. Ultimately, learning organizations are the most successful because of their ability to adapt quickly.