The Radiography Instructor

Personal Mastery

When organizations encourage the pursuit of personal mastery, or personal growth and learning, employees will be more committed, take more initiative, have a deep sense of responsibility for their work, and learn faster. These characteristics make the organization stronger. In addition, pursuing personal mastery encourages individual happiness which positively contributes to the fulfillment of complete and satisfied human beings and employees. Allowing staff time to pursue personal goals results in employees who are committed to pursuing shared organizational goals as well. Leaders can foster a climate in which personal mastery is part of daily life in their organization by normalizing inquiry and a commitment to the truth, and where challenging the status quo is expected (Sengel, 2006).

Mental Models

Mental models are engrained internal images of how the world works, images that limit people to familiar ways of acting and thinking. Mental models determine how we make sense of the world, how we act, and what we see. Mental models are rarely a true representation of any situation, individual, or group. When individuals don’t routinely examine their mental models, they remain unchanged and the gap between our perceptions, and reality, continues to widen. When organizational leaders create a culture where all individuals can regularly challenge their existing mental models through inquiry and reflection, they are better positioned to solve difficult problems and promote collaborative learning, thus promoting organizational goals and values (Senge, 2006).

Reference

Senge, P. (2006). The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization: Vol. Revised and updated. Crown Currency.