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Peter Senge: “Everything That We Do Is About Shifting the Capability for Collective Action…”

The Palgrave Handbook of Organizational Change Thinkers

Abstract

Peter M. Senge is an author, organizational consultant, and systems thinker whose writings and workshops have influenced scholars and managers around the world. From his base at MIT in what was originally the Organizational Learning Center, which became the Society for Organizational Learning (SoL), Senge has contributed to a fundamental shift in the way that many look at the nature and scale of change. His initial book, The Fifth Discipline, brought together practices for generating the inner shift in awareness that he originally termed metanoia, from the ancient Christian term for movement of mind or awakening, supporting people in developing practical, interlinked capacities to reflect, learn together, and think systemically about how to have sustainable organizations in a sustainable world. His writings and collaborative work with leaders in schools, not-for-profit organizations, and corporations continue to contribute to organizational and societal evolution.

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Further Reading

  • For those new to Peter Senge’s writings, as a starting place I would recommend looking at both his early book The Fifth Discipline (1990/2006) and his recent co-authored article “The Dawn of System Leadership” (2015). In The Fifth Discipline, be sure to read the recent edition and focus on Peter’s new introduction (pp. ix–xvi), the overall description of the five disciplines (Part III, pp. 128–252), and the newly-added chapter based on interviews with people who have used this approach over the years (pp. 255–282). You may also find it helpful to see his recent thinking about creating a healthy world, as juxtaposed with the views of Margaret Wheatley, Otto Scharmer, Ed Schein, and Robert Quinn in Creative Social Change: Leadership for a Healthy World (Goldman Schuyler et al. 2016, Chap. 1, and esp. pp. 65–88).

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  • All of his writing, as listed in the references, will interest those who wish to go deeply into this area. Those reading more selectively may particularly enjoy the following:

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  • Goldman Schuyler, K. with Wheatley, M., Scharmer, O., Schein, E., Quinn, R., & Senge, P. (2016). Visions of a healthy world: Views from thought leaders. In K. Goldman Schuyler, J. E. Baugher, & K. Jironet (Eds.), Creative social change: Leadership for a healthy world (pp. 23–90). Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing.

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  • Senge, P. (1990/2006). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. New York: Doubleday.

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  • Senge, P. (2012). “Leaders should be people who are deeply involved in their own realization of being a human being” – An interview with Peter Senge. In K. Goldman Schuyler (Ed.), Inner peace – Global impact: Tibetan Buddhism, leadership, and work (pp. 317–327). Charlotte: Information Age Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Senge, P., Hamilton, H., & Kania, J. (2015, Winter). The dawn of system leadership. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 13(1), 26–33.

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  • Senge, P., Scharmer, O., Jaworski J., & Flowers, B. S. (2004). Presence: Human purpose and the field of the future. New York: Crown Business.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. California School of Professional Psychology, Alliant International University and Coherent Change, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Kathryn Goldman Schuyler

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  1. Kathryn Goldman Schuyler
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Correspondence to Kathryn Goldman Schuyler .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA

    David B. Szabla

  2. Columbia University , New York, New York, USA

    William A. Pasmore

  3. The George Washington University , College Park, Maryland, USA

    Mary A. Barnes

  4. Columbia University , New York, New York, USA

    Asha N. Gipson

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Schuyler, K.G. (2016). Peter Senge: “Everything That We Do Is About Shifting the Capability for Collective Action…”. In: Szabla, D., Pasmore, W., Barnes, M., Gipson, A. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Organizational Change Thinkers. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49820-1_100-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49820-1_100-1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-49820-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-49820-1

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Senge, Peter: “Everything That We Do Is About Shifting the Capability for Collective Action...”
    Published:
    24 February 2021

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49820-1_100-2

  2. Original

    Peter Senge: “Everything That We Do Is About Shifting the Capability for Collective Action…”
    Published:
    28 February 2017

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49820-1_100-1

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