Space and the not-so-final frontiers - Re-presenting the potential of collective learning for organizations

In recent years there has been tremendous interest in the benefits of using teams in organizations; particularly in the synergistic effects of team (c ollective) learning. However, this article questions whether, as yet, the f ull potential of these synergistic effects has been realized. It explores t wo concurrent possible reasons for this failing First, because of deficienc ies in the theoretical understanding of the concept of collective learning. Second, that the rather singular; simplistic, methodologies used by organi zations to record their collectives' 'learning' fail to capture sufficientl y the nuances of collective processes. Consequently, th is article demonstr ates the potential of a multifarious approach to valuing the interactions o f members of collectives. At present, organizations do not seem to hold thi s resource in high regard and hence do not employ appropriate devices to id entify and utilize this layer of knowing. The methods they employ often red uce these contributions down to simplistic summaries, often focusing on out comes, forgoing further layers of knowing. This article argues that this is insufficient if teams/collectives seek to realize improved performance.