Triple loop learning – helping the coachee think more deeply

Finding time to think is a luxury for many people – and the more senior they are, the more essential it is for their performance. The problem is that we are so used to shallow, instinctive thinking that we have to work at thinking more deeply. Coaching and mentoring create the time to do this; the coaching or mentoring conversation provide the process for doing so.

A valuable concept, originating in the work of Chris Argyris and Donald Schon back in 1974, is the concept of learning loops.

• Single loop learning is about following the rules – the analogy often used is a thermostat. So, learning comes from whether you did what was expected, rather than from thinking about why it was expected. In coaching, we might ask: ”Did you achieve your goal?” or “What is preventing you reaching your goal?”
• Double loop learning (changing the rules) reflects on whether the rules are still right, what should be changed and how. In coaching, we might ask: “Are your goals still the same? What has changed in your understanding of the situation and your own needs, which might require a change of goals?”
• Triple loop learning involves learning about how we learn. In coaching, we might ask: “What have you learned about how you approach this kind of problem?”

A good coaching conversation will typically engage with all three levels of learning loop. As a coach, it is helpful to reflect during the coaching conversation on what level of thinking you and the client are operating at and when would be an appropriate time to move into double or triple loop thinking. Afterwards, you may reflect upon how much of the conversation was in each mode and how appropriate that was to the learning the client needed.

© David Clutterbuck, 2017