Managers' relationship to knowledge

"I love to learn, I hate to be taught."

The nature of management knowledge

Management science has contributed to our understanding of how managers carry out their activities (Drucker, 1971). Research distinguishes the postures of managers, leaders & entrepreneurs and identifies commonalities relating to engagement (Cristol, Radu, Laizé, 2018).

Some researchers enunciate an "entrepreneurial learning style" (Bayad, Garand 1998) centered on the realization of an entrepreneurial vision "learning does not mean amassing knowledge but deploying the capabilities needed to achieve specific goals".

To achieve this, leaders learn a variety of skills relating to the company's major functions, strategy, decision-making, crisis management, management or leadership (Baron, Baron, 2015), 72% of a group of 225 leaders surveyed by Petit (2012) believe that leadership can be learned.

These leaders also experience essential personal development, growth from within to mobilize new resources (Lenhardt, Lenhardt, 2001). Leaders can have varied relationships to knowledge, influenced by a variety of factors.

Psychosociological sources on the notion of cultural capital, or theories of organizational socialization, shed light on these dynamics. The cultural context, educational and professional experiences of leaders play a role in shaping their attitudes towards knowledge and learning, as does the psychology of leaders in the way they acquire, process and use knowledge to decide and bounce back from decisions.

Personality traits, such as openness, intellectual curiosity, emotional resilience and the ability to learn new information, also influence the way leaders interact with knowledge.

For example, one of the most common cognitive biases of managers is internal attribution. They often attribute the cause of their actions to themselves, regardless of whether these actions lead to favorable or unfavorable results. In the same way, managers are subject to the probability bias of a fact or event to which they have been strongly exposed.

In the context of education, this suggests that the learning process experienced in childhood is normalized and internalized. In addition, work on leadership and knowledge management can also provide insights into how leaders manage and value knowledge in their decision-making.

Learning influences

• Cultural capital and education (Bourdieu 1984): Managers from privileged backgrounds often have a high level of cultural capital, which can positively influence their relationship with knowledge by promoting access to quality education. They also participate in the reproduction of what enabled them to rise to the top, and in the transmission of economic and cultural capital.
  
  
• Professional experience (Varey 2008): Managers' previous professional experiences shape their understanding of knowledge, particularly in specific sectors, such as marketing, thus influencing their decisions. Managers' life stories evoke situations in which they have adapted and learned, but be careful that the managerial narrative is not an illusion (D'almeida, Merran-Ifrah, 2005).
  
  
• Social cognition (Simon 1955): The way in which managers interpret information and interact with their environment is influenced by social cognitive processes, which may play a role in their relationship with knowledge. It was by developing his theory of "bounded rationality" that Simon won the Nobel Prize in Economics.
  
  
• Transformational leadership (Bass 1985): Leaders focused on transformational leadership are often more open to continuous learning, seeking to stimulate innovation and develop their team's skills. However, according to a Harvard survey (2010), there are more than 100 character traits related to leadership, which makes it difficult to attribute a definite prediction about a predisposition to learning to just one of them, and prompts us to exercise caution.
  
  
• Organizational climate (Edmondson, 1999): An organizational climate that encourages intellectual curiosity and learning can foster a positive relationship with knowledge among leaders.
  
  
• Knowledge management (Nonaka, 1991): Effective leaders are often those who understand the value of knowledge and implement knowledge management mechanisms within their organization. The question of the learning organization is at the heart of Nonaka and Takeuchi's work. For managers, it's a question of developing the knowledge that will foster the company's growth. Here, knowledge is an instrument serving an economic purpose.
  
  
• Adaptability (Hill, 2010): Leaders capable of adapting to rapid change often demonstrate a flexible and positive relationship with knowledge, integrating new knowledge to stay relevant.
  
  
• Corporate culture (Schein, 2017): Corporate culture can influence how leaders perceive the importance of knowledge, particularly if they encourage questioning and continuous learning.
  
  
• Professional networks (Burt, 2004): Managers who maintain professional networks may have privileged access to a variety of knowledge, which can enrich their relationship with knowledge.
  
  
• Ethics of knowledge (Quinn 2020): Some managers may adopt a knowledge ethic, valuing truth, objectivity and ethics in the search for and use of knowledge.
  
  
• The growth mindset developed by Carol Dwerk (2017 ) is particularly relevant to leaders for several reasons:
  • Personal development : Leaders with a Growth Mindset understand that their efforts make them stronger. They therefore devote more time and work to achieving their goals, which logically translates into better results.
  • Team management: Growth Mindset leaders tend to give more feedback and coach their teams. They also require feedback to grow and develop personally.
  • Adaptability: In an increasingly uncertain world, leaders with a mindset open to evolution and change will be best equipped to deal with the exceptional challenges we face.
  • Innovation: The Growth Mindset encourages solving new problems and adopting a continuous learning attitude. This can lead to innovative ideas and continuous improvement, which is essential in the role of leader.

How leaders learn

For business leaders, particularly those in SMEs, there are few studies and sources to characterize learning, with few specific programs documented apart from Copernic developed by the CJD.

Managers learn in a variety of ways, according to research conducted by experts in the field. Fernagu (2018) found that leaders learn from each other at club meetings, while Vasquez-Bronfman (2007) states that leaders learn from each other among peers. Desmergès also noted that leaders can learn from art, while Thievenaz (2020) stated that leaders learn from others in their working relationships. Moingeon (2003) found that leaders learn from research when the pedagogy proposed is adapted rigorously and draws on management science, while Dufour and Plompen (2006) explored corporate universities, for example, using an action-learning approach (Rolland, Einstein, 2000), or specific grandes écoles programs (e.g. IMD Lausanne).

All paths

Managers' relationships with knowledge are trajectories of identity, involving cultural

• cultural,
• anthropological (rituals of power and inter-knowledge),
• autobiographical (valuing and/or repairing egos, as can be seen in life stories),
• sociological (transmission of family, cultural and monetary capital),
• psychological (biases and mental models specific to economic decision-making),
• philosophical (progressive construction of personal ethos),
• technical (mastery of the company's financial, marketing and strategic functions).
  
  

Sources

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Varey, R. J. (2008). Service-Dominant Logic: Premises, Perspectives, Possibilities. Cambridge University Press.

Simon, H. A. (1955). Models of Bounded Rationality. MIT Press.

Bass, B. M. (1985). Transformational Leadership Theory. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Edmondson, A. C. (1999). Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams. Harvard Business School Press.

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Le Growth Mindset: nouvelle compétence phare des entrepreneurs? - Edhec
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