What is so fascinating about this moment is that Jesus evaluated the situation, took into consideration the cultural norms, but decided ministering to this woman by breaking all of the single-loop ideas would be beneficial for reaching his goal of getting people saved.

Respond to:
Amanda Kinchlow
Double Looping
The act of learning is part of the foundation of any organization. However, this process is often relegated to a single-loop concept of detecting and correcting an error concerning a given set of operating norms. To truly grow an organization and people, there must be a double-loop. (Morgan 2006) Double looping takes the standard steps of process sensing and comparing information but adds the degree of questioning whether operating norms are appropriate before moving to the final process of initiating appropriate action.
In organizational context and formal structures, the single loop systems provide a sense of self-protection that is used consciously and unconsciously. These defensive routes can become central to an organization’s culture, causing a general group-think idea. Organizational decisions making should always be a social process that combines multiple perspectives. When managers do not consult with others to help evaluate issues, many double-loop problems go unresolved.
Leaders must be initial to evolve designs that allow them to become skilled in the art of double-loop learning, to avoid getting trapped in single-loop processes, especially those created by traditional management control systems and the defensive routines or organizational members. (Morgan, 2006, p. 87).
From a biblical perspective, we need not look further than Jesus Christ, who provided many instances of the double-loop model. In john 4:1-26, Jesus has an encounter with a Samaritan woman he was not supposed to engage with and was not living right as “He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” 17 “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
What is so fascinating about this moment is that Jesus evaluated the situation, took into consideration the cultural norms, but decided ministering to this woman by breaking all of the single-loop ideas would be beneficial for reaching his goal of getting people saved. By asking the question about the woman’s husband, it allowed her an opportunity to be open and reevaluate her lifestyle. Similarly, for an organization and leadership to thrive, they must be intentional and even vulnerable to see if a process is not working and quickly adjust and evaluate to acomp0lsi the primary goal.
Morgan, G. (2006). Images of Organizations. Sage Publications, Inc.
NIV. (2011). The Holy Bible. Biblica, Inc.

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