Michael Sales

A thorough review of the theory of action perspective is beyond the scope of what I can undertake at this moment. However, its core is the we all have theories for being effective interpersonally and in many other situations. These theories can be inferred from our behavior rather than from our self-accounts. Most of us are unaware of our theories for action most of the time. We do not remember ourselves. It is like we are either partially or completely asleep, operating off a set of values and strategies that we do not realize we are enacting. Most of us believe things about ourselves that are untrue. We have "espoused" theories we believe to be true, e.g., "I'm a good listener." or "I know how to read people." Argryis and Sdhön demonstrated that a close observation of "directly observable data" disproves most of the espoused theories that most people have about themselves. Engaging in such an inquiry is uncomfortable, but "unfreezes" the self-studier from mythologies that keep them from higher levels of organizational effectiveness and constrain organizational learning more generally.