For most people, reactiveness was reinforced since childhood. We solved problems identified by others, read what was assigned, wrote what was required. Fitting in, being accepted, became more important than being ourselves. We learned that the way to succeed was to focus on the teachers' questions as opposed to our own. Not surprisingly, our current organizations exercise authority in a way that undermines our intrinsic drive to learn.
Many managers believe that management is simply problem solving .
The authors argue that it is more, that it is related to creation. The problem solver tries to make something go away. A creator tries to bring something new into being. Most leaders believe that people are willing to change only in times of crisis. Yet the wellspring of real learning is aspiration, imagination, and experimentation, i.e., continuous change is needed.