Inquiry should form the basis for leadership decision-making and action, because without productive inquiry you cannot be certain what needs to be done.  Here's a bit I wrote for an assignment while studying B204 Leadership, Influencing and Change with the Open University. What is Inquiry? Dewey defines it as “determination of an indeterminate situation” in his book Logic: the Theory of Inquiry (1938). He sees patterns of inquiry as a sequential process which iterates following experimentation. Dewey links this to the scientific method, there is a need to gather information, and to make conscious practical tests of theory developed through reflection. Cook & Seely Brown (1999) expanded on Dewey’s theory by bringing in organisational theory, distinguishing between knowledge and knowing, and interaction with the real world. In blending these ideas Cook & Seely Brown show that there is more to learning than simply…
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