Drawing from the reflective teaching and learning practices recommended in influential publications on learning styles, experiential learning, deep learning, and dialogue, the authors tested the concept of "learning teams" in the framework of a leadership program implemented for the first time in a top French management school (Grande Ecole). Qualitative feedback and personal observations on the implementation and outcomes of using this new learning paradigm reveal that although the steps from teaching to learning initially tested for MBA students in the United States are widely accepted, there were unexpected obstacles and opportunities in setting up the model in France. Some of these differences can be attributed to culture, particularly to immensely different educational philosophies that shape attitudes and norms within French classrooms and to the notion of learning itself, which is normalized by the social expectations of careers in management forged in French history. This article provides the theoretical basis of the particular learning model tested, describes the conditions

Résumé Depuis trois ou quatre décennies est décrit un mouvement de transformation en profondeur des formes d’autorité qui régissent la vie sociale. Dans le sillage de Tocqueville qui y voyait un effet de l’égalisation des conditions sociales propres à la modernisation des sociétés, Caplow constate le déclin des appareils du contrôle social en même temps que le relâchement de l’autorité personnelle. Perte de vitesse de l’autorité religieuse, de celle de l’Etat, fin de l’autorité du père au sein de la famille et mise à mal de celle de l’enseignant, le constat est celui de la crise, quand on ne prophétise pas la disparition pure et simple de l’autorité.