This document discusses the dominance of an "instrumentalist" approach to learning through coaching, training, and education in organizations. It argues this approach focuses too much on abstract goals and measurable outcomes, neglecting the uniqueness and complexity of individual learning processes. Three patterns or "gestalts" are described where this instrumental approach fails to adequately address needs for growth: 1) the "gestalt of omnipotence" where trainers assume they can design perfect interventions, 2) the "gestalt of coercion" where learning is imposed from the outside, and 3) the "gestalt of perversion" where learning serves other aims besides development. The document proposes an alternative approach called the "Didactics of