Action Learning
How do YOU learn best?
|
|
What is Action Learning? (source)
Action Learning is a powerful problem solving tool that has the amazing capacity to simultaneously build successful leaders, teams and organizations. It involves a small group working on real problems, taking action, and learning both as individuals and as teams.
Action Learning solves problems and develops leaders simultaneously because its simple rules force participants to think critically and work collaboratively, and because the group’s coach, the Action Learning coach, assists group members to reflect, not on their problem solving, but on the elevation of their group functioning and on examples of their leadership skills. Action Learning participants become effective leaders as they solve difficult problems.
Action Learning has six components...
... and it is most effective when all six of these components are in operation:
- A Problem (project, challenge, opportunity, issue or task)
The problem should be urgent and significant, should not have an easily identifyable solution and should be the responsibility of the team* to resolve. - An Action Learning group or team.
Ideally composed of 4-8 people. The group should be diverse in background and experience. - A process of insightful questioning and reflective listening.
Action Learning tackles problems through a process of first asking questions to clarify the exact nature of the problem, reflecting and identifying possible solutions and only then taking action. Questions build group dialogue and cohesiveness, generate innovative and systems thinking and enhance learning results. - An action taken on the problem.
There is no real meaningful or practical learning until action is taken and reflected on. Action Learning requires that an indivual or the group be able to take action on the problem it is addressing. If the group makes recommendations only, it loses its energy, creativity and commitment. - A commitment to learning.
Solving an organizational* problem provides immediate, short-term benefits to the company. But there are also greater longer-term benefits. These are the learnings gained by each group member and the group as a whole. These learnings are applied on a systems-wide basis throughout the organization and tend to have a multiplier effect in the company. - An Action Learning Coach.
The Action Learning coach helps the team members reflect on both what they are learning and how they are solving problems. The coach enables group members to reflect on how they listen, how they may have reframed the problem, how they give each other feedback, how they are planning and working, and what assumptions may be shaping their beliefs and actions. The Action Leaning coach also helps the team focus on what they are achieving, what they are finding difficult, what processes they are employing and the implications of these processes. (source)
Benefits derived from Action Learning (source)
Action Learning benefits the organization as a whole and its members individually and in teams.
Action Learning can:
- Assist succession planning by developing a cadre of highly qualified candidates for promotion to executive leadership positions.
- Deepen participants' confidence in their leadership and team participation skills.
- Enable participants to establish effective, mutually respectful working relationships with co-workers at all organizational levels.
- Develop competence among individuals and teams in problem-solving and decision-making processes.
- Relate action research/action learning theory and methods to organizational challenges.
- Enhance participants' capacity to reflect on and learn from their individual and collective experiences.
- Develop in participants an awareness of how their implicit assumptions, beliefs, attitudes, preferences, and organizational interests influence their thinking, decisions and actions.
- Increase competence in preparing and presenting recommendations concerning urgent organizational issues to executive management.
*Action Learning is equally effective to address challenges or problems faced by an individual
A work-related or personal problem, challenge or opportunity of one of the members of an Action Learning group can be dealt with in the same way as an organizational issue. The same amount of learning, leadership and team building take place.
The foundations and history of Action Learning
For the history and background of Action Learning, click here:
World Institute for Action Learning (WIAL)
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
We have Active Learning coaches in Gauteng...
... and po10tia can refer you to Active Learning coaches in other parts of South Africa. Contact us.
