Have you ever come out of a meeting and wondered why you had bothered to go? Meanwhile, other meetings seem to go very well and are fruitful and productive. How do you learn from one to make a difference in the other?
The directors of a large corporation recently spent time at the end of a board meeting reflecting on what worked in the meeting and what didn’t. That reflective process is drawn from action learning. It allows people to be open and honest and make changes happen.
When you have an issue you want to discuss, do you find that others bring in stories and anecdotes and advice when all you really want to do is air the issue and get clarity to find a way forward?
Action Learning is one of the most powerful tools for change and development available to individuals, organisations and companies today. Not only is it very practical, cost and time effective, delivering measurable results; it is also a way of integrating learning and experience through reflection. It can be used to great effect at all levels of an organisation, in a variety of contexts. Action Learning Sets are made up of up to six people with a facilitator.
Action Learning is learning through ACTION & REFLECTION. The focus is on real issues brought by Set members which are subjected to rigorous reflection by the Set. Reflection happens when the set members ask incisive, open and yet elegant questions. They never give advice or lapse into anecdotes. The questions allow the person bringing the issue to get clarity and deepen understanding, they also help her to see the way forward, at least to identify the next step to be taken if not the way to finding a solution. Good action learning leads to further action and reflection.
Learning (L) requires programmed knowledge (knowledge that is in current use P) and questioning insight (Q): L = P + Q
By using the knowledge of a small group of people combined with insightful questioning, individuals can re-interpret old and familiar concepts to produce fresh ideas and insights. Using colleagues from other parts of an organisation means that instead of just one perception of the issue there are up to six others. This enables the kind of insight into an issue that one perception may just be missing.
Action Learning Sets can be made up of people of the same discipline or inter-disciplinary. They are strictly bound by confidentiality – the only information that leaves the room is the learning.
Action Learning is being used in the public, private and voluntary sector to great effect. If you want to know more about Action Learning contact info@3dcoaching.com for a free report.
If you are keen to learn more about how to use Action Learning and how to facilitate an Action Learning Set, this is the book for you. It is written with great clarity and takes the reader step by step into the theory and practice of Action Learning. It is a book which inspires confidence in the reader to go out and do it.
The only experience you need to use Action Learning is day to day experience of life and work. This practical guide will help you to set up an Action Learning Set and enable it to work effectively. All of the tools and resources needed for a Set are described in part 2 of the book which concludes with a step by step guide to setting up an Action Learning programme in your place of work.
This book is intended for managers, consultants and trainers, in fact anyone who works with people for their personal and professional development. Action Learning is a key skill in developing people, but it will also produce tangible business results.
