Action Learning is an accelerated learning tool which can be applied to any number of different workplace (and personal) issues and challenges. In Action Learning groups or 'sets' we meet regularly with others in order to explore solutions to real problems and decide on the action we wish to take. When doing this in the set, the stages include:
1. Describing the problem as we see it
2. Receiving contributions from others in the form of questions
3. Reflecting on our discussion and deciding what action to take
4. Reporting back on what happened when we took action
5. Reflecting on the problem-solving process and how well it is working
Sets are often used in workplaces, to discuss work-related issues. Members may have a wide ranging agenda or they may work on quite specific issues, like the development of new skills or the progress of a particular project.
Sets are often used as part of management and leadership development programmes. Members have a forum in which they can work on implementing the skills learned on the programme.
Some Sets are external and made up of people from different organisations. These Sets may focus on members' individual issues, or on a specific project in which all the members are stakeholders.
The Set agrees how time will be used; normally each member has a turn every meeting. Each member is accountable to the Set for taking action and for reporting progress. At the start of the Set, members establish a series of ground rules, which might include confidentiality, attendance and listening while others are speaking.
Depending on Set size, meetings may be from half a day to one day duration. The life of the Set varies and some Sets meet for a limited time, say, once a month for 6 sessions. Other Sets meet for a year or more, depending on the type of work they are doing.
There are also online Sets and Sets which 'meet' using teleconferencing and other virtual media.
Sets have proved their value and become established in many different organisations and settings.
Within organisations Action Learning Sets are widely used in the UK National Health Service, in local and national government departments, in community and voluntary organisations, in universities and colleges and in businesses of various kinds.
Sets are also widely used externally, for example, freelance learning and development professionals working on marketing; HR managers wanting to develop and share best practice; business owners in the tourism industry meeting to address a variety of business issues.
An ambitious action learning programme of recent times aimed to help managers from different organisations in the UK not-for-profit sector develop skills and gain support.
In action learning the ‘spiral of learning’ describes how we learn as a continuous process of action and reflection. Learning is the product of knowledge (i.e. taught learning) PLUS questioning and reflecting. This is sometimes expressed as:
L (learning) equals P (programmed knowledge) plus Q (questions)
It isn't just actions outside the Set which are relevant to learning. Part of the discussion during Set meetings is about what the Set members are learning from working together.
So in action learning theory, TAKING ACTION is crucial and the only real learning comes from doing something and then reflecting on the outcome. Set members are "comrades in adversity", supporting and challenging one another to think - and to take action - outside the box.
Participants are learning all the time whatever their role in the Set: presenter, questioner, active listener or reflector.
The Set facilitator’s role is to provide guidance on the theory and practice of Action Learning as the Set works – so members learn by being in the Set. Sets are not always facilitated by an external facilitator - indeed many Sets facilitate themselves. However, it can be helpful for a facilitator to attend for the first few meetings.
Research has found that if a skilled facilitator is present, the Set is more likely to be successful.
The facilitator models skills and techniques, like insightful questioning, so that the Set can see how they work in practice. The facilitator may also point out aspects of the way the Set works and encourage members to reflect on their own behaviours during meetings. Everything is 'grist to the mill' in action learning!
If you would like to find a facilitator for your Set, here are some suggestions:
Go to the 'Find a Set Facilitator' section on this site
Contact IFAL, the International Foundation for Action Learning, at www.ifal.org.uk
Place an advertisement in an action learning newsletter
Contact your local college or university, who may have details of facilitators they use
Contact one of the organisations which supply action learning services
understand and accept your own strengths and weaknesses
deal effectively with the effects of stress
Action Learning is non-judgmental and values your own particular mix of experience, abilities, skills and knowledge. At the same time it can be challenging, in asking you to make commitments to yourself and to the Set and in asking you to examine how you do things or think about things.
What are the benefits of Action Learning to organisations?
Sets are a key feature of the ‘Learning Organisation’ in that they provide a structure in which skills, e.g. in communication, can be continuously reviewed and enhanced. They impart a culture of active learning within an organisation and encourage a culture of questioning and seeking new and better ways to do things.
An Action Learning Set trains itself with the help of the set facilitator, so the process models participation and responsibility, empowerment and collaboration.
The skills learned in the Set are eminently transferable, since they are the skills of the 'learning manager'.
If you are joining an existing Set, you do not normally need any previous experience, since you will learn from the other Set members. If you want to form a new Set, you could read one of the books on action learning. You are also welcome to contact us for additional information.
