"We do not need, and indeed never will have, all the answers before we act…It is often through taking action that we can discover some of them."
——Charlotte Bunch
Action learning is proven tool for realizing individual and organizational change .
It combines knowledge that people have been taught with skills that people have learned, often from experience.
Action learning requires a supportive environment in which to thrive. Once established, it provides a valuable and powerful stimulus for continuous change, enabling organizations to grow and learn dynamically, rather than remaining static or fixed in one set of circumstances or perspectives.
First developed by Professor Reg Revans (Reginald William Revans was an academic professor, administrator and management consultant who pioneered the use of Action learning.) to identify his philosophy of management development. His approach to management training differed from the conventional approach in that it focused on developing managerial skills rather than just increasing knowledge. Revan’s idea was to link performance and skills in a practical way by training managers as they worked to solve real problems. The learning and therefore the development of managerial skill are directly linked to the learner’s real needs based on actual experience.
Action learning is based on the concept of
L = P + Q
This means that Learning [L] is comprised of Programmed Knowledge [P](things that people have been taught or that they have learned through experience) plus Questioning Skills [Q](the ability/willingness to challenge programmed knowledge using the stimulus or real life problems).
What action learning tells us is that people need programmed knowledge that they have acquired one the years but, in the conditions of rapid change that we live in today, this is not enough for survival. Managers must also constructively question both themselves and those around them so that they can adapt successfully to their constantly changing world.
Individuals are put in a supportive environment with a problem to solve and a facilitator who will encourage them to question their P and to test themselves and each other. The process of questioning and testing produces experience. Reflection on experience leads to learning.
Imagine the child learns that the stove is hot, not by touching it (test), but through the pain that comes form the burn afterwards (reflection). Learning is demonstrated if he or she does not touch the hot stove again.
“Learning is a willingness to let one’s ability and attitude change in response to new ideas, information, and experiences. ”
——Peter Vaill
Do it right!——Key Approaches and Roles
The action learning approach creates learning opportunities through which people develop by:
working on ‘life’ problems
being empowered to question what is happening
trying out suggested solution (doing things differently)
stepping back and reflecting on what is happening and why
sharing the experience with others who are also learning by doing
There are two main models of action learning:
The Revans approach, focusing on individual development, and the ‘In-plant’ or organizational development model by Action Learning Associates (ALA), combining individual development with organizational change.
Both methods use the same structure:
The problem. This provides the focus for the activity. It is the individual in the Revans model and team problem (project) in the In-plant Model.
The client. It is the person who owns the problem. In Revan’s terms this must be someone who knows, cares, and above all can implement its solution if they wish to.
The action learning set. This is the place where participants meet to share their experience. It is the core of the program—the questioning, confrontation, challenging and support which takes place in the set provides the encouragement and stimulus for individuals/groups to carry on.
The facilitator encourages learning through questioning, mirroring, challenging, and supporting. The facilitator is the grit in the oyster which creates the learning pearl.
The sponsor is the senior manager responsible for the program.
Harnessing Action Learning for Individual Development
There are several ways in which action learning is used to develop individuals, including:
The Own Job model This aims to enable individuals to maximize their personal effectiveness. Individuals take a problem into the action learning set and they meet at regular intervals over an agreed period of time with an external facilitator. The learning focus is on helping participants solve their own problems. An example of this approach is Toyota in Japan. Chu-San-Ren, a Japanese management consultancy based in Nagoya, has been running Own Job action learning programs with Toyota since 1993.
The P Development (Academic model) This approach aims to maximize the learning opportunities presented whilst acquiring knowledge(P), and model combines the personal effectiveness development aspects of the Own Job model with the opportunity to acquire new learning. Sets are formed of people who have the same learning goals and have a dual focus: new knowledge coupled with personal learning. An example of this approach is ACE Insurance, that has adopted this model to train its senior managers. The program provides a three-week development activity for senior people from ACE companies around the world. The core activity is a major business-related project. The approach reflects a balance of ‘hard inputs’ by specialists, live data gathering, and analysis and self-development.
The In-plant Action Learning approach While individual action learning programs are very powerful in bringing about individual change, they cannot change organizational culture. One approach to this problem has been to apply the action learning method on an in-plant basis, using problems that exist within the company—real problems which it must solve. The approach uses the typical AL structure, in which directors and senior managers are cast as ‘clients’, middle managers as ‘set facilitators’, foremen and supervisors working as ‘fellows’ in action learning teams. The whole process is co-ordinated by external ‘facilitators’. Thus all managers and supervisors are involved in a change program at the same time. The In-plant approach applies action learning to the total management structure of a company in a way which involves everybody.
Action learning relies on the team working and facilitation process which encourages questioning, empowers participants to try something different, and leads to change. The heart of the action learning process is the group, supported by the facilitator. It provides a safe haven from which individuals can emerge to test themselves and return to share their experience, thereby encouraging and supporting change.
Any team working/problem solving activity can be returned into an action learning program, through the simple addition of a facilitation process. Any personal development programs can be greatly strengthened by forming Action Learning sets and providing facilitation.
Making Action Learning Happen
First, consider what you want to achieve: re-structure your organization, develop your people, solve specific problems or something else.
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Set yourself some output goals. Note these should be both technical, for example, specific problems solved, and behavioral, for example, participants will be able to demonstrate their ability to apply their skills in future projects
Design your program. A typical action learning program lasts for about six months and has five main stages:
1. Introductory workshop. This is used to launch the program and can vary in length from one day to three weeks. The aim is to get things started and the more effective this process, the quicker the set starts to function effectively.
2. Investigation and Recommendation. This usually lasts three months and provides the opportunity for participants to analyze the problems, to benchmark against best practice, and to produce recommendations.
3. Presentation and Feedback. This is usually a two-part stage: the participants present their findings to their clients, and later their clients say what action they would like to sponsor based on the recommendations.
4. Implementation. This usually lasts about three months and involves participants in implementing the recommendations agreed with the client.
5. Final review—1 day. This is an opportunity to review what has or has not been learned or achieved and to agree the way ahead.