Action Learning

WHAT IS ACTION LEARNING?

Action Learning is a process in which a group of 4-8 people with diverse competences and experience works to solve a real, complex problem and at the same time develops their leadership skills, becoming at the same time a highly effective team.

It is used for:

providing innovative solutions,
training leadership skills,
increasing the effectiveness of teams,
implementing scholars’ competences during workshops,
and building a work culture based on continuous improvement of its quality.

Among the many organizations that use WIAL Action Learning are the following companies:

Samsung, which through this process has trained over 800 of its leaders,
Boeing and Microsoft, which based their Action Learning global leadership development programs,
Pepsi Co, which used AL to develop its key sales managers,
Deutche Bank, which through AL carried out global restructuring in the 1990s,
Goodrich Corporation, which successfully created its electronic technology development center with the help of AL,
Panasonic, which used AL to develop its organizational culture and group of so-called talents
Toyota, which introduced the Lexus brand in Japan with the help of this process.

In Poland, employees of such companies as Bank Pekao SA, Bank Pocztowy, CBRE Corporate Outsourcing, Skanska, H&M, Leroy Merlin, Novo Nordisk, Toyota Tsucho Europe SA Branch in Poland, Link4, PORR, Advanced Digital Broadcast, TAURON learned from WIAL Poland Customer service, Innogy and others.

Action Learning diverts teamwork by 180 degrees – reduces digressions, reduces group work to specificity, provokes creativity, broadens perspectives, and enables practicing all possible leadership and interpersonal skills.

Groups do not integrate by simply breaking the ice. They do this by sharing challenges and commitment, by engaging in litigation and joint action.
Alan Weiss, Summit Consulting Group

The Action Learning center has a questioning process that develops critical and system thinking, and mutual respect among employees at all levels.

Action Learning is used to work on challenges of all sizes. It is particularly effective in the case of complex problems that cannot be solved at first glance. Thanks to simple rules, it raises team norms, quality of cooperation, creativity and courage to act in demanding situations.

Action Learning is successfully used in conjunction with other problem solving processes in organizations, e.g. Lean, Scrum, Design Thinking or Six Sigma. It fits perfectly into the agile approach in organizations.

I did not expect that AL can be used so deeply and interact on several levels at the same time – it really works like that.
Agnieszka, Romańska, Human Resources Division, Bank Pekao SA

WHY IS ACTION LEARNING EFFECTIVE?

He works on real problems and challenges. He teaches through experience and action, not through exercises, theories or case studies.
It requires analyzing the situation and defining the heart of the problem at the foot of visible symptoms before defining goals and solutions. It reaches what can really sink a company or team, not just what can be seen above the water surface.
Action must be taken after each session.
Requires asking questions before formulating answers.
Emphasizes active and attentive listening. During the session there are no digressions, assessments, “good advice” and long, unwanted statements. Brings team work to maximum specifics.
The presence of a trained coach ensures continuous learning and an increase in the quality of work.
Participants give each other feedback on their leadership skills.
Certification of Action Learning coaches ensures work according to proven standards used all over the world.

WHAT DOES ACTION LEARNING GIVE?

Solving an important problem can be worth a million dollars for an organization. But training eight great leaders can be worth 100 million.
Michael Marquardt, creator of WIAL Action Learning

BUSINESS SOLUTIONS

in response to complex problems.

LEARNING HABIT

from the action taken.

TEAM DEVELOPMENT

with high efficiency.

RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT

and respect for diversity

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

and cooperation skills.

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

based on commitment.

Internal training brings the additional effect of a clear increase in trust among group members, improving the quality of cooperation and the ability to conduct effective team meetings and joint problem solving. This is due to intensive training in conducting sessions and participating in them, as well as giving and receiving feedback.

WHAT'S THE SECRET OF WIAL ACTION LEARNING?

There are two fundamental rules during Action Learning sessions:

All statements can be made only in response to questions. Everyone can ask a question at any time. One question can generate one or many answers, it can be asked to one person or several.
A coach can intervene in team work whenever he sees the group’s opportunity to learn, i.e. increase the quality of their work. He does not substantively address the problem, does not evaluate, suggest or manage the work of the team. Instead, he watches his work and interrupts him to ask questions that lead to the establishment of team norms – a critical factor in the quality of team work.

Apart from the two rules, everything is allowed and the team can use all the tools and methods that come to their mind. So he can use technology, flipchart, relevant databases and propose tools such as brainstorming, SWAT analysis, 5 WHY, De Bono hats and more. Action Learning is a platform on which the team can effectively use all available resources. It also fully fits with other methods of working on solutions, such as Six Sigma, Design Thinking or Scrum.

6 ACTION LEARNING COMPONENTS

PROBLEM OR CHALLENGE

Action Learning teams always work on real problems, challenges or dilemmas. It is important that they are relevant to the team or organization, urgent and complex - requiring ground-breaking solutions, and not just one expert answer.

GROUP

We always work in a group of 4-8 people. Not less than 4 because you need energy and exchange of opinions. No more than 8 because there are too many possible mutual references. The diversity of people in the group that leads to creativity and unusual solutions is important.

QUESTIONS

We use questions primarily for three reasons. First of all: they explore the problem and stimulate reflection and creativity. Secondly, they make the team focus on one specific problem or challenge. Third: they enable you to practice any chosen leadership, communication or team skill.

LEARNING

It is understood as constantly drawing conclusions from undertaken activities and improving the quality of work. It occurs on three levels: individual, team and organizational.

ACTION

It takes place both during sessions and between them. After each meeting, the team takes actions that they can learn from, i.e. consciously draw conclusions for the future. A special feature of Action Learning is that the team does not only develop recommendations and ideas, but solutions that are actually to be implemented. Such responsibility leads to deep involvement and an increase in the quality of cooperation in the organization.

COACH

Part of the team is a specially trained person who primarily cares about learning. Observes and asks questions. It makes the team reflect on both the way they solve the problem and the actions and training of leadership skills. It sets the tone of discussion, supports the team in building standards, watches over the meeting time and is a model, an example of a leader who thinks systemically and asks accurate questions.

WHEN DOES ACTION LEARNING NOT WORK?

Always when one of the above six elements is missing or incorrectly implemented. The basic examples are: inaccurate formulation of the problem before the first session, incorrect selection, incorrect selection or number of team members, incorrect definition of the roles of other people in the organization, lack of support from the board and direct superiors of team members, no responsibility for actions taken and incompetent conduct of the session by a person as a coach.

WHAT MAKES ACTION LEARNING STAND OUT?

Learning is just as important as providing solutions. Most other problem solving and training methods (e.g. training) focus only on one of these elements.
Classic methods, such as brainstorming, are based on providing ideas – answers to a given problem. In Action Learning, questions are asked first, which get to the heart of the problem, and only then breakthrough solutions are generated. This is the only process that uses the principle: all statements can be made only in response to questions.
Each team member takes real action between meetings – not just developing ideas and recommendations. Everyone assumes the responsibility of implementing the change, from which he can later learn.
The Action Learning Coach watches over learning, i.e. increasing the quality of team work. He doesn’t ask questions about the problem, he doesn’t tell the team to learn how to increase their effectiveness.
Action Learning encourages the use of other methods and tools at the same time. It does not require giving up what the team already knows, but rather is a catalyst for the effective use of known tools.