Charging Collective Ability: The Transformative Power of Action Learning for Inclusive Organizations

In simple terms, Action Learning (AL) is a group process of identifying a problem, coming up with the right actions that could lead to a solution, and learning from the experience. For that process to be successful, it will demand an open mind, vulnerability, and a level of self-awareness from its participants. AL groups (commonly referred to as sets) learn to embrace the tension that comes with addressing deep-seated organizational issues. This is where the magic of AL happens. For an organization that aims to emancipate, empower, and equip today's leadership and employees to tackle systemic workplace challenges, AL follows its core practice of collective engagement. That is the process of inclusive—and multilevel—questioning, information sharing, perspective-taking, and capacity building. AL is most commonly applied in management development. It requires skill and thoughtfulness to embed AL into the psyche of an organization. When its concepts are effectively employed, AL ideally becomes a state of being, second nature. The novelty of AL may require a period of acclimation to how this principle fits into the respective work environment, and practitioners should be aware of common misunderstandings and misapplications of the process. This can admittedly be challenging, depending on how much an organization has already embraced Action Learning (if not in name, but in deed). That is what makes the final results and Action Learning’s reflexive nature all the more rewarding once it finally bears fruit.