As an action learning coach, how would you handle the following situation:
When asking the team when they observed someone doing their leadership skill – one of the team member says they did it to the point of being annoying and distracting and consequently we did not get done what we needed to.
As an CALC, here’s how I would handle the situation:
1. Stay Calm and Receive the Feedback
2. Ask Questions to Clarify the Situation
– “Can you share more about the specific behaviors you found distracting and suggest ways to improve?”
– “In your view, how has this affected the team’s ability to achieve its goals?”
3. Refocus on the Team’s Goals and Responsibilities
– “We are here to support each other in developing leadership skills. How can we turn these observations into learning opportunities?”
4. Facilitate Reflection
– “What can we learn from this situation to improve collaboration within the group?”
The answer can be multi-faceted.
1 I would ask for examples of those sentences from which the member has this opinion. As he collects them and justifies them I would ask the group how they perceive these examples. If the group is of the same opinion I would guide the situation like this:
X, would you like to hear from the group what other questions/behaviours would be supportive of the group? x answers yes.
Team, you have one minute to note down one piece of advice for X that would help you and at the same time develop the competency X was working on.
I would continue discussing the Learning process and even highlight this situation as developmental.
2 I would give a brief mention here of the fact that while we learn new skills, they are not always so natural to us, so this can sometimes be a reason for nervousness – our own or those around us.
3 I would refer to the goal – that if the presenter recognises that it is achieved then we recognise that it is. Alternatively, I would remind them that we still have sessions contracted in the process.
I would ask the feedback provider for reference:
• “Could you be specific about the behaviors you’ve observed?”
• “Has the team noticed this perspective? What do others think?”
• “What impact did this have on team collaboration and learning?”
• “How can we demonstrate leadership while ensuring the team still efficiently accomplishes the task?”
• “In situations like this, how can the team support one another to improve outcomes?”
I would ask the team member who offers this feedback:
“What were the specific behaviors or evidences that lead you to this feedback?”
“If you were going to rephrase this feedback to help the team member do better in demonstrating his/her leadership skill, what would you say?”
To the team,
“What have you observed or noticed about the team dynamic right now?”
“How is this team dynamic going to affect our team collaboration moving forward?”
“What can we do as a team to accomplish effectively what we set out to do while supporting each other to better team collaboration?”
Then, I continue to offer my observation of how each has demonstrated his/her leadership skill from the session.
As an Action Learning coach, I would recognize this moment as a powerful learning opportunity—for both the individual practicing their leadership skill and the team as a whole.
I might say: “Thank you for your honesty. Let’s take a moment to reflect as a team.”
Then, I would ask the group:
“What is the impact of giving and receiving feedback like this on our team dynamics?”
“What can we learn from this situation—about leadership, about communication, and about how we work together?”
I might follow up with:
“How can we support each other in practicing our leadership skills—even when it doesn’t go perfectly?”
As the action learning coach, I would like to take this chance to transform this negative feedback into leadership development:
1. Validate candor while shifting to constructive framing:
“Thank you for sharing this openly—it takes courage to name what’s not working. To help us learn from this, let me ask…”
• Clarify facts vs. perception:
“When you say there was annoying/distracting,’ can you describe the specific behaviors you observed?
• Probe for impact:
“How exactly did those behaviors prevent the team from completing the task?”
• Future-focused questioning:
“If we could redesign that moment, what would effective leadership look like in that situation?”
2. Connect to development objectives:
“This seems like a great example of how leadership styles need to adapt to contexts. What’s your takeaway about leadership?”
3. As the coach:
I need to reinforce the learning of the team. I’ll share how I saw leadership manifest differently in each participant in this session.
As the action learning coach, first of all I would like to shift from criticism to improvement suggestions by asking “What would you suggest they do differently next time so it’s more helpful for the team?”
Also I explore the perspective of the person receiving the feedback by asking
– How do you feel about that feedback?
– What adjustments might you consider to balance skill demonstration and team progress?
Finally I reinforce the spirit of constructive feedback by asking
– Why is it important that our feedback focuses on behaviors and outcomes rather than personal judgments?
– How can we ensure feedback remains constructive and respectful?
• I would first encourage an open and respectful discussion by asking the team to explore the situation from a systems perspective. I would guide the team to reflect on how the behavior affected not just the individual but the overall group dynamics and outcomes. Then, I would foster inspired action by asking the team to brainstorm potential solutions or alternative approaches to balance the leadership skills while ensuring the team’s goals are met. Finally, I would ensure that the conversation remains focused on development by asking, “What can we learn from this situation to improve both individual leadership and team collaboration moving forward?” This process would allow the team to reflect, engage in problem-solving, and commit to a more effective, collaborative approach in the future.
This is a high-value learning moment, as it highlights the gap between intention and impact. As a Coach, I must remain neutral and treat this feedback as data for the group to process, rather than a conflict to be mediated.
First, I would validate the courage it took to give such candid feedback, but I would immediately pivot the focus from personal judgment (‘annoying’) to the impact on the group’s performance. I might ask the feedback giver: ‘Thank you for your candor. You mentioned the skill usage was distracting; what specific impact did that have on our ability to solve the problem?’
Next, I would turn to the person receiving the feedback. rather than asking if they ‘acknowledge’ it (which might put them on the defensive), I would ask about their intention versus the impact. ‘I invite you to reflect: What was your intention in practicing the skill in that moment? And how does that compare with the impact the team just described?’
Finally, I would open it to the group to turn this into forward-looking learning (Feedforward). I would ask: ‘What are the team’s thoughts on how we can balance the practice of leadership skills with the necessity of getting the work done?’
This approach moves the team away from blaming one person and towards a shared understanding of how to practice skills effectively without derailing the project.
As an Action Learning Coach, I would intervene to keep the focus on learning and behavior, not judgment or blame.
In the moment, I would do three things:
1. Slow it down and reframe
“Let’s pause. That sounds like important data about impact.”
2. Separate behavior from evaluation
“Can we restate that in terms of what was observed and what effect it had, without labels?”
(If needed, I would model it:)
“For example: ‘I noticed you spoke frequently and redirected the discussion several times, and it affected our ability to complete the task.’”
3. Bring it back to Action Learning
“What does this tell us about using leadership skills in a way that supports the work rather than competes with it?”
Then I would open it briefly to the group:
“What did we learn about effective use of this leadership skill in this situation?”