The concentration of team members during an Action Learning session is typically very high. The dynamic of asking questions, answering questions, active listening and the focus on the multiple aspects of the session (the problem, leadership competencies, team dynamics, coach learning interventions) completely fills up the mental capacity of the team members. That is also why the recommended number of members in an Action Learning team is maximum of eight. It is simply too much for our conscious mind to monitor and actively deal with if there are too many interactions. Read More

In part 1 and 2 of this series of articles, we looked at the eight components that bring enjoyment to work according to the Flow research (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990, p. 49), and have clearly demonstrated that WIAL Action Learning fulfills all the requirements and creates the environment for the development of more complex individuals through differentiation and integration. But Action Learning does not guarantee a team will experience flow. Some sessions run very smoothly and are a great and valuable experience for all, including the coach. Some sessions can feel tense and ineffective. Read More

This reflection is based on more than 10 years of Action Learning practice in the French national context, and the difficulties countered in optimizing the learning benefits of this great collaborative intelligence method.In France, the field of learning is closely linked to that of training, and therefore to teaching and its pedagogical approaches. What’s more, the notion of “apprenance” is still often misunderstood, and not distinguished from that of training, which focuses essentially on cognitive learning and too little on behavioral learning.
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If I did not know how to swim and I wanted to become a swimmer is there a book you could recommend – that if I read the book I could then call myself a swimmer? Or maybe you could recommend a video that if I just watched I could then call myself a swimmer? Might your answer be “Sorry – there is no such book or video!” What would I have to do if I wanted to become a swimmer? Read More

Over the summer I took a month off for vacation. I managed to distance myself from my work quite well. But ignoring sports successes is impossible for me. In 2021, it was TeamNL at the Olympic Games, but in 2022 it was the performance of the Jumbo Visma team during the Tour de France that caught my eye. Jumbo Visma is a Dutch cycling team with cyclists from several countries. After several years of being close to success, where things often went wrong at the last minute, they were very successful that summer of 2022. I went to watch, listen and read. What an Action Learning Team that is! A nice touch is that the environment has already determined that the team consists of eight riders, the ideal number for a team, at least that is step 1. Read More

Learning from what goes well is the fourth element of seven, which I describe, following the success of Jumbo Visma’s cycling team. My previous blog was about the importance of learning from what went wrong. So now the opposite. The question that immediately comes to mind is: How (or when) does a team learn more from loss or more from gain and why? Read More

No form of communication is as powerful as a question. Great questions have changed our lives, and indeed, have changed the world! In Action Learning, group members are required to use questions because questions have the unique power and ability to accomplish all 4 of the WIAL solution spheres. Questions are necessary for individuals and groups to be creative and to find breakthrough solutions. All the great inventions in the history of the world were the result of a question asked by the inventor. Read More

Leaders and managers are faced with competing objectives trying to satisfy all stakeholders. They need to innovate and prepare for the future and at the same time ensure this week’s performance is better than last week’s. They need to recruit talent and make sure it grows and thrives, but also retain existing talent and motivate teams. They need to handle unprecedented crises effectively and at the same time deliver on the top and bottom line, and pretty much everything in between. Read More

More than twenty years ago, three Filipinos, Tina Asuncion Alafriz, Leo Castillo and myself met in a personal transformation seminar and became friends. We realized then the importance of continuous learning and attended more leadership programs, which eventually led us to discover our purpose in Life – to assist in the actualization of the Filipino’s potential through corporate training. This became our Life’s work. Tina joined Management Strategies Inc. (MgtStrat) building it up to become one of the more successful corporate consultancy in the country. Read More