Research from, among others, at Google and by Dr. Edmonson at Harvard shows that High Performing Teams function better. And from sports, it is known that working in connection to a common goal leads to energy and unexpected results and innovations. Teams are more innovative and achieve better results because they have a higher degree of psychological safety than less successful teams. Because of this, they dare to make more mistakes, to discuss ignorance and uncertainty with the intention to share information together, to learn from this, to experiment, and to grow. Read More

The Action Learning process goes beyond the numbers. A balance between facts and emotions ensures success and growth. Paes: ‘Be aware this is a symbiosis. Enjoy the challenge of working with both the upperstream and undercurrent. Too often the focus is on the upperstream. If you only pay attention to the undercurrent, you’ll end up with happy losers. Therefore, pay the same attention to both the upperstream and undercurrent.’ Paes adds: ‘Why I got involved with Action Learning ? I find the role of Action Learning very rewarding. Read More

Where people are involved, there will always be new ways of looking at things or desires to make changes to deal with new circumstances. Change is all around, whether we like it or not. Many look at change with trepidation because they do no longer know what the future will look like. One group can see a situation as a problem while another sees it as an opportunity. The question is how a team answers the questions that arise from the situation and turn these into success. That is not always easy because both rational and emotional elements are involved. In this article, Twan Paes explains how the Action Learning process holds the keys to successfully dealing with change. Read More

Ignore the basics at your peril! My purpose in writing this paper is to share with coaches the absolutely critical first steps that must be followed in establishing a successful coaching business. Not addressing these essential basics practically guarantees failure, as many potentially great coaches have unfortunately experienced. Read More

It’s about shifting or changing the basic underlying assumptions. I recently reread Edgar Schein’s seminal book “Organizational Culture and Leadership”1. Schein identifies culture as “a pattern of shared basic assumptions learned by a group as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, which has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems”. Read More

What is culture? I recently reread Edgar Schein’s seminal book “Organizational Culture and Leadership”1. Schein identifies culture as “a pattern of shared basic assumptions learned by a group as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, which has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems”. Read More

As a base to Corporate Innovation, we believe that creating a new cultural environment by experimenting with new design experiences connected with the startup ecosystem while mixing people from different departments, creates a culture that encourages cooperation, rewards creativity, and fosters “Psychological Safety” in the workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth. Therefore, once the main problem or challenge is brought to the surface, working groups dynamics are recommended to deep dive, in a trustful and respectful environment, what the real problem is. Read More

On becoming certified as an action learning coach, I saw potential in using action learning to advance the diversity and inclusion (D&I) agenda in organizations through the development of inclusive behaviors and the fresh approach to addressing business challenges. As a committed advocate of providing a level playing field, the immediate benefits of action learning were clear to me. Two years on, four cohorts of D&I professionals have experienced action learning.Inclusive Employers (a membership organisation promoting diverse and inclusive workplaces) launched the first D&I professional qualification in the UK. Read More

Action learning, since its inception in the 1940’s with Reg Revans’ work in the coal mines of Wales and England, has been used extensively as an effective problem- solving methodology. It is only more recently, however, that action learning has become a popular tool for developing leaders. What has caused this recent turn to action learning for leadership development? Foremost is the fact that organizations worldwide are faced with the growing challenge of increasing the capabilities of their leaders with less time and fewer financial resources. Read More

It begins with a simple conversation between Action Learning coach Hou Shaohua and his friend Zhao Shuping about Action Learning. After a serious discussion in April 2021 ,they realized that Action Learning may help Generation Z and young people born after 1995 out of the confusion of life and work. Read More