WIAL Vice President Shannon Banks was interviewed for a podcast. She talked about Action Learning, how she started her training business, and where she’s taking it next.
HR Friday used Action Learning to move from a social network to a social enterprise. The organization’s key volunteers developed the long term plan and established task force teams to implement the plan in a single year. At the same time, participants developed their leadership and questioning skills tremendously.
“We made great progress in delivering courses and sharing sessions to Taiwan’s HR community. Four years after the start of the Action Learning program, we keep on using Action Learning in our talent development program and in our management meetings.”
Charles Lu
Founder & CEO
HR Friday
We used Action Learning to build a shared vision between owner and management team and developed the goal of creating a so-called self-developing team. We have seen a visible growth of integration inside the company, strengthening the culture of mutual trust and respect. The team and the level of integration inside the team became a value for the team itself.
“Our meetings are now held in the manner of Action Learning, without interruptions, focusing on what was said and not on who said it.”
Vladimir Plasvsky
Owner
Aquaecology
Leading the learning function within a large and fast growing company as Google, WIAL Action Learning is attractive both in its structure and its results. Through the virtual session we experienced, we were able to bring Action Learning to our teams and integrate the methodology into our problem solving and decision making groups.
“WIAL Action Learning is attractive both in its structure and its results.”
Dr. Veronica Haight
Google People Operations
Google
Building the Learning Organization
This essential best-practices toolkit tells how to successfully transform an organization into one that learns from its experiences and quickly translates that knowledge into improved performance.
Rich with hands-on tools and dozens of case studies, this edition puts the power of the Systems Learning Organization model into the hands of any manager who wants to participate in building, maintaining, and sustaining the next generation of learning organizations. Available from Amazon.
Leading with Questions
Many leaders are unaware of the amazing power of questions. When leaders start encouraging questions from their teams, they begin to see amazing results. Knowing the right questions to ask—and the right way to listen—will give any leader the skills to perform well in any situation, effectively communicate a vision to the team, and achieve lasting success across the organization. A great resource for anyone interested in exploring the power of questions. Can be ordered on Amazon.
Dialogue Questions Cards
An excellent ice breaker activity for teams to have great conversations and dialogue. There are over 200 interesting and thought provoking questions to create a safe space for team members to share and exchange honest views and ideas. A powerful tool to learn about the power of questions. This can be purchased through www.facilitationstore.com or by contacting Choon Seng
Optimizing the Power of Action Learning
The third edition of Optimizing the Power of Action Learning is the seminal book about Action Learning. The book covers both the theories and principles behind Action Learning, as well as multiple examples from organizations around the world.
Can be purchased from Amazon or by contacting any of the authors Mike Marquardt, Shannon Banks, Peter Cauwelier or Choon Seng Ng.
What’s Your Question ?
Wondering what questions to ask? This unique book catalogues 630 questions in different categories and invites the reader to use it as a workbook by completing the list in each family of questions.
Can be purchased from Amazon or by contacting Choon Seng Ng.
For ThoughtWorks, talent is the source of the enterprise’s growth and competitive advantage. ThoughtWorks’ AURORA-Leader Development Program used Action Learning as a core method to build a talented team with excellent capabilities, broader vision and connection with the culture and mission.
During the 6 month program, trainees follow a cycle around real scenarios, learning, practice and retrospect. Each of them receives the support from a mentor, an external WIAL Action Learning coach, and the BU head.
Action learning allows trainees to think about and explore the macro issues facing senior leaders at the company’s strategic and organizational level, and at the same time work on their individual leadership development. Action learning helps us to solve real organizational problems and evaluate the corresponding results. After 2 successful years, the third AURORA starts this year !
“The more complex the problems are, the more significant improvement in trainee’s leadership capability can be observed.”
Song Zhang
Managing Director
ThoughtWorks China
Lyreco is one of the world’s leading B2B distributors of Office and Workplace products with a strong and growing ecommerce presence complementing its traditional channels. Operating in Europe for over ninety years, Asia has been one of the growth markets for the past two decades. Due to rapid growth over in Thailand, the local leadership team were searching for a way to confront many of the internal challenges resulting from rapid expansion.
Action Learning was identified as a key tool and over a six-month period, two groups of directors and managers attended foundation courses in Action Learning in either Thai or English. Seven potential coaches were selected from the earlier cohorts who were trained to become Certified Action Learning Coaches (CALC). Within the first year, the CALC at Lyreco were holding regular cross-functional Action Learning sessions with a wide selection of attendees from Lyreco in Thailand.
There have been many benefits, even in the first year; Action Learning has clearly promoted work related interaction between the departments at the different geographical locations in Thailand and all the participants are learning from each other about what is happening and planned for the future in their departments and Lyreco as whole.
The Action Learning group members are learning to ask powerful questions and it has created a format where people “have’ to ask work related questions, where previously it may have been seen as culturally inappropriate or insensitive to ask questions.
The company has clearly begun to develop a learning culture and whilst the Action Learning is helping to solve problems, we see this as a by-product, as the improved inter-departmental cooperation and openness to ask questions amongst our employees producing learning and better understanding is already a real benefit.
“Whilst there is still work to change the perception of some employees of Action Learning from a short-term program to becoming being part of our DNA, I am confident that the benefits of Action Learning will continue to impact everyone who has been exposed to it whether they remain at Lyreco or continue their career elsewhere.”
David RECORD
Managing Director
Lyreco Co., Limited Thailand
The Thermo Fisher Scientific team brought together 130 team members from various functions in two locations- Taiwan and Singapore to discover the power of Action Learning. Participants experienced the importance and benefits of Psychological Safety when working together. It was a rare occasion where our participants could share freely about their challenges at work. With the guidance of the Action Learning coaches, participants started learning the skills of active listening and understanding the power of questioning.
“The Action Learning coaches created a safe environment for us to share about challenges and to learn. That leads to open and courageous communication among team members, and to both challenge and help others think through the issues they are facing.”
David Loke
Regional Sales Training & Development Manager
Thermo Fisher Scientific
China Foreign Economy and Trade Trust Co., Ltd. built its second youth-talent development program around Action Learning with a hybrid training model to improve abilities in problem-solving, innovation and leadership. In the intensive learning, participants integrate their learning results with actual work through deliberate practices and tools of “leadership in action”.
Their projects help solve important issues supporting the company’s strategy while strengthening participants’ leadership and teamwork.The program has become a benchmark of talent development in the company and the WIAL Action Learning skills are deployed to the talent development at all levels of the company.
“Action learning develops a systematic and deductive way of thinking and supplements participants’ intrinsic mindset and subjective experience. The program has helped the company build up young people who identify with the company culture, dare to innovate and who bring an enterprising spirit, efficient working ability and professional accomplishment.”
Mr. Teng Li
Training Manager
China Foreign Economy and Trade Trust Co., Ltd.
