Co-ordinating a system of national and regional reserves is a challenge in anyone’s language. Papua New Guinea (PNG) has over 8oo distinct languages, spanning a country of immense natural and cultural diversity, most of which is under traditional customary ownership. The PNG Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (CEPA) is the government agency responsible for implementing the national policy on establishing and managing protected areas. The challenge it faces is to facilitate management plans for a system of reserves that protect PNGs unique natural and cultural values. Read More

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WOW! For years I’ve talked about that how well Action Learning works regardless of culture or industry. For this session we were fortunate to be a truly global group. We had representation from five countries representing four continents – Indonesia, Japan, Abu Dhabi, Australia, and the USA were represented – truly a global team. As we would expect the process worked particularly because of the diverse nature of the team. Over the course of the two days, we had three practice sessions after the demonstration. The problems were equally diverse one culture in nature, another facilities related, another personal challenge. Read More

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Michael Marquardt, professor at George Washington University, has often quoted anthropologist Margaret Mead, who once stated: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” What happens during an Action Learning session, with up to eight participants and a coach, is the activation of the group’s collective intelligence through an ancient and intrinsically human technique: the use of questions. By rescuing curiosity and putting empathic listening into practice, it is possible to find new paths to navigate demanding situations. Read More

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The head of an SME of about 50 people in the printing sector located in the Bordeaux region of France that I met through a short presentation about action learning in a Rotary club wanted to experiment this method to work on their strategic plan for the next five years. After a preliminary meeting in the company where I explained the principles, components, and rules of AL to him, he very smartly set up a team of six persons with an adequate diversity of gender, age, experience, and function. He included in this group one person from outside the company who did not really know the company very well. Read More

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As coaches, many of us use action learning to solve problems and challenges faced by our clients. Most of these challenges are internal business opportunities that when worked on by employees using action learning can help move an organization forward. But what if the challenge were instead presented by a third-party organization, while the group that was solving the problem came predominantly from a different company? And what if the third-party organization was focused on a social challenge? Could action learning bring the two organizations together? Read More

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During my 15 years with the large pharma / chemical concern Bayer, I have had various roles in various disciplines in several countries. Employees in Bayer benefit from lots of training and I have experienced many management and team development processes and programs. During my assignment as Head of Marketing Bayer Netherlands, I came across a situation where the company was doing very well financially, but in my conversations with the employees, I discovered that they were less and less proud to tell at social events that they work for Bayer. Read More

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Recognizing the need to improve how we solve problems, we started introducing Action Learning to the organization. What started as Action Learning clinics in several departments to help identify urgent key issues grew into Action Learning in Action workshops focusing on the process experience. Problems presented ran the gamut from challenges faced at work to issues at home. Recurrent themes in these one-day sessions include employee engagement, clarity of goals, interpersonal communications, finding work-life balance, improving business unit performance and managing relationships at home. Read More

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Action Learning is the core foundation of our business school, and for our coaches and students, so it goes without saying that BSN is always on the lookout for the best way to practise and integrate Action Learning in all our operations. September marked the start of a four-day WIAL Certified Action Learning Coach training session – the renowned CALC training. Business School Netherlands considers this training the best way to further develop Action Learning skills and insights, and to establish oneself as an Action Learning Coach. Read More

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The Government is often considered to be shrouded in tradition and what some may consider dated processes. This often extends even to the methods used for the performance development of its employees. Forced to deal with the impact of global economic downturns and the increasing difficulty in sustaining growth and development in their respective countries, Caribbean nations have embarked on a master plan to create a more prosperous future. This overall strategy relies on the rapid transformation of the public sector so that government services can ably support, promote and facilitate initiatives in other sectors. Read More

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Action learning, founded by Reg Revans in the 1940s, has become a popular method for supporting leaders to tackle complex issues in organizations and develop themselves simultaneously. The method encourages leaders and teams to ask questions to stimulate critical reflection and make better decisions. The World Institute for Action Learning (WIAL) approach, founded by Dr Michael Marquart, mostly emphasizes problem-solving. As an experienced practitioner of both Appreciative Inquiry (AI) and action learning, I formulated an action learning process aligned with the essential strength-based principles. Read More

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FirstBank of Nigeria is Nigeria’s largest financial services institution (Global Finance, 2012) with over 750 branches and over 5 million customers in the Nigerian market. The bank has over 15 subsidiaries including BIC, Congo DRC, FBN Bank (UK), FBN Bank, Guinea, FBN Bank Ghana, FBN Bank Gambia, FBN Bank Sierra Leone, and representative offices in South Africa, UAE, and China. Firstbank has always been at the forefront of innovation in the financial services sector in Nigeria, being the first to launch a world-class corporate academy. Read More

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Being both professor of human management and leadership at La Rochelle Business School and a certified action learning coach, I had the opportunity to experiment with action learning with students in my courses as a new pedagogical approach to develop their leadership competencies. I have tried to use action learning in all my management courses in several educational programs (Bachelor, MBA and Master) for 3 years. Although it is still a short experience, I would like to briefly share with the WIAL community some features of this ongoing pedagogical experience. Read More

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When I joined Peace Corps for the third time in 2011, I was hired as the director of overseas staff recruitment and selection but came with an additional agenda: I was determined to promote Action Learning (AL) from within the agency. I had worked previously with the Peace Corps from 1976-1982, and again from 1993-2001 and knew the agency and its history very well. What follows is a chronicle of my attempts to introduce AL at the Peace Corps. Perhaps some of the experiences I relate, the successes and the failures, will resonate with others, and provide some useful insights as they promote AL in the federal government workplace. Read More

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The biggest organizational system in any country, I would think, would be the Government. Thus, the founders of WIAL Philippines thought that aside from our corporate clients, it was imperative that we share Action Learning to the country’s government agencies. Imagine, if all Philippine government agencies were using Action Learning solutions to our country’s problems would come faster in a spirit of co-ownership, cooperation, and collaboration! As a microcosm, WIAL Philippines is a partnership among five friends coming from three separate consultancy firms that have been in the business of Change Consultancy. Read More

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Action Learning is being used as one of the leadership development and problem-solving tools in Transitions Optical Philippines, Inc. It was rolled out at an opportune time when the organization had undergone a lot of changes over the past couple of years and the plant’s management team was in the position for an average of 3 years. The plan was to start an AL program involving management, key positions, and high potentials. A 3-day Foundations Program was rolled-out by WIAL Thailand in December 2013. Read More

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