Today I had six full hours of virtual meetings. Some were on Zoom, some WhatsApp, some Microsoft Teams. Others just used standard telephone conferencing. Whatever the technology, the impact was the same: I spent a lot of time sitting at my desk listening, while I wrote in my notebook and stared at my screen or out my office window. I like to think I’m a good remote worker. After a decade of remote working at Microsoft and nearly five years as an independent consultant, I certainly have many years of practice. Read More

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WIAL Brazil used Action Learning as a blended solution (Action Learning plus individual coaching meetings) to develop leadership skills for an executive director and his team of six direct reports in the automotive industry, listed in Fortune 500. The team is in charge of the Logistics Department, responsible for strategies in Supply Chain and economic results for the plant. “Listening to different perspectives through questions shed light onto the problem and therefore the solution became clear.” Read More

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As Action Learning coaches, we intervene when we see learning opportunities or to improve the performance of the group. Deciding when and how to intervene can be tricky. We must pick the right moments, role model powerful questioning, and really consider the impact we want to have through the interventions we make. When I’m coaching, there are certain dynamics I really watch for where I know the group may need extra support. One such situation is when someone asks a question to the rest of the group, particularly when the questioner is the problem presenter. Read More

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Research confirms that when people feel safe within a team they will perform better; they willingly take risks, actively contribute, and work hard knowing that they can depend on the others in the team to support them and put in as much effort. In a business context, this is called ‘team psychological safety’ (TPS) and it is the key to high-performance teams. But how is TPS measured and what can leaders do to promote higher levels of TPS within their teams? Peter Cauwelier at TEAM.AS.ONE, Action Learning team coach, has a solution that brings measurable improvements in psychological safety and performance. Read More

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Do you know the percentage of people who consider themselves engaged at work? According to Gallup World Poll with data collected in 155 countries between 2014 and 2016, only 15% of the workers consider themselves engaged at work, that is, who feel committed to their work and motivated to be highly productive for being involved and enthusiastic about the work they do. Gallup also studied the positive impact of engaged workers on business and presented in the State of the Global Workplace report indicators. Read More

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I was fascinated by the book “Why Motivating People Doesn’t Work … and What Does.” written by Susan Fowler (Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc. San Francisco) The author corroborates the notion that the ‘Carrot and Stick’ approach does not work and it is best to develop intrinsic factors to motivate people to do better. Of course, extrinsic rewards work to a point, but how far can an organization go in advancing pay, extending benefits, and offering incentives to enhance output. The fact is, motivation via bonuses, recognition as an employee of the month, highest achiever, or flex time to accommodate an employee’s personal need. Read More

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Action Learning is powerful for finding breakthrough solutions to complex problems and to embed leadership development in the normal working practices. Results on these two dimensions are often very clear and visible. Building high-performance teams is one of the “solutions” that Action Learning brings, but here the results are more often anecdotal testimonials from team members about better listening and better ‘connections’ with the others in the team. How can we go beyond anecdotal evidence and really “measure” how a team’s strength evolves when applying Action Learning? Read More

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One of the most powerful questions I’ve been asked within the Action Learning community is this: HOW HAS ACTION LEARNING CHANGED YOUR LIFE?? Michael Marquardt, founder of Action Learning, asked me this question 3 years ago during the WIAL Global Conference in Shanghai. It was during a break, in between sessions. I was stunned, yet surprised myself with an instant and heartfelt answer. Then Michael built on my answer, with a response that struck me to the core and dramatically shifted my perspective about the real power of Action Learning. Read More

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In 2016-2017, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) launched six action learning teams in its Leadership Excellence and Achievement Program (LEAP). Projects ranged from improvements to hiring processes to streamlining mandatory training for attorneys, to developing agency-wide professional development programs. The six teams were led by trained Action Learning coaches using the WIAL method of action learning. Projects concluded in July 2017 with each team providing final reports to their agency executive sponsor as well as learning briefings for the DOJ Chief Human Capital Officer. Read More

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It all started in the South of France in September 2019. I began an Action Learning leadership program in a state organization responsible for the payment of pensions to retirees. A multi-phases plan starting with upper management and strategic executives had been decided. Action Learning was to gently accompany the managerial transformation of the organization. A two-year transformation plan through collaborative intelligence had been designed to change the managerial posture of the entire structure of an organization that employs 100 managers and 800 employees. Read More

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In the six years Dr. Thitiwan Sinthunok taught Human Resource Management at the Panyapiwat Institute of Management’s MBA program, one recurring challenge students faced was to determine what subject to select for their research and final thesis. It is one thing to write a thesis and make it worthwhile of the Masters’ diploma. But Dr. Thitiwan saw that the biggest struggle was to get started: not for lack of determination, but for lack of clarity about what they should focus their thesis on. Some were simply stuck. Others kept changing the topic and wasted time along the way. Read More

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It wasn’t just the millennial workforce, the volume of employees, or even the VUCA (volatile, unpredictable, complex, ambiguous) environment that presented the biggest challenge to Nestlé Infant Nutrition (NIN)’s Field Managers when they attended the first-ever Leadership in Flight Training (LiFT) — it was the lost art of asking questions. Asking powerful and insightful questions was one of the key skills needed for the LiFT Program, centered on the Action Learning (AL) method. Brenda Labastida, Field Manager of Luzon says, it took her and her teammates two whole hours to warm-up enough to get the ball rolling. Read More

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The New York Public Library is proud to offer Action Learning sessions for its business leaders as an option to solving complex business challenges. I have noted that the individuals participating (through their self-reflection and practice) have shown improved decision-making and coaching skills. Although Action Learning is admired as a tool to solve problems at the Library, it has yet to be seen as a form of leadership development; Library leaders prefer more traditional methods of learning such as facilitated sessions. Read More

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Since taking Action Learning training in December 2016 I have used it on several occasions in North Africa and the Middle East. I lead a program for emerging leaders and we used Action Learning as a key component. We divided the current group into 3 teams, each working on a situation that needed to be improved or an area of opportunity. The teams worked together for about 6 months and were formed to have variety of nationalities and for each person to be with others they don’t normally work with. I enjoyed watching them work at using the leadership characteristics they chose. Read More

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The projects the student teams work on are real business challenges faced by organizations, and the teams present their work to the company’s top management. This experience definitely gives them a step ahead once they enter into a professional role. The program’s success only put more challenges ahead of Professor Higano, because he was recently asked to expand the program over all departments of the university! The WIAL India team definitely put the bar for future editions pretty high. I am sure Cleo Wolff and the Brazil team are all excited for the 2015 Brazil Global Forum! Read More

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