Scenario: Finish Up

As an action learning coach, how would you handle the following situation: The team wants the last 15 minutes to finish up the problem instead of doing the final reflection.

Tags: Action Learning, ActionLearning Coach, Team Coach, WIAL, WIAL Action Learning, WIAL Talk

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Comments (24)

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    Paulina Gucka

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    I would ask during intervention: “Why is it important for the team to finish up instead of doing final reflection? What they gain by replacing reflection with finishing up? What they loose replacing it with finishing up the problem?” and at the end what other solutions the group see to reflect at the end and achieve their goal related to the problem.

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    Hanh Nguyen

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    I will remind the team about the name of method “Action Learning Coach” so they can understand the importance of Action and Learning. After that i will ask them how to balance between Action and Learning then the team can consider again their decision to spend the last 15 minutes.

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    Anni Townend

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    As an action learning coach I would be keen to remind the team that at the start of this the final session I had said that we would finish our work today, and that the problem presenter will be taking the work forward by way of their actions. I would also want to take a Teaching Moment, and remind the group of the importance of reflection and learning about problem solving, and developing our individual leadership skills.
    Then I would ask the Problem Presenter ‘What actions they are going to take as a result of the session’; and ask the team What they did best as a team, and What they learnt about Problem-solving and Team Building. I would make sure that I heard from everyone in the team.
    I would then ask each person about their individual skills development with examples. Finally I would ask what they could apply, learn that they could apply and is relevant to their lives and their organisation.
    If however the team had pushed back at the beginning of this the final session I would ask before the ‘Teaching Moment’ if appropriate what would be the impact on the team of staying with the problem, and what they would want to do about it.
    At this stage of my own learning and reflecting on Action Learning I would be more comfortable in sticking with the structure of Finishing with Reflection, Learning, Application and Action – so would only ask about the impact IF I felt there was time for that, the team would respond at pace, so that we could finish with learning and reflection and action.

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    Luke Tanner

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    I think this is why it’s important to remind them of the remining time they have repeatedly. In this case, I would remind them of the remaining time until the final reflection and ask them what action steps they need to take to solve their problem. It sounds like they may need another session.

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    Tuyen Van

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    As the action learning coach, I will ask the team ” Why do they want to finish up the problem in 15 minutes in stead of doing learning? ” What happened if team don’t have the learning reflection? Do they agree if the team will spend 15 more to doing the final reflection? or “How about if we do the final reflection and then team will have another action learning?”

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    Salete Deon Deon

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    As Action Learning Coach I would remind the team about the beggining of the session where I mentioned that in the end of session we will use the last 20 minutes for discussing individuals and group learnings and that is important for complete the session. After this I would ask the time “how can we manage this considering this important Action Learning Phase?

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    Andrea Nery

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    I would remember that learning with the process is a relevant part of an action learning session and final reflection contributes to consolidate individual and collective learning.
    In case all participants and I have time available I would offer additional minutes finish up the problem with the commitment to complete the reflection and learning process in the last 20 minutes of the session.
    In case we have no availability to additional time I would “how can we manage it considering this important Action Learning Phase?

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    Jessica Low

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    As an Action Learning coach, I would ask the team “Why is it important for them to use the last 15 minutes to finish up on the problem?” Depending on the answer, one is could be due to consensus of NO on the problem and they would like to work on reaching an agreement to it, I would highlight that in a session of AL, there is possibility the team may not be able to derive to the solution presented and reminding the team the definition of AL highlighting not just about problem solving but learning as individuals, as a team, & as an organisation while doing so.

    Follow up question would be “How would the team like to manage the learning process as part of AL in the last 15 minutes?”

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    Achmad Zakaria

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    Coach: “Team, what do you think the name Action Learning stands for?”
    …team answer
    “How do you think if we leave this room solving the problem but without any learning?”
    …team answer
    As coach i will put the timing strictly and then take even if it just for a short time to ask one or two team member on their reflection

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    bihong xie

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    I’ll start by showing that I understand your motivation to solve problems, and then remind you that we’re doing “action learning” workshops, where learning and problem solving are important. Then I ask, “What would happen if the team hadn’t learned to reflect?” “How do You balance learning and action?”

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    Charmaine McFarlane

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    One of the main roles for the Coach is to keep the team aware of the time and to emphasize that a big part of the learning is on how to improve the efficiency and performance of the team. At the start of the session, I would announce the schedule (we have 60 minutes total, with 15 minutes at the end for solutions/next actions). I would also ask the team why it is important to review how the team did with their leadership skills.

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    Lee Kwan Meng

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    As an Action Learning coach, I will first remind the team on the dual objectives of an Action Learning session, that is, solving a problem and learning. So my question to the team is whether those objectives will be met or not in the remaining time of 15 minutes to finish the session. It will then be up to the team to decide whether to meet the two objectives in the remaining time, and if not, which are more important to them if they cannot both objectives.

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    Jacek Romanski

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    In such a situation I’ll ask the team what can help them do to finish up the problem this moment and move to the final reflection.

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    Vien Nguyen

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    As an Action Learning Coach I would ask:
    1. What do you think the name Action Learning stands for? Why does Action Learning require final reflection?
    2. What is the impact of not doing final reflection?
    3. What can we do now?

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    Noraini Mahmood

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    As an Action Learning Coach I would ensure they understood the definition of Action Learning at the beginning of the session and keep to the process and the timing. I will also ask them what will be the impact on themselves as individuals and as a team if there’s no final reflection at the end of the session. I would then let them discuss and decide as a team what they should do.

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    Ada Chui Shan So

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    I would show my understanding on the team intention to finish up the problem. I would ask the team to create another possibility to finish up the problem, but not using that 15 minutes of doing the final reflection.

    As a Coach, one of my responsibility is to assist the team on how to improve the efficiency and performance. And, this is a scenario for the team to have learning. Learning is same important as Action (Solution).

    So, I will do the final standard reflection with additional reflection on this scenario.

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    Julia zhang

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    The coach should have introduced the role and purpose of reflection to the team members before the discussion began. At this time, I will remind the team members of the relationship between problem discussion and reflection in action learning, “problem solving” and “ability improvement”, and encourage team members to take time to reflect and improve the effectiveness of the team.

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    Dung Nguyen Thi Phuong

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    As a coach, I will remind the team about the definition of action learning. I will ask the question “What is the value of Action and Learning in Action learning session? What happens if there’s no final reflection? What would we do to ensure the balance and value that both “Action” and “Learning” bring to us?

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    Grace Wong

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    I will first express that I understand everyone’s eagerness to solve the problem, and then remind everyone that we are doing the discussion of “action learning”, and both learning and problem solving are important. Then I will ask “What will happen if a team doesn’t learn to reflect?” and “How to balance learning and action?”

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    Yunbo Guo

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    I would ask, “I have noticed that, for the last 15 minutes of the session, you are expecting to continue to focus on problem solving instead of reflection. Can you share more about your consideration about it?” “Do you think, whether we have the reflection by the end of AL session or not, what would be the possible influence on the effect of the AL project?” “What should we do to better juggle problem solving and group learning?”

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    yanjun Wang

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    I’ll first say that I understand your motivation to solve problems, and then remind all that we’re doing a AL session, where learning and problem solving are both important. Then I will ask “What happens if the team doesn’t learn to reflect?” “How to balance learning and action?”

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    Kevin Mukherjee

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    I would say to the team, it appears that we are approaching 15 minutes left and the problem is not yet resolved and the team appears eager to continue tackling the problem. I would mention to them the importance of the reflection and would ask them ‘if the team is not able to resolve the problem fully in the next 15 minutes and the team has not been able to reflect, how do you believe this will impact the team moving forward’. The intent is to show that there are no guarantees that they would finish in the 15 minutes and the at least having a reflection sets the team up for better future success.

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    Minying Qiu

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    At first, I will get to know the reason for the group to do so, and show my understanding about their eagerness to solve the problem soon. I will also express my hesitation and concerns about this issue, thus help the group to review the three goals of the AL session, i.e., problem solving, group learning and individual learning. Then I will ask, “In the following 10-15 minutes, how can we balance the achievement of these goals?” “If we can’t fulfill all the learning goals, what is the impact on problem solving?” “Any possible impacts more?”

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    Jing Bao

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    I would ask for the reasons why the team wants to do this, expressing my understanding on everyone’s anxiety to solve the problem. At the same time, I would invite the participants to review the objectives of the discussion as well as the progress they have made in problem-solving, team learning, and individual learning. I would ask, “Based on the overall objectives of this action learning session, how do we strike a balance and make trade-offs?”

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