What is Action Learning?
Action Learning is the full integration of working, learning, improving and innovating in an organic way.
Action Learning is a change and team growth method. Based on the premise that the wisdom is in teams and the ability to unlock this wisdom is a responsibility of all team members.
The Action Learning Coach helps team members reflect on the progress of their group functioning (behavior and process). And in breaking through existing conditioning that no longer contributes to the growth of the team and its results.
A team engaged in action learning develops a working climate in which team members also discuss their mistakes, uncertainty and ignorance. In order to learn from and with each other and strive maximally to successfully realize the ambitions.
Action learning is a team process of insightful questioning and reflective listening. The simple rules of action learning force team members to think critically and work together. Not immediately into action mode, but first slowing down where necessary to then accelerate.
The process of reaching decision making is accelerated and improved in quality and support with the organization of the Action Learning - Consent Decision Making method. Team members feel truly heard, growing even more secure in wisdom and commitment. Learning to understand and solve real problems becomes easier as a result.
An Action Learning Team masters the dynamics of the Team Performance Loop elements. These are: purpose, bonding, psychological safety, addressing, questioning and reflection. This allows growth to be made to the level of a High Performing Team.
The above is also possible at the departmental, organizational and sector level with the establishment of an Action Learning Community of Practice.
A learning organization emerges and a higher level of commitment and meaningful work begins to be experienced. As a result, the connection between people, goals and results grows.
Steps in development
Team Performance Loop
Underlying the Action Learning Steering Model are the six elements of the Team Performance Loop.
In the development phase to a High Performing Team, the team must be helped in learning to see how they are conditioned. They no longer see that themselves! With the help of this mirror, team members are going to have the real conversation with each other about this. This is not easy because there is conditioning of behavior and process. This is an important reason to have an external Action Learning Coach guide the process in the first phase. This instead of a team member or an internal coach or HR colleague. This also gives a different value to addressing, questioning and reflecting.
WIAL Netherlands integrates Action Learning with its own challenge in your work as strategy formulation, program and project management, management development, team development and any conceivable problem or opportunity.
With Action Learning, team members work simultaneously to improve collaboration, team process, team behavior, discover the real problem behind the symptoms, discover relevant and new solution directions.
Learning stays in the organization
Research shows that up to 5% of team members do 20 to 25% of the work and that organizations hire consultants to bring knowledge into the organization.
With Action Learning, each individual on the team is going to be heard and contribute more to the team. A culture is created where learning from and with each other is the most normal thing in the world.
Team becomes expert in solving
complex problems
Research shows that conditioning in a team often leads to an immediate action mode on a symptom. As a result, the real problem is not solved! Often prompted by only some of the team members and based on, for example, "misplaced" hierarchy, expertise and assumptions.
With Action Learning, both individuals and the team learn to discover whether there is a problem or a complex issue. In the case of a problem, the team can devise and do actions immediately. In the case of a complex problem, the team first learns to slow down to better understand it, arrive at new solution directions and learn and improve during implementation.
Exponential growth of connection
between people and purpose
Research shows that 80% of teams do not live up to expectations! Symptoms by which you can recognize this include working past each other, hassle and social laziness!
With Action Learning, it's all about the degree of cooperation! The prerequisite for this is psychological safety. Science has shown that asking questions leads to a better connection between people. And that psychological safety grows with this, because I feel more heard. This has a positive effect on my involvement with my colleague and with the team goal. Acton Learning's structure secures this process.
Huge increase in
the innovative capacity
Research shows that 66% of teams fail to come up with better ideas and make better decisions than the best team member could do on their own!
With Action Learning, the wisdom is extracted from the team. Through which the real problem is discovered and based on this the team will discover new solution directions. With the Action Learning Consent Decision Method, the team members experience that decision making becomes better, faster and supported. The structure of Acton Learning secures this process.
Teams become high-performing
Research shows that working in teams leads to an average yield loss of 25%. As teams get larger, this increases to as much as 75% yield loss!
With Action Learning, on the other hand, collaboration and psychological safety grows. An Action Learning team masters the dynamics of the six elements of the Team Performance Loop: purpose, bonding, safety, addressing, questioning and reflection. This makes mistakes, uncertainty and unfamiliarity negotiable. A prerequisite for being a learning team and a learning organization. Moreover, research shows that social idleness decreases as teams get smaller. This is one of the reasons that an action learning team has six to eight people. Moreover, in addition to the role of problem contributor and participant, an Action Learning Team also has the role of observer and action learning coach. This allows for infinite learning and improvement and can prevent loss of efficiency.
Learning stays in the organization
Research shows that up to 5% of team members do 20 to 25% of the work and that organizations hire consultants to bring knowledge into the organization.
With Action Learning, each individual on the team is going to be heard and contribute more to the team. A culture is created where learning from and with each other is the most normal thing in the world.
Team becomes expert in solving
complex problems
Research shows that conditioning in a team often leads to an immediate action mode on a symptom. As a result, the real problem is not solved! Often prompted by only some of the team members and based on, for example, "misplaced" hierarchy, expertise and assumptions.
With Action Learning, both individuals and the team learn to discover whether there is a problem or a complex issue. In the case of a problem, the team can devise and do actions immediately. In the case of a complex problem, the team first learns to slow down to better understand it, arrive at new solution directions and learn and improve during implementation.
Exponential growth of connection
between people and purpose
Research shows that 80% of teams do not live up to expectations! Symptoms by which you can recognize this include working past each other, hassle and social laziness!
With Action Learning, it's all about the degree of cooperation! The prerequisite for this is psychological safety. Science has shown that asking questions leads to a better connection between people. And that psychological safety grows with this, because I feel more heard. This has a positive effect on my involvement with my colleague and with the team goal. Acton Learning's structure secures this process.
Huge increase in
the innovative capacity
Research shows that 66% of teams fail to come up with better ideas and make better decisions than the best team member could do on their own!
With Action Learning, the wisdom is extracted from the team. Through which the real problem is discovered and based on this the team will discover new solution directions. With the Action Learning Consent Decision Method, the team members experience that decision making becomes better, faster and supported. The structure of Acton Learning secures this process.
Teams become high-performing
Research shows that working in teams leads to an average yield loss of 25%. As teams get larger, this increases to as much as 75% yield loss!
With Action Learning, on the other hand, collaboration and psychological safety grows. An Action Learning team masters the dynamics of the six elements of the Team Performance Loop: purpose, bonding, safety, addressing, questioning and reflection. This makes mistakes, uncertainty and unfamiliarity negotiable. A prerequisite for being a learning team and a learning organization. Moreover, research shows that social idleness decreases as teams get smaller. This is one of the reasons that an action learning team has six to eight people. Moreover, in addition to the role of problem contributor and participant, an Action Learning Team also has the role of observer and action learning coach. This allows for infinite learning and improvement and can prevent loss of efficiency.
Action Learning Teams solve complex problems
With Action Learning, the team solves problems and develops personal leadership skills at the same time. This is because of the simple rules that force participants to think critically and work together.
Action Learning is particularly effective for solving complex problems that seem unsolvable. It elevates the standards, cooperation, creativity and courage of groups.
The Action Learning Team Coach helps team members reflect on the progress of their group functioning; Team behavior and team process. And provides tools to increase quality and effectiveness. Team members take ownership of the content.
In this way, action learning participants become effective leaders while solving difficult problems.
On the power of Action Learning in transforming teams and organizations
Triple certification
WIAL Netherlands Certified Action Learning Coach
WIAL is an ICF-accredited training provider and the WIAL CALC certification is an accredited ICF CCE program.
The School Leaders Registry has accredited the WIAL leadership program ECALC (Certified Action Learning Coach) with ID number 490754 with 95% re-registration value.
Each participant in the CALC training will receive a Certificate of Participation with credits. Upon successful completion of CALC training, participant will receive an international CALC certification and a CALC badge.
Some clients on the benefits
of WIAL for their organization
"By asking questions, we get to a deeper layer of the problem. That we lift the problem to a common problem and can take action on it.
This increases support. The problem and solutions belong to the group. And it works surprisingly easily."
Marco van Bers
Director Primary Education Foundation de Waarden
"By using Action Learning, we were able to look behind the symptoms.
Not the solution was presented, but the right questions were asked to see the problem clearly.
After that, the solution was obvious and could be implemented in a very short time."
Christian Adriaans
Geschäftsführer Adriaans & Lauhoff GmBH
"Surprisingly, and for me, the power of Action Learning is that teams learn to look for the real problem, instead of immediately shooting into solution mode based on assumptions or group dynamics.
That approach then pays off in effectiveness of the solutions and support in the team."
The CALC program has made me aware of how important it is to really listen before asking a question.
Aleida Mienstra
Associate/Coach Institute of Executive Coaching and Leadership (IECL)
