Action Learning Facilitation - Charlotte Crowe Consulting

Action Learning Facilitation (Group Coaching)

This brilliant little video clip from the School for Social Entrepreneurs neatly captures what action learning (or group coaching) entails and why it’s such an incredibly powerful process when people come together in a group to explore and unpack complex problems and identify innovative solutions.

I am a qualified Action Learning Facilitator, trained by Action Learning Associates and endorsed by the ILM, part of the City & Guilds Group.

How does Action Learning work?

Made up of about 8 people, the group (or ‘set’ in action learning language) may consist of members of the same project team, managers from across the organisation seeking to develop their leadership skills, or even complete strangers sharing similar challenges across different organisations.

Facilitated by me, the group usually meet for a minimum of 6 x 1 hour sessions (between a week and a month apart), each centred around a problem that one group member is facing.

Once the problem is presented, the other group members ask open exploratory questions to help the presenter unpack the problem and identify some concrete actions.

At the beginning of the next session, there is an opportunity to report back to the group on the results of actions taken, closing the loop before kicking off with the next session.

Action Learning Process Map.

Source: Action Learning Associates

Examples Action Learning Facilitation (Group Coaching)

Project Team Action Learning (in-house)

I facilitated a series of online action learning sessions with a newly formed team at one of my international development clients to encourage innovation and identify creative solutions to some very complex problems.

As well as the positive results for the projects themselves, the team used the experience as a vehicle to develop strong interpersonal relationships and high levels of psychological safety.

Leadership Development Action Learning (cross-sector)

Committed to continuing my own professional development, I regularly facilitate an action learning set with other Organisational Development (OD) professionals and leaders across a range of sectors, including health, social care and charities.