Diving Head-First into Action Learning

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Action-learning design focuses on these essential questions in sequence: What happened? So what does this have to do with my life and work? Now what can I take forward and use?

To structure action learning from a programmatic point of view, several things need to come together. You find an appropriate project/challenge to be addressed. You build in some duration with several follow-up checkpoints…say a range of as little as 90 days, or as much as nine months. You provide individuals with personal feedback so that they have awareness of personal behaviors that may strengthen their leadership. You develop each learner's playbook to help them engage and manage through their projects. You build in a peer-coaching process to leverage each other's experiences and learning. You have finals in which projects and personal results are reviewed and assessed by the peer community and executive sponsors.

What are the benefits of action learning?

Both individuals and organizations can achieve real, ROI [return on investment]-based results. You see many lightbulbs regarding how to lead going off. The learner-leader gets recognized and validated. Whole peer communities of interest are formed and supportive relationships are created that help bridge the spaces between business units and functions. High-potential leaders (who are the bench strength of the organization) have the opportunity to interact with top executives. This is an invaluable experience for them, and for their executives! You work with, serve, and learn from terrific people who really get a chance to step up and show their stuff.

After 24 years in the field, what excites you about your work now?

I get to work across a diverse set of companies and different industries and get to play in the space where strategy, execution, and executive education all intersect. One of my latest projects involves 30 high-potential players from a Fortune 20 company who are engaged in a nine-month Leader to Leader program that is forging vital and key relationships across the future leadership of the enterprise. The power and practicality of the peer coaching and support is amazing to see. We are using some cool software to keep track of progress, and a number of small but useful content pieces that people can use in real time.

We're bringing speakers from the C suite and the board who talk about their roles as well as share stories from their personal leadership journeys. It is very rewarding in terms of both the creative process and the results.

Do you have any parting ideas for readers?

With the right action learning-based design, you can connect and develop your leadership community on a relative shoestring budget, with ROI and other tangible benefits that vastly surpass what you get from traditional training and educational programs.

I agree! Although I don't do action learning myself, I recommend this process to my clients. Several great consultants work in this space. To evaluate their credentials, I suggest that my clients take a hard look at the actual results that have been achieved. How can people reach you?

Please have anyone interested contact me at ccappy@pilotconsulting.com.

Marshall Goldsmith is the New York Times best-selling author of What Got You Here Won't Get You There—a Wall Street Journal No. 1 business book and Harold Longman Award winner for Business Book of the Year. His newest book, Succession: Are You Ready?, has just been published by the Harvard Business Press. He can be reached at Marshall@MarshallGoldsmith.com, and he provides his articles and videos online at MarshallGoldsmithLibrary.com.