Revans (Citation1983) vision of action learning is positioned as a way of both developing people and organisations ‘it is that managers learn most with and from other managers while all are engaged in the solution of current problems about which something needs to be done’ and throughout the following three accounts of practice we see the interplay between both individual and organisational development and the implications for the facilitator as they work in the service of change. Winning introducing us to culture change driven by the need to be creative and innovative, Tang working with managers to meet the rapidly evolving business world in China and Dolapcioglu exploring the skills that the next generation in Turkey will need and changes in teacher education to support this.
The contexts are different as are the authors differing perspectives – the co CEO of a private company with no previous experience of action learning, the Leadership Development Consultant whose organisation is a leading exponent of action learning in China and in a University a lecturer who uses action learning in the development of teachers. We are exposed, through these differing perspectives and insights, to the experiences of being the designer/sponsor of the programme, or as Revans (Citation2012) termed the accoucheur, and the facilitator of action learning in a way that can enrich and inform our own practice.
In Fostering a culture of creativity and innovation Colin Winning offers us an account of how he explored the culture of the RESDIARY a software company where he has been recently promoted to co CEO. He describes the previous CEO as having a ‘Theory X management style as one where a manager provides all the ideas, tells employees how to deliver these, and rewards, punishes, and controls employees where necessary’. There was a recognition there was a need to foster innovation in the workforce however the old style of management had ‘left employees with a working mindset that is difficult to change’. Colin focused his attention on the creation of a highly motivated workforce who would shape the company’s vision. His account of practice explores the power and politics of introducing change and reflects on his own position in being the sponsor of change. He then explores in detail the key moments in introducing action learning. The first the scouting stage where he used an employee survey, a leadership focus group and employee group interviews the combined results of which he describes set the scene for introducing action learning into the company. However still in the accoucheur stage Colin explored whether the organisation was ready for the initiative before creating the two sets. The doubts as the sets started and the subsequent highs and lows are explored in detail before the future plans are laid before us. Throughout the importance of the sponsorship imperative, a thorough understanding of the organisation and the attention to the power and politics of differing stakeholders is highlighted.
Tang Changjun offers an account of practice, Using action learning for the development of senior leaders in China, which explores the accoucheur role from an external consultant perspective and we journey with him as he goes through different negotiation stages with the contracting organisation to develop a programme of action learning. One that would address organisational challenges and in parallel develop managers in a company that has experienced such rapid growth that it had posed significant challenges for cultural integration and leadership development. Changjun takes us through the stages of development and the creation of resources and well as some key decisions regarding space and the details of how he tried to establish trust
in order to create a more open and safer climate, participants were invited to use each other’s nicknames instead of more formal titles, including me. I noticed how even small changes in personal title could greatly increase the sense of closeness and familiarity.
Changjun returns to both the role of the accoucheur and facilitator in his evaluation of the experience. He reflects on the process of problem-solving, and the parallel model of both organisational and individual development in the design of the programme and how an understanding of participants learning needs/leadership style and following up learning achievements supported him in his role as facilitator.
Finally, we move to Turkey and Dolapçıoglu’s account of practice Action Learning in teacher education for teaching 21st-century thinking skills where she explores the initiative to equip pre-school teachers with the ability and tools to develop higher-order thinking skills to children as promulgated by the Government.
Sevda sets out to discover whether ‘The power of AL could be harnessed to transfer the changing approaches in teaching thinking skills to teachers’ The first part of the account takes us through the design how action learning was integrated into a wider programme, and the second into the research evaluation into the programme as well as Sevda’s experience of facilitation. In reporting the findings we are given an insight into the impact of the programme on participants using three headings Programmed knowledge, Questioning Insight and Reflection. Sevda also reveals the unexpected reflections and sometimes anger of participants in relation to their own past experience ‘pre-service teachers questioned the teaching methods they had undergone as students themselves’. Our attention is also drawn to how action learning supported new ways of thinking whilst highlighting awareness to the invisible obstacles between theory and practice. Sevda draws on previous studies in education settings in her conclusion that action learning can be a catalyst for changing practices in the development of teaching higher-order thinking skills with pre-school teachers.
These reflexive accounts of practice of both the design and facilitation of action learning programmes offer an opportunity to explore our own practice in both roles within our own organisation, profession or as an external contractor.
They each demonstrate that action learning does support change at both an individual, organisational and professional level and of the importance noted by Revans (Citation2012) that ‘No organisation is likely to embrace action learning unless there is some person within it ready to fight on its behalf … ’.