In tough economic times, organizations want evidence that their investment in training is paying off. With increased competition for budget dollars, more companies are utilizing action learning as the vehicle to develop and train their current and future leaders.

Action learning as a training concept has been around since the 1940’s, but it is becoming popular today because of the increasing demand that training programs demonstrate a real bottom line impact. The concept was originally developed by the late Reg Revans and is now used by such industry leaders as GE, AT&T, Coca Cola, Dow and Whirlpool.

So just what is action learning?
Action learning is a project-based process that brings together a group of people with diverse skills and knowledge and charges them with the responsibility for analyzing and solving a problem that has no pre-determined answer. By its very nature, action learning cannot be taught in a training class. Sure, some basic concepts can be taught, but the true learning happens in the “real world” lab.

Action learning breaks out of the box of traditional training methods. In traditional training participants learn “programmed” knowledge and study problems that have “known” right answers. In traditional training the emphasis is on learning information, skills, knowledge and techniques that can be applied and measured in specific ways.

Conversely, action learning moves out of the classroom and into the real world where problems have no pre-determined right answers. The focus is on learning through the use of focused questioning, taking planned actions, and reflecting on the outcomes. It requires individuals to use their technical knowledge and skills, interpersonal skills, personal leadership abilities and creative problem solving skills to address an issue or problem that is vital to the organization. The process of solving the problem provides the vehicle by which learning takes place. Participants learn from fellow team members, non-team peers, organizational leadership, customers, and sometimes through interactions with the broader community.

The lessons learned in action learning are not as predictable as those in traditional classroom style learning. There will be personal growth in some expected areas, but the individual and the organization must be open to growth in other unplanned and unforeseen areas. This type of learning provides both the individual and the organization the greatest benefit.

Why do companies use it?
Why do companies and organizations as diverse as GE and the Department of Veterans Affairs both embrace the concept of action learning? Simply, it is because it gets results. Individuals develop critical knowledge and skills while adding specifically to the organization’s collective knowledge. Action learning teams have a record of improving processes, eliminating waste, solving entrenched problems and, in many cases, adding directly to the bottom line.

To learn more about Action Learning, check out the World Institute for Action Learning website at http://www.wial.org. For a look at several free articles and a slide show that provides lots more great information, check out their articles section at http://www.wial.org/publications/.

Bookmark to: