Organizational Development for Knowledge Management at Water ...

Action Learning 1
A process involving a small group of people learning as they solve real problems.
Supports: problem solving, individual and group learning, team collaboration
LEVEL OF EFFORT
SIZE OF UTILITY
SCOPE OF WORK
LOW
SCALABLE
WIDE
People learn by doing. Action Learning is task oriented and can be useful for approaching
narrowly-focused issues. Action learning involves the formation of a small group of people who
share common issues, goals or learning needs. This group, called an action learning set,
works to resolve issues and achieve these goals together, meeting regularly, about once a
month, to reflect on progress, issues and solutions and refine the way forward. The team is able
to brainstorm on alternative approaches or offer advice to an individual on how to proceed in
achieving specific goals. Emphasis is on trying new things and evaluating the results.
A simple methodology for the group is to (1) Identify the task and learning opportunity, (2)
Plan together, (3) Act, (4) Reflect, (5) Share, and (6) Close out.
(1) Identify Task and Learning Opportunity
This begins with determining the objectives of the action learning program and forming the
action learning set. An action learning set is ideally 5-8 people in size to allow for good
discussion within the sessions. Assign somebody to facilitate the group meeting sessions,
asking questions of the participants to draw out the key learning points. Define how often the
group will meet and some ground rules for the meetings. Identify any subject matter experts
who might be able to come and talk to the group. Discuss with the team the development
needs and job challenges that might be addressed by action learning. Not all of the members of
the set will necessarily have the same development need, but these should be similar. It is
important for the group to understand the development needs of the individuals within the group
and any development needs of the group as a whole.
(2) Plan Together
The official start of an action learning program should be in the form of a start-up workshop.
Ideally the workshop should be held off site to allow the participants to spend time away from
the usual distractions of the workplace. Included in the agenda for the workshop should be time
for the following activities:
Develop personal learning plans and a common view of the purpose of the action
learning set
Declare individual objectives for membership in this action learning set and
identifying medium and short-term actions that can be taken to progress towards
those objectives. Ask how the group will know when objectives have been reached
or how progress will be measured.
Identify opportunities to apply new ideas and learning points into the workplace.
1 Adapted from the Department of the Navy cPort Toolkit
C-2
©2011 Water Research Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.