Readings:
Marquardt, M. J. (2004). Chapter 8: Introducing, implementing, and sustaining action learning.
Optimizing the Power of Action Learning: Solving Problems and Building Leaders in Real Time.
Yarmouth, ME, USA: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.
Pedler, M., & Abbott, C. (2013). Chapter 1: Action learning: Its origins and principles.
Facilitating Action Learning: A Practitioner’s Guide. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education.
[EBSCO eBook Collection]
Passmore, J. (2011). Chapter 3: Action learning supervision for coaches. Supervision in
Coaching: Supervision, Ethics, and Continuous Professional Development. London: Kogan
Page. [EBSCO eBook Collection]
Kristiansen, T. (2010). Align corporate learning with strategy setting. [Books24x7 version]
For this assignment, pretend that you are a leadership development
coach assigned to help some organizations fix their action learning
programs. For each of the scenarios below, explain what you think went
wrong and how it could be fixed based on what you have learned about
action learning in the background readings. For each of the three
scenarios, explain your diagnosis and use at least one citation from the
required readings to support your diagnosis. Your paper should be two to
three pages in length:
1. A group of 20 from different departments from within an organization
is put together to form an action learning set. At their meetings, every
person is allowed to present and receive feedback from other set
members and their coach. At first they are allowed to present and
receive feedback for a half hour each but group members become
exhausted from 10 hour meetings. Then this time is cut to 5 minutes
per person but group members feel they are unable to learn or get
adequate feedback from their coach and other group members in this
amount of time.
2. A CEO picks an important problem for an action learning group
consisting of five senior managers. The group meets every month for
a full day for nine months. After nine months, each group member
feels that they have learned a lot from receiving feedback every
month and has improved several areas of their leadership skills. The
group presents to the CEO a detailed plan along with steps they have
already taken to help solve the problem and the results they have
seen. But the CEO is upset because they didn’t come up with the
solution the wanted and orders the group out of his office.
3. A group of several managers is put together to form an action
learning set. The group members are very motivated to start this
program and excited about the possibilities for developing their skills.
The facilitator for the action learning program is a top assistant to the
CEO. During group meetings, team members are reluctant to discuss
difficulties they are facing in their tasks. Whenever a team member
gives a presentation, they tend to only discuss positive experiences
and they never criticize the organization.