Writing creatively about action learning: insights from practitioners

Abstract

The accounts of practice in this edition explore a diverse range of perspectives on action learning from the UK, Germany and the Basque Country and raise issues relating to facilitation, organisational learning and self-reflection. However, they are also notable for their use of literary devices to illustrate and illuminate the stories that they tell. The first account is Thinking in Colour from Neal-Smith, Bishop and Townley, three academics at a UK Business School. Their account is prompted by the review of a postgraduate module that had aimed to develop critical reflection and reflexivity skills among students through the use of self-directed action learning sets. The module had not been as successful as expected and the academics decided to set up their own action learning set to address the issues of student engagement and improve their own proficiency in teaching reflective skills. Through the action learning sets, they shared their personal stories and experiences, discussed imposter syndrome and the challenges students face in developing critical reflection skills. These reflections led to the introduction of trained facilitators into the module, leading to improved student participation and engagement. A distinctive feature of this account is the development of a visual metaphor called a mandala to explain the process of reflection and to represent the complex dimensions of ongoing personal development. The second account, Making action learning our own: A story from the Basque Country, by Errazquin, Agirre, Miner & Murphy reports on an initiative in the province of Gipuzkoa, where action learning has been used to underpin a new collaborative model of political governance. The initiative aims to transform the way politics is practised and foster community capacity to address contemporary challenges. This account of practice highlights the successful adoption and adaptation of action learning within the council by drawing on the authors’ experiences as participants and facilitators, and on three pen portraits – composite narratives based on qualitative interviews – to identify success factors and barriers to implementation. The key success factors are identified as: the involvement of multiple participants and perspectives to provide challenge and generate transformation; the creation of pockets of optimism; and the development of internal facilitators. However, tensions related to confidentiality, reflection and addressing institutional barriers were also encountered. The final account of practice from Thomas Radke is Sentimental Education – Learning from action to become an action learning facilitator. Radke shares his personal journey and the experiences he encountered while developing as a facilitator. Echoing Gustave Flaubert’s novel, the narrator starts the story with grand aspirations and ambitions, but encounters a number of harsh realities which result in some disillusionment and loss of innocence. He notes the scarcity of empirical studies on facilitator development and through deep critical self-reflection aims to provide insights that can aid others in their journey to become action learning facilitators. The account then traces the steps taken to become a facilitator, including attending training programmes, offering action learning sessions, and engaging in various events, but it is only through facilitating different sets and working with diverse participants