Action Learning Facilitation (in-person or virtual)

Description of the Workshop

The Action Learning process is in demand around the world as a powerful and practical process to successfully address complex problems and opportunities. The leverage points for successful Action Learning are the quality of program design and facilitation.

This interactive workshop is useful for those wanting to learn how to successfully facilitate Action Learning for a variety of applications and outcomes. The workshop will develop valuable skills for those in learning and development, human resources, organization development, and leadership and management.

This workshop can be customized according to the nature and needs of participants, including to those who have learned one specific model of Action Learning and/or coaching, and who want to learn more models for more applications and outcomes. The workshop also can be provided in-person or virtually.

Outcomes for Workshop Participants

Expertise, guidelines and resources to facilitate high-quality Action Learning meetings for a variety of outcomes and applications
Practice facilitation and get feedback from a master Action Learning practitioner and from peers
Ability to promote the core mindsets underlying Action Learning.
Strong skills to guide and support group members to select the best priorities to address, frame and clarify them, and select relevant, realistic and challenging actions to address them
Act as learning agent for members to recognize, capture and disperse learnings from reflection on coaching and actions
Practical guidelines and tools to evaluate the quality of the meetings, facilitation and members' results from Action Learning
Ability to recognize and address challenges that can arise in Action Learning facilitation
Deepened understanding of various approaches and designs of Action Learning and where each can be used
Ability to successfully initiate Action Learning, including partnering with the client and sponsor during program and group planning, development and implementation
Helping members recognize types of learning, and capture and disperse learnings about Action Learning, groups and organizations
Evaluating quality of meetings, facilitation and members' outcomes
Practical guidebooks for coaching and facilitating
Guidelines and slide deck to introduce Action Learning
Trusted network of fellow practitioners

Typical Topics in the Workshop

Topics can be customized as needed for participants. For example, the workshop can be tailored primarily for single-project Action Learning where all group members are focused on addressing a common priority. The workshop also can be tailored primarily for multi-project Action Learning where each member of the group works on his or her priority. The workshop typically is tailored to address both types of Action Learning programs.

The Designing Action Learning Programs Workshop goes into more detail about planning and developing an overall Action Learning program, even before facilitation begins. See that workshop listed under Trainings near the top of this webpage.

Foundations of Facilitation

Goals and responsibilities of the facilitator role
Useful (and not so useful) skills for facilitators
Typical concerns of first-time facilitators
Different formats of Action Learning
Dynamics of Action Learning groups
Phases of development of Action Learning groups, and the nature and roles of facilitation needed by each phase
Promoting the conditions for success of group formation, development and performance

Supporting Action Learning Program Development

Strategies to introduce Action Learning to organizations
Contracting between facilitator and program client and/or sponsor
Coordinating with the program's client (if singe-project where all members are working to address the same priority)
Coordinating with the program's sponsor
Supporting sponsor to clarify program's goals and outcomes (and client, if single-project)
Designing and developing Action Learning groups (and working with sponsor, if applicable)

Facilitating Action Learning Meetings

Startup
- Understanding client's and sponsor's program plans
- Personal and practical considerations when getting ready for group facilitation
- Verifying suitability of facilities and materials
Training members
- Enrolling / contracting with facilitators and other members
- Training and equipping group members to successfully do their roles
- Establishing ground rules to suit nature of group members
Facilitating sessions
- Planning and conducting first Action Learning meeting
- Helping group members select the best priorities to work on
- Cultivating skills in questioning, framing and reflection
- Guiding members' selection and commitment to relevant, realistic and challenging actions
- Helping members recognize types of learning, and capture and disperse learnings about Action Learning, groups and organizations
- Evaluating quality of meetings, facilitation and members' outcomes
Special topics
- Most common challenges in facilitation and how to address each
- Supporting groups to be self-facilitating
- Enriching and renewing Action Learning groups
- Sharing non-confidential information with sponsors (and the client, if single-project Action Learning)
- Designing and delivering appropriate reports and presentations to sponsors and clients

Diverse Methods of Development in the Workshop

The workshop includes five to six participants in one cohort group to allow time for individual attention, practice and feedback in the workshop. Methods include:

An approximate one to two hours of self-paced pre-reading and /or videos to gain highly practical guidelines, templates and tools before the workshop.
Focused and practical presentations by faculty, with plenty of time for Q&A.
Extensive facilitation practice sessions, with plenty of time for Q&A and feedback from faculty and fellow learners.
Participants complete a Learning Journal with reflections, learning and possible applications for Action Learning.
Workshop is facilitated by instructor(s) with extensive experience in in-person and virtual training of Action Learning facilitation to a diverse set of learners.
Each learner gets access to practical tools as they need them from our vast toolbox of tools.

Workshop Formats: In-Person or Virtual

In-person: Two full days from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with lunch and breaks

Virtual: Five three-hour modules, each three hours long with a break

CEUs and Certificate

Learners who successfully completed the prerequisite workshop (below) and this workshop will receive "Certificate in Action Learning Facilitation" from Action Learning Source.
CEUs are provided from George Mason University.

NOTE: There is no independent "certification" organization in the field of Action Learning, for example, like the independent International Coach Federation is for the profession of personal and professional coaching. "Independent" means that the certification organization does not concurrently promote and provide certification on its own particular model of Action Learning, while suggesting that it concurrently is the certification organization of other and different models.

Prerequisite

The Many Faces of Action Learning -- An Introduction to Innovative Approaches

The prerequisite might be negotiated, based on the current capabilities of the learner.

Workshop Instructors

Chuck Appleby, PhD, of Appleby & Associates, is a master Action Learning coach and facilitator with extensive experience in Action Learning planning, development and instruction.
Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, of Authenticity Consulting, LLC, is also a master Action Learning coach and facilitator, and is an internationally known thought leader in customizing Action Learning programs and processes.
Chuck and Carter are organizational and leadership development consultants with over 30 years of management, consulting and coaching experience in government, industry and non-profits.

Formats and Fees

In-person: $1,290

Virtual: $950 (virtual workshop includes no travel expenses for students)

Scheduling and Registration

Workshops are scheduled when there are at least five participants for a workshop. Scheduling is per the participants' and faculty member's schedules.
Contact Action Learning Source at info@ActionLearningSource.com

" Thank you Chuck for an outstanding presentation. This is the first time that I have seen our members stay engaged at their tables for any length of time after the monthly program ended; a testimony to the model action learning and your use of it in a limited period of time."
—Director of Training, Northern Virginia Non-Profit