Good communication throughout your business is the key to successful, continuous change.

Continuous change is now a core process for a world-class business. This often means that projects cross functional boundaries as the business becomes leaner and works smarter. The result is that businesses need to learn faster and more efficiently.

This means that new ways of communicating and learning need to be found. Ways that promote closer working and share knowledge between functions and business units.

Action Learning Promotes Networking and Effective Problem-Solving.

Action Learning is an effective, low-cost tool that can be used to promote learning, sharing knowledge, collaboration and networking between functions and business units.

A one-day Action Learning Workshop sets you up with an Action Learning Set that manages functions or business units within a company or a group of companies where the units effectively run as small to medium-sized companies.

Action Learning is simple and, once learnt, does not need experts.

The format of an Action Learning Set is very simple. Once learnt, the participants can then run sets of their own. This is the key. If the first person to be a part of the set is the Managing Director, then on experiencing an Action Learning day, they can set up cross-functional teams to promote closer working and networking across their company’s functions.

Action Learning promotes better questioning and understanding.

Action Learning is designed to be simple but effective. It uses a format that allows the person with the problem to receive good listening. During Action Learning, participants are encouraged to question and actively listen to answers given. The ground rules mean that the focus remains on one person until they have identified a course of action to solve their problem the way they think will work in their given context.

Active Listening is a key skill that can be learnt.

The key to Action Learning is active listening, and this has to be introduced at an early stage for a set to be successful. The one-day Action Learning Workshop has been designed to get the participants asking questions, actively listening to the answer and identifying possible solutions that could work in the problem owner’s context. As problem owners, they then learn how to respond and take away the actions for implementation.

 Action Learning is about ensuring actions are followed through

After the one-day Action Learning Workshop, the group commits to meeting once a month. At each subsequent set meeting, the format is the same, but the content is driven by the members’ current issues and previously agreed actions. Thus, over time the set members learn from each other whilst fixing problems on the way. They, in effect, mentor each other and become internal consultants without the attendant cost.

Benefits of Action Learning:

• Set members learn to actively listen.
• Collaboration takes place between set members. They trust one another more.
• The set becomes a network which acts as a resource.
• Problems are actively addressed.
• Peer pressure ensures that identified problems are progressed.
• External consultancy costs are reduced. The set members learn to mentor each other.
• Experienced set members can replicate the process throughout the business without the need for external help.
• Peer group learning – learn practical solutions.
• Develop new opportunities.
• See new angles on old problems leading to solutions.

For more information on how Action Learning can help you grow your business, please call 0333 050 9053 or email growth@kub-uk.com