People

Training is one way to create change, but it is rarely enough.

We have been exploring using coaching to embed person centred thinking into day to day practice. We are also learning about the power of stories in change.

 

Listen...

"When I ask you to listen to me
And you start giving advice
You have not done what I asked.

When I ask you to listen to me
And you begin to tell me why I shouldn't feel that way
You are trampling on my feelings.

When I ask you to listen to me
And you feel you have to do something
To solve my problems
You have failed me, strange as that may seem 
Listen! All I asked was that you listen
Not talk or do - just hear me."
Anonymous

 

Papers and Articles

An Introduction to a Thinking Environment Approach to Action Learning Sets

A paper on action learning sets by Helen Sanderson and Judy Oliver.

Action learning was developed by Professor Reg Revans in the 1940s as the best way to educate managers. It is based on his premise that 'there can be no learning without action and no (sober and deliberate) action without learning'. It is an effective and efficient method of problem solving, thinking and reflection, which is achieved through working in small, facilitated groups, and then converted into practical action. Not only do participants solve problems, but also they learn from the problem solving process and by supporting the process for others.

It was borne out of the first principle that people need to learn faster than the rate of change if they are to manage their situation rather than be managed by it. The second principle was that people learn most effectively from others whom they respect and whose own situations may mean that they face similar experiences.

Although developed initially for managers about the same time as some key management theories, it has been used in a variety of settings: between professionals; between sectors; by different levels of management including chief executives of large organisations. For the last twenty years, learning sets have been a key element in many top-level executive development programmes in international business schools, in particular, within the UK.

To read this paper see the downloads box on the left.