posted by Chris

One of the most frequent questions I have been asked, as we have been getting ‘Action Learning Ireland’ together is why someone should spend money on Action Learning, rather than coaching and / or training ?  And particularly, why in the context of a recession ….

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Like all the best questions, the answer is ‘it depends’ !

It depends on your context.   If  people in your organisation lack readily available skills or knowledge, then training is the way to go.  If people in your organisation need to focus on their personal development, then a coach is likely to be a great response.   But, particularly if you have been there and done that, and your focus is on real problems, growing teamwork and becoming increasingly agile and innovative in a challenging world, then action learning is likely to make a lot of sense.

Of course, in many contexts, it is not as simple as that and it is more a question of balance or getting the mix right.  Lots of organisations have the experience of great training courses that don’t quite seem to translate into action on the ground or great coaching for individuals that doesn’t ripple through in terms of the impact on the organisation as a whole.  For many, Action Learning can be the missing piece of the strategy jigsaw, that pulls the learning and development approach together into something more coherent and impactful.

And in a recession ?  Cutting costs is undoubtedly one key to survival, but focussing on the effectiveness of relationships and the potential for learning and innovation to spread across the organisation has to be another.  The risk is we are so busy being busy or so depressed about being depressed that we miss the target altogether.  Action Learning ensures a focus on what matters most and a focus on the real world, individuals and knowledge coming together in their real context.