A brief outline of what action learning sets are and how they can benefit an individual.

Transcript

So for our listeners, our aim is to provide a clear understanding of action learning sets. So that would be what they are, how they work and the benefits people can gain from them with perhaps a little myth busting along the way. So I guess our hope is that by the end you might be quite keen to participate and George? Could you start by telling us a little bit about what action learning sets are?

Yeah, of course. Hi, Cate. Hi, AJ. Thanks for having me along. So in a nutshell, action learning sets for me are a powerful problem solving way of running a meeting, meeting a bit differently. They're run in small groups of colleagues between 5 to 8 people typically. And they involve using lots of great listening and questioning skills to help me people move forward with the challenge.

They have their roots in organisational development and they're definitely not new. I think as both spoke to you about this before Cate, but the foundations actually came from the man whose father was involved in exploring the reasons for the sinking of the Titanic, and he wanted everybody to move on from turning up as the expert in the room. And to help pose great questions. So that still feels really relevant today.

Ah, thank you. That's a really great explanation. So I was wondering if I could ask you, AJ - What would you say are the real benefits of action learning sets.

Thanks, Cate. I think from my standpoint, it's a really useful opportunity to share a problem with colleagues, which sometimes even finding the right way to frame it, can offer benefits and then getting the input of those colleagues via questions to offer you a new way to look at an issue, a deeper awareness.

The chance to challenge your assumptions and to help you think of new avenues to tackle the issue from. I think the other main benefit I've experienced is it's an opportunity to build stronger collaboration and learn together collectively with a group of people as well as form new relationship.

So lots of real positives there and I'm thinking about what you've both just been saying. I was wondering, are the limits on who can take part in an action learning set or is it something that's genuinely suitable for anyone?

Yeah, I can take that one, Cate. So I think it's definitely suitable for anybody. We say here that people have always got things to contribute. It's regardless of role hierarchy, seniority within the organisation. We really try to create that thinking neutral environment. There's an equal space. So I would recommend anybody that's an LBU Professional services colleague - Who wants to give it a try, who wants to carve out some thinking time - to give them a go.

Brilliant. Thank you very much. And so I'm wondering for them to work, it sounds like it's a bit different possibly from just like a normal conversation. So would you say that there are some ground rules that it's quite helpful for everyone to follow when they're doing an action learning set?

I'll start there if you want. I think that it's key to set out some certain parameters that everyone needs to operate in. Firstly, I think that confidentiality, respect, active listening and supportiveness are the real key factors that have to be at the heart of every action learning set.

It's very important to feel comfortable and safe in the setting to share issues and ask questions to develop your understanding. If you've bought a situation, then it's important to take questions you receive not as a challenge, but as an opportunity to learn and develop your approach from the experiences of others. I think it's also key from a practical standpoint to make sure everyone has an equal time to speak within the time that's allotted.

The process is followed correctly and the questions are asked in an open-ended way.

Thank you very much. George, did you want to add anything to that?

That's fantastic, AJ. I love that idea of making sure everybody got that equal airtime. What I was going to add was that it's always really important for the facilitator to help colleagues, encourage questions to unlock people's thinking rather than Members giving advice. And that's not to be underestimated. That's quite a key part.

Yeah. I mean, as you're saying that, George, it's really striking me that there's quite a bit of similarity to the coaching approach, which obviously you and I are both familiar with that idea that actually people themselves very often have got the answers in there somewhere, but by someone asking a really great question that's so much more helpful than just giving a piece of advice. So I'm thinking about what are the sort of challenges that people typically bring to an action learning set. If we could say there are typical challenges?

So ones that I've come across recently within LBU are how to influence others across their service, but also outside into other schools and and service areas. How to manage upwards sometimes or outside of a line management chain? And then how to build better networks with hybrid working. That's quite a common challenge at the moment. How to gain more resource to secure for a project and how to gain buy into your work a common theme at the first action learning set we ran on the LB professional programme was how to deliver excellent service with less resource and I'm sure lots of colleagues can relate to that. At the moment there’s certainly no magic bullet and I can't promise that. But it was a really great kind of valued space to air this challenge together in a confidential environment.

Thank you. Did you want to add something to that AJ?

Yeah, I would. I think George has given some really great examples there of what the action learning sets that LBU have offered. I think from a more holistic standpoint, I think it can really be anything that you want to broaden your perspective on that you find difficult at work or especially areas where you might feel like you've exhausted all the avenues that you have available to you because I think the key with them is that sometimes you will get that unexpected question that can really flip your mindset and allow you to approach a challenge from a different perspective. So I think sometimes it's key not to overthink. You're challenged too much as well and be confident that the other participants are there to help and support you, not to judge the challenge that you're bringing to the table.

Yeah, it's such a good point. Thank you very much. So we've spoken about some of the logistics, some good practise. Are there any pitfalls that it's kind of easy for people to fall into when they're doing action learning sets and I guess the next bit would be how could these be avoided?

I would say from my perspective in the POD team, one of the biggest challenges is just making the space and the time to attend the meeting. It can be very disheartening for other set members if we don't get everybody there. So I would just say really just make the commitment. No, it's a really great time investment and make sure that you carve that time out in your diary. I also think sometimes, not just here, but also elsewhere that I've worked, people get really kind of tied up in the story of their colleagues that's presenting because they're just so curious and interested. And you do hear about so many different work streams that you've never come across before, but it's trying not to get involved in the detail of the story and think am I going to ask this question for the benefit of the colleague or is it for my own knowledge benefit and that's something to always kind of keep in mind?

Yeah. I think to jump in on that too, I think often we live in quite a problem solving mindset with the way that we work. So I think one of the challenges that I've seen at times is it's hard to not offer a solution or advice to someone's problem because you naturally want to try and support them in resolving that issue. But it can be hard to then change your mindset into trying to help people with their challenge through asking questions to allow them to come to the right answer. That naturally forms a better result for the person, because they can apply their own context to the issues and aspects that they might not have shared in the conversation. I think the other big challenge is if the process is undermined by attendees not feeling comfortable with being open or vulnerable or the challenge being one that's hard for everyone to engage with collectively, so that discussion can be stilted or gets dominated by a single person that maybe has a better understanding of that area. Fortunately, it’s not experiences that I've had in the action learning sets I've done at the university, but I think that they are problems that naturally people can fall into in these situations.

Yeah. And I guess that's then going back to what you were talking about before setting some really good ground rules and an agreement between you of how this is going to work, isn't it? And then it will be that the action learning set ends up being really properly purposeful. I'm thinking now about how we can measure whether they're an effective thing to do rather than I guess, just a conversation between people. So, George, I was wondering what feedback you've had from people so far.

Yeah, of course. One of the last sessions that I ran here, some lovely feedback from my colleague was that it was a chance to get out of their own head. And I thought I'd share that. So that's so valuable and it it's quite precious and a rare thing to have at the moment. I think the mixed groups - we always run our be professional based on mixed service groups - and I think that's one of the biggest pieces of feedback is around that totally unblinkered view. An unbiased view of another service and then just the chance to home questioning skills as well. In terms of the development opportunity, people have really appreciated that, that safe space to practise their questioning and listening skills as well.

Thank you very much and this is put perhaps a bit of a a hard question but either of you I wonder how is it possible to tell when an action learning set has actually been effective? Maybe at the time or later on?

I'll start by saying that I think to a degree there is always a benefit or an effectiveness by helping you break out that circle. As George just mentioned, where you might naturally go find yourself going to the same group of colleagues for advice and then having a different set of colleagues to share your advice with can allow you to get more objective, challenging questions that help you see the issue in a new light and also collectively helps you get a better understanding of what challenges other people are facing and exposes you to different work streams and ways of working across the institution. I think from a practical standpoint, I think the deep engagement of the session with participants are actively listening, asking for questions and staying present creates that sense of energy, curiosity and mutual respect in the session, and that goes hand in hand with balanced participation and shared learning, not just for the presenter but for everyone. Being part of that set and then I think especially for someone bringing an issue to an action learning set is that sense of ownership and motivation you have to follow through on your problem following the set and I think then when you reflect back on that at a later stage, you can really see how you have developed your understanding of an issue and how you've applied some of the pieces of information and knowledge that you've gained from the set and how that's changed your approach. So I think through that kind of three-step process of being part of something that feels really useful and important. Then getting some tangible actions that you can then deploy and then reflecting back on it at a later stage through your professional development and how that's made you a better colleague or manager in the situation that you're operating in.

Thank you and linking back to what we were saying before, I think it often is the case that when somebody's asked you a really incisive, powerful question, that can come back to you at different times, can't it? And then actually you may have gone with a particular challenge that you wanted to talk about, but sometimes those questions people ask you turn out to be quite universal in lots of areas of your work and can really help shape your thinking so.

Thank you very much for that. And I'm just thinking a little bit about the wider context now. And so George, how do you think that the idea of action learning sets really connects to the LBU Professional?

Well, obviously the LBU Professional is underpinned by our values. So teamwork, collaboration, connectedness and in an action learning set they're they're massive components. And obviously creating that thinking environment and inclusiveness, understanding different perspectives and recognising different people's contribution. I think integrity is also huge there for the LBU Professional, one of the participants chose integrity as their guiding principle in the last action learning set. We ran here and I think that shows up in how people treat each other's challenges with kind of sensitivity and confidentiality.

I think that's really lovely to hear. So it could be beneficial to absolutely anyone as we've said before and so just to finish off now, AJ, I wondered what advice would you give to someone who was maybe thinking of engaging in the LBU Professional action learning sets, but perhaps still feels a little bit?

Certainly. I think there's four key messages that I would give to someone that's feeling a bit uncertain. Firstly, I think most importantly, it's OK to feel unsure - and I think many people are unsure at first, especially if they're not used to reflective spaces or sharing challenges with others. But that uncertainty often fades quickly once the process begins. You don't need to have all the answers. Action learning sets aren't about being an expert or having an interesting problem. It's about being open - open to learning, asking questions, and exploring your thinking or mindset that you approach challenges with. I think you never know how impactful something that you think is simple or logical to you might have on another person when you share it.

I think you'll learn by doing it. The process is designed to be supportive and structured. You'll have a facilitator and you'll be surrounded by peers who are also engaging with the process and learning. And I think finally it's a chance to step back and reflect in the busy roles that all of us are in. We rarely get time to have that moment to pause and think deeply or more holistically about an issue and action learning sets give you a protected space to reflect, gain, insight and take purposeful action, which is something that can be very different from the usual day-to-day work that we do, and thus can feel quite empowering and value.

Wow. And I think all of those are really fantastic, very persuasive argument, and just turning to you, George, about the logistics side of things. So if we have sparked some interest with listeners, how can people sign up to the LBU Professional action learning sets? And I guess, who can they contact if they've got any other questions?

Yeah. Thanks, Cate. So of course, feel free to contact me within the people and OD team, either on the teams channel on or on my e-mail address. If you want an informal discussion or any more information. And if you’re sold already, you can join the next action learning cohort. You can sign up on the LBU Professional web page.

Thank you so much. So hopefully through this podcast we've given you a a good idea of how action learning sets work. Some of the benefits how to get around some of the challenges that might arise through them. So all that really remains for me to say is thank you very much George and to AJ for sharing their insights with us. And thank you also for listening to us. Bye.