Delivering in a downturn – action learning could be the way forward for small businesses

Today’s managers need a strong purposeful approach and the ability to adapt and develop innovative and effective solutions to problems quickly if small businesses are to survive the current economic downturn according to recent research from the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM).

Delivering in a downturn: what does it take? provides a valuable insight into the mindset of the CEO’s who head up over 99.9% of UK businesses and employ over 60% of the workforce.

ILM surveyed more than 50 CEO’s of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and asked them to list the skills and attributes they most need from their senior and middle managers in a recession. The results were surprisingly optimistic and positive with some SME leaders seeing the recession as an opportunity for their business if their managers have the right blend of leadership and management capabilities.

“We need to think outside the box at these times. Old ways of doing things have been closed off and so we have to take a more creative approach”

Top of the leaders list for essential skills and knowledge for managers during a recession were good management and communication skills.

“We cannot allow the ball to drop not even for a moment. This means we need managers at the helm encouraging and inspiring the rest of the business. It means that everyone in the business is working to fulfil their potential”

Action learning for SMEs

Joining an action learning set can give senior and middle managers the toolkit and techniques their leaders see as so important for their organisations to adapt and survive – or even prosper - in the most severe economic downturn in living memory. What’s more you could even receive some Government funding towards it.

Whether it’s an in-house set of managers in a larger SME or the CEO/Director of a small organisation joining a cross-sector action learning set – action learning can be an immensely powerful development tool for individuals and organisations. It is a tried and tested technique to build self awareness and new competences, to find different solutions to problems and challenges, and to test out new thinking. Providing support and challenge from a group of peers, an action learning set offers members structured time for reflection, sharing good practice, and an active approach to problem solving with a view to initiating change.