News archive
- Heineken opens it’s world to action learning
- Creative and cultural leaders celebrate their learning journeys
- Would you benefit from joining a peer consultancy set?
- Action learning – a powerful tool to empower women leaders in the Middle East
- Train to be a “virtual” facilitator
- Leadership Facilitation Skills course – applications now open
- ALA goes global
- Leadership and Learning in the Arts published in Action Learning Journal
- ALA enters the virtual world
- Action Learning : assessing the value, International Conference, 29 – 31 March 2010, Henley on Thames
- Leadership Facilitation Skills
- New associates join ALA
- Breaking new ground - IFAL Action Learning Conference, 27 -28 October 2009, Glasgow
- Action learning – an expanding market in the economic downturn
- ALA celebrates one year of ILM accreditation
- Director Ruth Cook introduces action learning to health workers at VSO Malawi
- ALA to deliver CLP Leadership Facilitation Skills programme
Heineken opens its world to action learning
ALA is working with the world’s most international brewer – Heineken International to deliver an innovative programme of action learning facilitator training for the global corporation’s learning and development staff. ALA Director, Ruth Cook and two Associates recently travelled to Amsterdam to deliver a pilot training programme.
Creative and cultural leaders celebrate their learning journeys
Creative and cultural leaders from across the UK came together on 29 March to celebrate their action learning journey. The culmination of a highly successful three year Leadership Facilitation Skills programme funded by the Cultural Leadership Programme, the event was open to all previous programme alumni.
Would you benefit from joining a peer consultancy set?
Are you an experienced facilitator looking for new challenges and supervision for your continuing professional development or a new independent consultant who could benefit from peer support? We are currently putting together a new peer consultancy set which we hope will start in late spring 2011. Facilitated by Director, Ruth Cook, the set will meet in London for five days over 15 months.
To find out more about joining our new peer consultancy set call Ruth on 0207 407 1971 or email info@actionlearningassociates.co.uk
Action learning – a powerful tool to empower women leaders in the Middle East
Director, Ruth Cook has introduced action learning to young women leaders in the Middle East as part of an innovative pilot programme run by Oxfam to strengthen women’s participation in social movements for change and to help adults and children living in poverty.
For the first stage of the peer coaching project Ruth was commissioned to deliver a training programme in action learning facilitation to seven local women who are leaders in the Palestinian and Lebanese communities. These women will then roll out the programme by setting up and facilitating local action learning sets thus creating a network of 40 + young women leaders who will have peer support to help solve real time challenges that they face as leaders of change in their communities.
In March 2010 Ruth delivered a four day training programme in Beirut with ALA’s course handbook translated into Arabic for the participants. Two Oxfam workers also joined the action learning group to enable them to explore the potential of action learning in the Lebanon, to work with the locally trained facilitators and to learn the skills for themselves.
Ruth faced particular challenges in delivering the programme including the language barrier – skilled interpreters who had already been briefed about the action learning process proved invaluable. Any slowing down of the process caused by the interpretation added to the reflective and slow pace ideally suited to reflective learning. Even the problem of uncomfortable chairs was quickly resolved Middle Eastern style!
The next step for trained facilitators – train to be a “virtual” facilitator
If you have already trained with ALA as an action learning facilitator you may be interested in learning a new skill facilitating virtual action learning sets.
Ruth Cook has just launched a new VAL training programme exclusively for action learning facilitators who have already trained with us. “I was sceptical at first” comments Ruth “ thinking virtual action learning could never be as good as “real” face to face sets. But my experience working with virtual sets both here and abroad has made me a convert. I believe this is the way action learning will develop”.
Leadership Facilitation Skills course – applications now open
If you work in the creative and cultural industries and you’re an established, senior or mid-career leader then the Cultural Leadership Programme’s Leadership Facilitation Skills course could improve your leadership skills. Funded by the CLP, Action Learning Associates is offering an exciting course on action learning facilitation. Learn the techniques at the same time as being in an action learning set. Leave with full accreditation as an action learning facilitator from the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM).
Applications are now open for the five day course which starts in November 2010 and finishes in January 2011. Applications close 15 September 2010.
Read more about the Leadership Facilitation Skills Programme.
To apply visit the CLP website
ALA goes global
The reach of ALA’s expertise is spreading to a global market thanks to new technology and the recognition of the power of the action learning process by international support agencies.
Recent initiatives include:
- Director Ruth Cook delivering bespoke action learning facilitator training courses for Oxfam in the Middle East and for VSO in Malawi
- ALA Associate and Director of BasicNeeds, Chris Underhill, incorporating ALA’s action learning methodology within a training programme in Beijing
- Our much respected action learning facilitator training handbook is now available in Arabic and Braille (English) and has been used as a training resource in Singapore
- Our open facilitator training programmes are attracting participants from central and eastern Europe and we are exploring potential joint working with organisations in Australasia and eastern Europe
- A successful pilot of virtual action learning sets delivered for the British Council included leaders from Western Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the US.
Leadership and Learning in the Arts published in Action Learning journal
Action Learning: Research and Practice has recently published an account of practice by Senior Associate, Di Bligh, in a special issue which examined the use of action learning with SMEs.
Co-written by Clare Chacksfield of Eastfeast and Ruth Sapsed of Cambridge Curiosity and Imagination Leadership and Learning in the Arts gives an in depth insight into the experiences of these two heads of small SMEs in the east of England who took part in the CLP funded Leadership Facilitation Skills programme.
Their reflections include their initial perceptions on the impact of action learning ideas on their leadership, considerations of how they might continue to develop as leaders and how they might use action learning in the future development of their companies.
ALA enters the virtual world
ALA is delighted to be working with the British Council to develop virtual action learning sets for participants on the prestigious Cultural Leadership International (CLI) programme.
CLI is a large scale programme set up to help future cultural leaders throughout the world emerge and develop their skills and talents with the intention of enhancing intercultural understanding, supporting economic growth, cultural development and social change. During the pilot year (April 2009 – March 2010) 35 participants from across the UK, Western Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the US have succeeded in securing a place through a competitive process. The British Council has plans to extend the scale and geographical reach of the programme in future years. In July 2009, successful participants from across the globe came together at a launch event in London where ALA worked with the British Council to set up six peer-learning groups and to introduce the CLI delegates to the action learning process. The groups will continue to meet for the remainder of the pilot year as global virtual action learning sets facilitated by ALA Associates Ruth Cook, Stuart Turnbull and Surya Turner.
more...For more information about the virtual action learning programmes delivered by Action Learning Associates click the 'more' button.
Action Learning : assessing the value
International Conference, 29 – 31 March 2010, Henley on Thames
A second International conference for practitioners, academics and managers to share ideas and advance the practice of action learning worldwide will take place at Henley Business School in Oxfordshire from 29 to 31 March 2010.
The conference will interest all those concerned with action learning for personal development and systems improvement in commercial, public service, SME’s ‘third sector’ and community contexts. It will employ interactive methods of working and have a delegate limit of 120 people.
The conference is organised by a group associated with the journal Action Learning: Research and Practice who aim to convene a conversation between diverse perspectives via thematic provocations, papers, presentations, workshops and reflective plenary sessions.
For details visit the Henley Business School website.
Leadership Facilitation Skills
If you work in the creative and cultural industries and you’re a leader in mid-career then read more on how the Cultural Leadership Programme’s Leadership Facilitation Skills course could improve your leadership skills
Funded by the CLP, Action Learning Associates is offering an exciting course on action learning facilitation. Learn the techniques at the same time as being in an action learning set.
Leave with full accreditation as an action learning facilitator from the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM).
more...Applications have now closed for courses in Spring 2010. If you would like to apply for courses in summer 2010 look out for details in March.
New associates join ALA
ALA has three new Associates who bring to the company a wealth of experience and knowledge both in action learning and their own specialist fields.
Brussels-based Stuart Turnbull has twenty years of experience as a strategy, transformation and change consultant. He has worked in more than twenty countries in international, public and private sector organisations covering a wide diversity of industries such as finance, IT, telecoms, engineering, consumer goods and development.
Surya Turner is an experienced creative facilitator and training consultant with an academic background in law, social policy and creative training. Drawing on her skills as a narrative coach and professional storyteller Surya adds a new dimension to her work as a training consultant and emphasises the importance of narrative in her leadership and organisational development work.
Both Stuart and Surya are working alongside Ruth Cook to facilitate six new virtual action learning sets for the British Council funded Cultural Leadership International programme.
ALA is also delighted to welcome Chris Underhill as an Associate. Awarded an MBE in 2000 for his services to disability in the UK and internationally Chris has an impressive record of starting up and managing social enterprise charities. Over the past 10 years as Founder Director of international development charity BasicNeeds, Chris has helped transform the lives of thousands of marginalised people around the world. Chris is a long-serving member of an ALA cross-sector action learning set for leaders and brings a wealth of facilitation and mentoring experience to the company.
Breaking new ground
IFAL Action Learning Conference, 27 -28 October 2009, Glasgow
The International Foundation for Action Learning (IFAL) conference offers the opportunity for action learning practitioners to explore and share innovations in the field, identify new audiences and applications as well as experience new ways of introducing action learning to others. With the keynote speech from Ian McGill (co-author of the Action Learning Handbook) the conference will include case studies, discussions and the opportunity to work in sets. For details contact admin@ifal.org.uk or visit www.ifal.org.uk
Action learning – an expanding market in the economic downturn
Exploring why real action learning is in such increasing demand in the current economic is the theme of Ruth Cook’s workshop at the IAF Europe Conference 2009 running from 18 to 20 September in Oxford, UK.
Entitled Real action learning: an expanding market Ruth will explore the significant growth in action learning in recent years – reflected by the growth of her own company. She will demonstrate how action learning offers value for money and complements a wide range of organisational development interventions.
The workshop will also look at the ingredients for delivering a high quality product as well as recent developments such as accreditation and virtual action learning.
ALA celebrates one year of ILM accreditation
One year on and the introduction of Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) accreditation as a kite mark for the quality of ALA’s action learning facilitator training programmes is paying dividends. Since introducing the ILM approved Development Programme in July 2008 ALA has registered over 150 participants on open and in-house training – half of these have already completed and received their ILM certificate. ALA got a “thumbs up” at the recent annual quality visit and is planning to work more closely with ILM in the future.
Action Learning – a new tool in the fight against disease and poverty in Malawi
ALA Director, Ruth Cook, has introduced action learning to health workers in Malawi as part of their work to tackle the severe health issues which affect the country. Ruth has just returned from a three week placement with VSO Malawi to introduce action learning and offer professional support on organisational change.
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ALA to deliver CLP Leadership Facilitation Skills programme
If you work in the creative and cultural industries and you’re a leader in mid-career then read more on how the Cultural Leadership Programme’s Leadership Facilitation Skills course could improve your leadership skills…
Funded by the CLP, Action Learning Associates is offering an exciting course on action learning facilitation. Learn the techniques at the same time as being in an action learning set.
Leave with full accreditation as an action learning facilitator from the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM).
Read more about the CLP Leadership Facilitation Skills programme