The Rank Foundation, a UK-based charitable trust, works with small and medium sized charities and social enterprises across the UK. Caroline, who had her own direct experience as a participant in an action learning set some 10 years ago now, leads a Rank Foundation leadership development programme: Time to Shine. The programme builds social sector capacity by developing leaders who have the passion, skills and ethics needed by the sector. To download the case study as a PDF, click here.
Challenge
The individuals, or leaders of the future as yet lack experience in that sector.
The Foundation works with charity partners using relational-engaged philanthropy. In practice, this means building close relationships with leaders and organisations in order to understand what their specific aspirations, challenges and needs are.
Caroline knows from her own challenging and stimulating experience of action learning that it holds the potential to ‘transform conversations and experiences in work.’
She has, therefore, built in action learning as a core element of Rank’s Time to Shine programme. ‘The Rank Foundation’s strapline is: A pebble in the pond’, explains Caroline.
Methodology
In order to build the Foundation’s capacity to deliver the multiple action learning sets that it needed to create this dynamic ripple effect, Caroline decided to train internal action learning facilitators; people who already have an experience of action learning, understand its power and know the impact it can have on leaders and organisations. Caroline called on Ruth Cook, Director of Action Learning Associates, to achieve this key goal.
Caroline emphasised that, for this capacity-building approach to be effective, it needed to ensure efficiency and quality. Action Learning Associates has the required standards, experience and expertise to achieve this.
Results
So far, 18 facilitators have been trained – and the numbers are growing – and over 130 Time to Shine participants are now engaged in action learning sets based in over 130 social sector organisations. Caroline is enthusiastic about the Rank-Action Learning Associates partnership and its impact on talent and careers for the future!
“We are developing a whole generation of social sector leaders who have fantastic listening skills and an appreciation of how to help someone find their own solutions.”
Caroline Broadhurst, Deputy Chief Executive, The Rank Foundation
