‘I can’t dream while the platform’s burning.’ (Benjamin Downing)
It’s hard to think straight, let alone creatively, if we feel threatened, anxious or stressed. It’s like trying to see clearly while thick clouds of emotional dust are being kicked up in the air. For Action Learning to be effective, therefore, ensuring sufficient psychological safety and trust is a critical success factor. It enables the turmoil to settle enough for a person to engage in critical reflection and action. Without it, searching questions are likely to trigger defensive routines.
These risk dynamics can be amplified if, for instance, a person’s own line manager is in the set and therefore worried about how it could affect subsequent performance evaluations; or if a participant has been sent to a set by HR as a remedial intervention, rather than something the person has chosen for themselves; or if a person presenting an issue has been betrayed before and doesn’t feel fully-confident in the boundaries of confidentiality they’ve agreed with the set.
In view of this, I find that careful contracting with potential and new set participants is very important. It can mean discussing these and any other issues of hope or concern explicitly from the outset. I may ask participants, ‘If we were to work together, what would that mean for you (potential outcomes or implications)?’ And, ‘Given that, if our work together were to be successful (for you, your team or organisation), what would you need (from me, yourself or others in the set)?’
