External (Open) Action Learning
External or open action learning, where participants are drawn from a range of organisations:
- Opens peoples' eyes to possibilities
- Compares and contrasts approaches, cultures, perspectives
- Safe for experimentation and confidential
- Encourages benchmarking against peers in other organisations
- Particularly valuable as a development process for people with high potential
The process is particularly valuable since it helps people to appreciate the diversity of business models and personal styles in the room with them; and to coach and be coached by those individuals who may demonstrate very different patterns of behaviour. Learning is therefore taking place at the hard business level, as well as on the soft skills platform.
Participants gain safe experience in coaching others where they are fully aware that they simply do not know the whole picture, and have to explore carefully through open questioning and observation. Assumptions have to be suspended - a really valuable lesson for back at the ranch!