The primary change approach in LEAD is ACTION LEARNING CONSULTING, developed in collaboration with the research centre LAB for Organizational Change and Consultation at Aalborg University. Action Learning Consulting typically creates measurable results while strengthening relevant organizational and individual behavior, with a strong focus on anchoring the results in the organization's culture and supporting structures. Action Learning Consulting is fully described in the book of the same name, written by LEAD founder Molly-Søholm et al. (2010).
At LEAD, we also work with a repertoire of the most commonly used approaches in organizational development as described in the book by LEAD founder Kristian Dahl et al. (2009): The Professional Process Consultant and can thus adapt our change approach to and in the individual development project.
What is Action Learning Consulting?
Action Learning Consulting (ALC) is a unique approach to strategic process consulting and change management. The approach merges the management consultant's organizational change understanding with a focus on structures, impact and governance with the process consultant's expertise in facilitating meaningful change with high ownership and the relevant competency development. The approach is particularly well suited for large-scale planned change in organizations that want to deliver measurable operational results and improvements in organizational competencies while adapting to the changing needs and agendas of the organization.
The basic idea behind Action Learning Consulting is that development and learning is most effective if the acquisition of new habits, knowledge and practices is closely linked to solving real challenges in connection with core work tasks. In this way, learning is linked to the actions you take, which forms the basis for reflection on practice and thus the qualification of new actions. This is done on the basis of established impact and competence goals, which makes it possible to focus on both individual learning and organizational value creation. Several evidence-based studies confirm that Action Learning rooted in continuous reflection on one's own practice leads to higher performance. Especially in the context of major changes in organizations that cannot be implemented through routine adjustments, this approach has proven to be extremely relevant.
What is action learning as a method?
Action learning is a teaching method for dialog-based development and learning developed by Cambridge University professor Reginald Revans. The basic idea behind action learning is that we as humans learn best by working with current and real-life problems - preferably in a constellation where you can collaborate with others in a similar situation who can provide quick and clear feedback. When applied in organizations, the result is creative, flexible and successful strategies that can be applied to pressing issues and development processes.
The book: Action Learning Consulting
This book about Action Learning Consulting was written by Thorkil Molly-Søholm, Søren Willert, Jan Rosenmeier and Henrik Schelde Andersen (2010).
Action Learning Consulting is a consultative approach that integrates organizational learning and results-oriented change projects.
The approach attempts to create organizational outcomes while developing the competencies needed to create the outcomes. This synchronization thinking reveals whether the organization's social management technologies as well as its hard management technologies support or work against the desired change. Sometimes change may be best initiated by changing a hard management technology first and then following up with competency development. This makes all parties real actors in the change.
Action Leaning Consulting is aimed at change agents who feel that existing approaches to development and change are either too "soft" or too "hard", either too one-sidedly focused on competence development, social psychological qualities and culture or too narrowly focused on structure, systems and economics. It is primarily aimed at organizational consultants, project managers and change managers, researchers and other professionals working with workplace development.
You can buy the book Action Learning Consulting here.
Do you want to get better at:
- Clarify the organization's real issues
- Create a design that matches the unique problem
- Read a room and facilitate effectively
- Communicate the right messages that create engagement and followership
- Be more confident in your role as a process manager
- Integrate top-down and bottom-up processes
- Design and implement engaging and varied ways of working
- Increase speed by using behavioral design
- Develop and implement in an agile way - adapting as the situation changes.
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