ABC of Action Learning

Citation

Mumford, A. (1999), "ABC of Action Learning", Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 31 No. 4, pp. 330-331. https://doi.org/10.1108/ict.1999.31.4.330.1

These are three of the first books in a new series edited by Mike Pedler, which looks likely to be a significant addition to the kind of material available. The books are all relatively short ‐‐ around 130 pages ‐‐ and for that reason could be used as a gentle encouragement to those managers and professionals who are willing to progress beyond just reading an article.

The Reg Revans book is a new edition of a work published in 1978. It is new not in the sense that Reg Revans has revised it, but that Mike Pedler has made significant editorial changes. He describes exactly what they have been, in his explicit attempt to improve the readability of the original text. Pedler accepts that this is a controversial action. (Reg himself is still far too busy to be bothered with such a task, even if he actually thought it desirable.) In the course of making a speech about Reg once, I said that there was a significant difference between his speaking and writing styles. I described the latter as ‘‘dense′′. Reg took this as the compliment I intended, since I thought his written work contained material you had to work on rather than just read.

Given the task Pedler had set himself, the editing seems to me to have been successful. People who already have an earlier edition of the ABC need not, I think, buy this one unless they are interested in textual analysis. Anyone who has not actually read Revans should certainly buy this volume. My own preference would actually be for his Action Learning published by Blond and Briggs in 1980 ‐‐ but the ABC is now of course much more easily available. Anyone who wants to get the views of the master in a relatively distilled form will find this valuable. Of course, there are now books which provide a much more detailed, and in many respects more helpful, set of statements about how to introduce action learning. But, for anyone who wants to know more about the philosophy and values which informed the work of the creator, this is a necessary resource.

The Pedler and Aspinwall book has no similar claim to uniqueness. It sets out neatly for us answers to questions such as:

What does a learning organization look like?

How can an organization learn?

What can go wrong?

Creating the learning organization.

It draws together conveniently alternative definitions and makes use of the work of writers such as Senge, Garratt, Dixon and of course Pedler, Burgoyne and Boydell. However, these are not treated to academic analyses to establish differences, but merely to provide the context in which the practical features available in the book are presented. The most obvious of these features are the provision of cases illustrating points and, even more practical, a series of ‘‘activities′′ which enable readers to work on their own answers to questions raised in each chapter. The authors′ decision on these latter has not been to make reference to them in each chapter, but to collect them in one section at the end of the book. I found it slightly irritating to have to turn forward in this way, but the author′s reason is for ease of use by trainers and not to interrupt the flow of the text ‐‐ attractive reasons in themselves. A major missing chapter would be one on individual learning and team learning. Without attention to these, a learning organization cannot be created.

I was enthused by the idea of the chapter, ‘‘What can go wrong?′′, but rather disappointed with the actual product. It is not, as I hoped, a chapter on failed attempts to introduce a learning organization. Quite rightly, the authors refer to the ‘‘cheerful literature of business and management′′, but I did not feel this chapter achieved the apparent objective of the title. It deals rather more generally with why change programmes fail, an interesting but less helpful analysis. One distinguishing feature of this book, representing I feel one of Mike Pedler′s personal interests and strengths, is the chapter, ‘‘Towards the good society′′.

Nancy Dixon′s book I rate as ‘‘Book of the Year 1998′′. It connects with the two previously reviewed books in that the issues she is discussing are central to effectiveness in both action learning and the learning organization. ‘‘When it comes to developing themselves more broadly, the way people talk to each other (avoiding open exchange, trying to win at all costs and other tendencies) can prevent them from receiving the information and support that is necessary to reframing.′′ As that quotation probably indicates, she is in one sense within the mind set offered to us through the process of organizational development 20 years ago, and she is explicitly a user of the approach of Chris Argyris in implementing those ideas. His theory of ‘‘defensive routines′′, through which people reduce conflict but reduce learning, is particularly significant. Dixon says that people fail to be themselves by: misleading others; saying more than they know; saying nothing.

Perhaps characteristically for someone from the academic world, she reviews ‘‘five perspectives on dialogue for development′′, based on the work of Argyris, Bohm, Johnson, Mezirow and Freire. The work of these authors is reviewed and exemplified in brief but illuminating summaries. Apart from the work of Argyris already mentioned, Mezirow′s work seems to be perhaps the most significant and usable by many trainers and developers. His concept of ‘‘critical reflection′′ is very valuable though extremely challenging ‐‐ many of us have struggled for many years to try and get people to engage in ‘‘ordinary reflection′′.

The largest part of the book then turns to the practical use which may be developed from those theories and from Dixon′s own experiences. In her view, dialogue is a process which can include confrontation, challenge, emotion and a passion, ‘‘but within bounds that affirm the legitimacy of others′ perspectives′′. This results in the co‐creation of meaning. Groups then become not just sites for exchanging information but for the testing of ideas (again refer to issues about the learning organization and action learning). Crucially, Dixon says that ‘‘dialogue is not a difference in technique but a difference in relationship′′.

While I found the chapter on the theorists interesting, by far the most fascinating to me were the subsequent chapters on:

How dialogue can be incorporated into work processes

Forums and conditions for dialogue.

Dialogue practices in organizations.

If you are at all persuaded that the effective exchange of ideas and opinions, not just facts, is crucial to the development of individuals, teams and organizations, then this very practical book should be of immense help to you. The final chapter is the most specific in this sense, dealing with how to structure dialogue, issues about timing, and a recognition of her own ambivalence about whether to provide a facilitator or not. If I was engaged in dialogue with Nancy (though she sees dialogue as primarily existing in groups), I would ask her why she had not made use of her own version of the Learning Cycle to explain some of the processes involved. I would have enquired whether she thinks that individuals respond differently to the opportunities offered through dialogue (e.g. Strong Reflectors in learning terms as compared with Strong Activists). The usefulness of the exercise she quotes on Argyris ‐‐ undiscussables ‐‐ made me wonder why there were not more exercises in the book.