Action Learning in a New Arena

By Ginny Telego

What if leaders and managers across your organization had the ability to adapt quickly, understand their teams better and work together to solve organizational challenges?  In today’s world, these skills are not only desirable, but they are necessary in order for organizations to thrive.

Traditional leadership and team development programs have not been enough to create the kind of change that needs to take place in order for leaders and managers to develop the skills necessary to be successful in today’s business environment.  In an article titled "Use it or Lose it" in the February 2015 issue of TD Magazine, the authors share that “few [training] programs are designed to help learners permanently store information or help them when they need to retrieve essential knowledge.”  The article is about the neuroscience of learning, retention and transfer and discusses the importance of putting into practice the lessons that are presented in corporate training.  While the authors focus on implementing continuous opportunities for learners to practice what was presented in the “days, weeks and months following a training,” the need to include action learning in the training process can provide additional opportunities for learners to solidify what was presented in a training.

Action learning was developed in the mid-20^th century and is becoming a widely used methodology in the world of leadership and team development.  The essence of action learning is based in providing learners with activities that generate reflective questions and having a skilled facilitator guide participants through the process of gaining self-awareness and discovering the root issues that may be impeding forward movement in their department or the organization as a whole.  According to Michael Marquardt, who authored an article on action learning in TD Magazine, there are 10 key elements that can increase the success of action learning:

1.  Presenting a problem that has some measure of urgency and complexity

2.  Powerful questions that encourage creative thinking and that the group can reflect on

3.  The mindset and values of the group members needs to be one of a willingness to change behaviors and work collaboratively

4.  Ensuring that the learning that takes place are skills that can be integrated into their work

5.  Clarification of norms – such as “focusing on questions, taking time to learn, seeking input from all members, respecting different perspectives, and accepting the role of the coach/facilitator”

6.  Commitment of top leadership to the action learning project

7.  Clear timelines and expectations

8.  Teams need to feel that they have the support from top management to implement what is learned

9.   Diversity among team members

10.Most importantly – skilled coaches and facilitators who can “create an atmosphere of learning and reflective inquiry”

One form of action learning that is effective in meeting the 10 key elements identified by Marquardt is equine experiential learning, where horses co-facilitate the learning process alongside trained human facilitators.  This learning modality is not based on learning horsemanship – in fact most programs use only ground activities, no riding is involved.  However, the horses provide immediate, non-judgmental feedback to participants that then generates powerful reflective questions and is not a professional development experience that is quickly forgotten.  Because of this, the learning tends to be retained and continues to be utilized long after participants have left the arena.  At Wager’s Way, participants have the opportunity to put leadership and team development theory into practice through this unique, effective form of action learning and the lessons learned are powerful.  One participant who was very skeptical at the start of a workshop wrote the following on his evaluation at the end of the day “I learned that I have a lot to learn about leadership.”  This kind of outcome is action learning at its best.

Ginny Telego is a Certified Advanced Facilitator and owner of Wager's Way, an equine facilitated action learning program in Ashland, OH.  www.wagersway.com

Taking Active Learning to a Whole New Level

By Paul Andrew Johnson, Ph.D.

Crawford County CU Lead is a leadership development program with a focus on community involvement. Our leaders make a difference, not just in the workplace or in the family, but in the community, as well. We believe that when it comes to transforming communities, not only does leadership make a difference, it is the difference!

Over the past four years Wager’s Way has become a keystone experience for our CU Leaders. Wager’s Way takes active learning to a whole new level! Through the Wager’s Way experience, our leaders learn that leadership is the process of developing relationships through trust and respect, clear communication, and effective action; all essential elements of effective leadership in any setting.

One of the most powerful lesson’s of the Wager’s Way experience is that leadership is all about relationships, connections, and influence.  Just as ensuring the well-being of the herd is an ongoing process that relies upon strong and trustworthy leadership, team work, communication, active participation, and relationships, so it is with leading communities.

One of the most elusive aspects of leadership is motivation. Effective leaders are attentive to the needs and motives of followers and endeavor to help followers improve their performance and reach their fullest potential. As such, effective leadership involves motivating others to transcend their own self-interests for the good of the team, the organization, or the community. The Wager’s Way experience gives leaders the opportunity to explore what motivation looks like from a horse’s perspective. In so doing, leaders gain insight into their own leadership behaviors in ways that other group process activities just can’t match.

As a result of their Wager’s Way leadership experience, our CU Leader’s have learned that effective leadership means actively facilitating and supporting the leadership of others and the collective capacity of people to lead as they respond to situations they confront as organizations and communities.

How have CU Leaders evaluated their Wager’s Way leadershipexperience? One CU leader expressed it best: “Wager’s Way changed my life!”

Paul Johnson, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Leadership and Policy Studies

Bowling Green State University

Bowling Green, Ohio

A Leader's Journey to Self-Awareness

Photo by Nancy Rebman

In developing our equine assisted professional development programs, my colleague and I regularly read books, blogs and research studies to stay abreast of current trends in workforce development.  Most of what we read about leadership and team development focuses on building trust, being transparent in communication and an ability to adapt to an ever-changing global economic environment.  These seem like common sense traits for leaders and successful team members to possess and yet professional development programs continue to try and find ways to teach and enhance these skills. 

So what makes these skills elusive?  As we work with participants in our program, there are some common challenges that are reflected in the responses of the horses during activities.

1. Communication.  This is one of the biggest barriers to effective leadership and successful teams.  We all think we are communicating information effectively, but team performance often reflects otherwise.  If your vision isn't being implemented, check in with your team on whether they are understanding what you need and expect from them.
2. Adaptability.  A participant in one of our leadership development workshops had the following revelation at the end of the day - "Just because it's not my way doesn't mean it's the wrong way."  For him, this was a moment of self-awareness as he had stated at the start of the day that one of his challenges was managing different personalities.  In reality his challenge was managing team members who approached projects from a different perspective - this awareness of his need to adapt to his team helped him lead more effectively.
3. Trust.  Horses are clear about whether they trust you or not.  Without genuine trust, the horse will choose to not engage in being part of a team.  Horses are also very adept at picking up inconsistencies in our intentions.  Using fear to lead does not gain trust and given the option of whether to follow or not, team members who are fearful will find ways to disengage from the team.

All of these challenges can be overcome through increased self-awareness.  Emotional intelligence has become a popular tool in leadership development and gaining self-awareness is a primary path to becoming a more effective leader.  The journey to self-awareness is not easy -- it takes an ability to look in the mirror and a willingness to see your true self.  But I've watched clients take this journey with the horses and the willingness of the horses to allow clients to explore and practice better ways to lead makes the journey more palatable.

Where will your journey start?

Ginny Telego is the president and founder of Wager's Way, an experiential learning program that partners with horses to offer leadership and team development.  Find out more at www.wagersway.com.