Training That Delivers: The Power of Action Learning
Imagine your team solving one of your company’s biggest challenges while also building the confidence, skills, and leadership needed to take on what’s next—that’s the power of Action Learning.
What is Action Learning?
In a nutshell, Action Learning is a problem-solving process wrapped in a learning experience.
Training + Organizational Development + Creative Problem Solving = Action Learning
You gather a small, diverse group of people (known as an action learning set) and give them a real-world organizational challenge. They work together to understand the problem, ask powerful questions, reflect deeply, and propose real solutions. Oh—and they take action to test those solutions in the real world.
I earned my Action Learning certification years ago, and while it was one of the more difficult processes for me to learn to lead as a trainer, it was one of the most rewarding to watch unfold in real life.
Inspired by the potential of action learning to support change and innovation, Janice, a member of our team, undertook 10 years of field research to develop the ThinkUP Framework method, which we currently offer to our clients.
It’s not theory. It’s not role play. It’s learning by doing—and it works.
The Case of the Overloaded Intake Process
Let’s bring this to life with a real-world example.
A training division in a large organization was struggling with a painfully slow project intake process. It took an average of two months to initiate, evaluate, and assign a new training request to a team and schedule it in the work calendar – a timeline that frustrated both staff and the divisions they served. Managers had tried everything from new forms and checklists to improved policies, but nothing seemed to stick.
Enter: Action Learning.
The division assembled a cross-functional team—representatives from a current client with an active project, training division representatives, subject-matter experts, administrative support, and IT. We met weekly for six weeks to tackle this issue.
As the action learning coach/facilitator, I worked to keep them focused: no jumping to conclusions, no blaming—just thoughtful questioning, reflection, and experimentation.
This effort was the most challenging part—we live in a world where quick solutions are often valued above fact-checking, inquiry, and curiosity.
What did they discover?
- The intake form had unnecessary steps.
- Key approvals were bottlenecked by one overworked resource.
- Client documents were stored in three different systems.
- There was no central calendar to note key stakeholders’ availability, around which the schedule was built.
Instead of sending recommendations “up the chain,” the team was empowered to test their ideas right away. They used one client program as their pilot, streamlined forms, created an intake process that included all approvals at a single meeting, developed a workplan template that was saved to all stakeholders’ calendars, and integrated their document storage. Within three weeks of pilot testing, the average intake time decreased to 20 business days, which is less than half the original time.
Bonus? Team members said it was the most energized they’d felt in years.
Why it works
Action Learning taps into what adult learners crave: meaningful work, collaboration, and autonomy. It breaks down silos and builds skills that stick—such as problem-solving, creative and critical thinking, collaboration, and communication. And because the problems are real, the outcomes are measurable. Everyone wins.
Companies and organizations that use Action Learning often report:
- Faster problem resolution
- Higher engagement
- Stronger leadership opportunities and advancement
- Enhanced engagement and collaboration
- Learning impact at an individual, team, and organizational level
- And once the first fumbling steps are overcome, actual FUN alongside their newfound motivation and energy.
Final Thoughts: Learning that doesn’t feel like training
Let’s be honest—most people don’t get excited about training sessions that take them away from their real work. But Action Learning? It’s not a training session. It IS the real work, with training as a side-dish that pays off twice! Once in results, and once in learning.
If you’re a training leader looking for a high-impact, no-fluff way to up-skill your teams and move your organization forward, Action Learning might be your secret weapon.
Ready to solve your next big problem? Let’s make it a learning experience worth remembering.
Book a discovery call to talk about how to get started.
