Action learning sets – reaping the benefit of peer perspectives

Leadership can be a lonely place. If the question was an easy one it would (or should) have been answered long before it reached you.

Then the unspoken assumption exists that as the leader you should know the answer, even if it is something you have never previously experienced.

Wise leaders will always buy themselves the time they need to think things through, perhaps to find out more information before coming to a decision (Bailey, 2021) and maybe asking a colleague or two for advice along the way.

But the problem with advice is that it often says more about the person giving it than it does about the true needs of the person receiving it.

So, what if a way existed in which you could share the challenges you face with peers in a safe environment and benefit from the perspectives they bring, but in a way that keeps you and your needs firmly at the centre of things?

This is where action learning sets (ALS) come in.

An ALS can be described as “a group of people… that meet with the specific intention of solving workplace problems.  The main aim of an ALS is to come away with a set of realistic actions that will help to solve or understand the issues in hand” (NHS England, 2015).

Search the internet for “action learning sets”, and you will find lots of examples and descriptions of how an ALS can be run. But rather than get lost down rabbit holes in trying to describe the differences, let’s focus on what is common to them all – and why as a vet leader they may well be the source of affordable, sustainable support you have been looking for.

Birds of a feather

ALSs involve the same, small group of people coming together at regular, predetermined times.

Usually, the set will consist of about six people, but can work equally well with a couple more or a couple less. This group is large enough to offer multiple perspectives, but small enough to retain the sense of connection and trust so essential to the process.

While people within an ALS have specific roles, a hierarchy does not exist. Everyone’s voice is equal and his or her perspective equally valid.

As a consequence, it tends to work best among groups of peers – be they new graduates, practice managers or partners.

What can work especially well is when those peers are drawn from outside the immediate workplace – perhaps, say, bringing the clinical leads together from across branch practices.

Circle of trust

An ALS is a safe space and only works if all members have confidence in this. This goes beyond the Chatham House Rule, with the group establishing a mutually owned “contract” that what is discussed in the set stays within the set.

Set members soon realise the benefit of being prepared to fully open up – be it around mistakes made, or self-perceived flaws or doubts – when they experience the richness and quality of the resulting discussion, and the power it gives to the presenter to move forward.

This can be tricky if constrained within the walls of a small practice, where it will be hard – if not impossible – to avoid conflicts of interest and to protect anonymity where required. Ways around this can include creating an ALS that includes staff drawn from other branches within a practice, from other practices within a corporate group or even from peers who already know each other, perhaps through existing regional forums or special interest groups.

Actors who know their role

Participants in each ALS will fill one of three roles – facilitator, presenter or member. In time, everyone in the set will likely experience all three roles – part of the strength of the ALS process.

The presenter becomes the focal point for that particular ALS. He or she presents the issue, challenge, or problem he or she is facing to the rest of the set, and he or she will benefit most directly from the perspectives and insights brought by the other set members on this occasion.

The presenter will also, hopefully, commit to – and own – some practical actions resulting from the set and be responsible for updating the set on any subsequent progress.

But while the presenter may be the focus, this does not mean the other members are not actively and intimately involved in the set at every stage. It is for all members to ensure they have total clarity about the issue being presented, and then for them to provide the presenter with fresh insights and perspectives – to shine a light on new ways of approaching the issue and to bring their experience to bear, but in ways that challenge constructively and open up thinking, rather than close it down or try to force it down particular routes.

All playing to the same tune

Aside from the aforementioned roles, what elevates an ALS beyond just a “chat” and towards something more akin to the power of coaching harnessed in a group context is the rules that govern the conduct of the set.

The facilitator: conductor of the choir

Central to the smooth running of an ALS is the role of the facilitator. The facilitator ensures the set sticks to the agreed process and keeps it to time. But more than that, it is up to a facilitator to ensure the integrity of each stage – in particular, to ensure the probing round sticks to those key principles.

It may seem trivial to ask the odd closed question, or for some advice to be slipped in among the questions, but if so it is all too easy for the nature of ALS to be undermined and for it to become just another talking shop.

However, it is a power that needs to be wielded carefully, and with sensitivity and judgement. The facilitator has a responsibility to ensure the experience remains a constructive and positive one for the presenter, and must step in if not. But the facilitator also has a responsibility to the set as a whole, and to making sure it – and all its members – continue to believe it offers a good return on the investment of their time.

Having been professionally trained as a facilitator, and facilitated ALS for leaders and managers, the author can testify to the mental plate spinning required during a set.

It can make sense to start a new ALS with an experienced facilitator – someone who knows the process well, and understands the dynamics and what is likely to be required to make each session a success.

But with a little time and experience any set member can act as facilitator – and this is what makes an ALS such an attractive process. Unlike, say, coaching, it can quickly become a self-sustaining process – and sets often run for months, if not years, after their initial supported setup period and for nothing more than the cost of the participants’ time, and either some tea and coffee, or a Zoom licence (yes they can be run just as successfully remotely).

Limitless, ongoing access to support that encourages reflection, stimulates fresh thinking and promotes positive action. What’s not to like?

To learn more about ALSs, visit https://bit.ly/3sU19hM