Leading with Questions, 3rd Edition

RESOURCE B: ACTION LEARNING

A Powerful Training Program for Developing Questioning Leaders

Now that you have learned how asking questions enables you to become a successful leader, you may be wondering how to foster a deeply ingrained culture of questioning across the leadership in your organization. To achieve this, one of the most valuable tools available to you and your team is action learning. Action learning requires individuals and group members to find solutions to problems by asking questions in real time, with real people, with real consequences. By developing the questioning skills that are the essence of action learning, you can become adept at identifying and asking the questions that will make you and your teammates better leaders.

How Action Learning Develops Questioning Leaders

Action learning is built around a problem in which a group is continuously asking questions to reframe the problem, identify the root problem, determine goals, and develop powerful strategies that are sustainable. At every action learning session, each group member identifies a leadership skill that is important for them, and receives feedback on this chosen leadership skill. Because the asking of questions is a continuous part of the work in action learning, all the members are continuously demonstrating and improving their questioning competencies.

In recognition of action learning's innate ability to develop inquiring leaders, more and more organizations around the world are using ...