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Action Learning Groups
Action learning groups are a new service for managers and supervisors in Sydney Local Health District. Through facilitated reflection and action focused sessions, they offer a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach to addressing and resolving recurring work-based challenges.
About this service
Action learning groups offer an opportunity for you to join an interdisciplinary group of peers to reflect on work-based challenges, the ones that you experience as habitually ‘stuck’ in and keep recycling. The group process is action focused, helping you find fresh ways to move forward.
Action learning groups are facilitated by trained Sydney Education facilitators and follow a reflective process to explicitly stop, reflect on actions taken, draw out learnings from reflection and apply them to planned practice.
Action learning groups consist of 5-7 people who will meet every month for a 90 minute session over a period of eight months.
What are the benefits?
Action learning groups are a well-researched approach to leadership and management development and have been used extensively in the National Health Service.
There are a number of benefits from participating in action learning groups, they include:
- Supporting peers by sharing insights and different perspectives
- Building resilience to being questioned and challenged by others in a safe environment
- Developing active listening, emotional intelligence and problem-solving skills
- Practicing diagnostic brainstorming and critical thinking skills
- Supporting managers wellbeing by providing time to reflect and find ways forward with long-standing and unresolved challenges
- Sharing successes with peers and learning from them
Who should attend?
Managers and supervisors with direct reports, who would like to develop their critical thinking, active listening and social awareness skills are encouraged to apply.
Learning objectives
By the end of the group session, you will be able to:
- Apply critical and creative thinking when analysing managerial challenges and brainstorming innovative solutions
- Collaborate with group members to identify root causes of managerial challenges
- Apply new knowledge and skill gained from the learning groups to address workplace challenges
- Practice applying active listening, effective questioning and empathy in a group setting
- Understand the shared challenges all managers encounter across interdisciplinary groups
Duration
Applicants will be required to commit to attending eight 90-minute virtual sessions over eight months.
Dates are predetermined to help you organise your workload and prioritise this opportunity for self-reflection and learning. You will need to commit to attending a minimum of seven of the eight sessions as a prerequisite for enrolling. Attendance at session one is mandatory.
Join an Action Learning Group
Frequently Asked Questions
No, action learning groups are specifically designed for managers or supervisors with direct reports.
We recommend visiting our coaching service page to see if it better aligns with your learning needs. If you have any further questions, please contact us so we can help identify the best professional development option for you.
The dates and times that the group will meet have been predetermined, so you know in advance if you will be able to attend them prior to applying.
If you can’t find a group that fits your circumstances, then contact the course coordinator to discuss further.
The group will discuss one management challenge for each action learning group meeting.
At the beginning of each meeting, we will review how the presenter managed their actions from the previous meeting before moving forward. Over the course of the eight months, a range of challenges will be discussed in the group.
Yes, you can still attend.
We would like each group member to aim to share at least one management challenge over the eight month period. For the other sessions, group members will engage in asking reflective questions and developing a range of personal and professional skills. The aim is that you will take these transferable skills and use them in your day-to-day managerial role.
We encourage each member of the group to log into the action learning group from your own computer to assist all members to see and interact with each other effectively. To assist with flexibility and availability, we will be running all action learning groups virtually.
Yes, your attendance will be recorded on your training transcript on My Health Learning.
Attending all eight sessions will give you 12 Continuing Professional Development points.
Yes, topics can be revisited if it is helpful. However, we ask that you first consider and apply any solutions discussed in related sessions before bringing the challenge to the group a second time.
Yes, if you have fully applied or tried to apply the actions discussed in the group and wish to explore the next steps, you can bring the challenge back for further discussion.
We encourage you to bring any challenge that is getting in your way of being successful as a manager.
Some common themes that managers have brought include:
- Managing conflict
- How to run an engaging and productive meeting
- Managing underperforming staff
- Engaging and building healthy teams
- Implementing and influencing change
- Managing up
- Promoting a positive workplace culture
For each meeting the group will determine which member of the group will share their challenge and which members will be asking the questions. The role of the group facilitator will remain with the coach from Sydney Education.
By the end of the program, the group will have determined what's next. You may choose to continue by nominating a facilitator from within the group for each future meeting, or the group may decide to disband and stay in touch with the peer network formed.
Your action learning group facilitator will discuss these options with you during the initial setup session and throughout the eight-month period. The Sydney Education group facilitator will be with you for the full eight months, but they won’t be available to facilitate the group indefinitely.