In this blog, Dr Kate Paradine reviews the first programme of SMK’s Action Learning Sets which she co-created for CEOs and senior leaders in campaigning organisations.
Having recently completed the facilitation of the last meeting of an SMK action learning set and seeing all the new government ministers setting off to work last month has made me reflect on how important action learning sets are in leadership. I thought it was time to share with you why they are so beneficial and what participants involved have said.
What an action learning set is
An action learning set (ALS) is structured around a group of up to 8 peers who meet regularly over a fixed period to discover practical ways of addressing ‘real life’ challenges they face and support their own learning and development.
Since April 2023, eight senior leaders and six CEOs have come together in two different sets I have facilitated. Each set had a total of six virtual and face-to-face meetings over a year and the hope now is for the sets to become self-facilitating.
There are three main reasons charity leaders gave for joining their ALS.
Space and thinking time: To create space for themselves to think, plan and discuss deeply the most important challenges they face.
Solidarity and building community: Connecting to other peer leaders who face similar challenges for a sense of community and an antidote to the so-called ‘imposter syndrome.’
Learning and taking action: Focussing deeply on complex issues, access to different perspectives, asking questions and coming up with solutions.
One of the central elements of ALS methodology is listening deeply and asking searching questions that help open up new perspectives. The foundation of this is the belief that often the answers are right there and just need unlocking. It’s incredible to see how solutions to problems can unfold through the power of peers asking different questions and exploring a challenge together.
Every time I meet in an ALS environment (either co-ordinating or participating) I am struck by the power of the open questions and often feel ‘brought up short’ by a fresh perspective that just one question prompts. These are my favourites over the last few months:
What do you need to stop doing? What would happen if you did nothing? These questions can apply to individual actions and thinking patterns, or to the ways of doing things in an organisation or a particular activity that a charity is investing in. With the opportunity of a new government and so many challenges facing our country, there has never been a more important time for campaigning charities, their leaders, and ministers to ask these questions.
What would your 80-year-old self say to you about this situation? So often in leadership positions we find ourselves stuck. Sometimes when you are in an ALS environment it feels like the collective wisdom is creating that ‘you’ of the future who sees the bigger picture and can end a sense of paralysis or overwhelm.
What power do you have in this situation? This simple question is one of the most important for individuals, campaigning charities, and government ministers. So often we feel powerless or spend time on things we have no real power to change. Whether it’s a need for change in the leader’s approach, the organisation or a campaign that brings real change it’s often versions of this question that cuts to the heart of the matter.
At the end of each set meeting, we do a one word check out on how everyone is feeling. Some of the words identified were: “unburdened”, “relieved”, “supported”, “connected”, “clearer”, “lighter”, “solidarity.” Action Learning Sets embody the words of the Japanese philosopher, Ryunosuke Satoro ‘Individually we are one drop, together we are the ocean.’
As for making space for set meetings in a busy leader’s diary, Audre Lorde hit the nail on the head: ‘Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation and that is an act of political warfare.’
With heartfelt thanks to SMK for getting the sets up and running. I pass on the baton as facilitator to Josephine Knowles who brings considerable experience and insight to the winter 2025 programme. Check out full details and how to sign up here.
Participants in the ALS for CEOs of campaigning organisations: Louise Crow (My Society); Conor D’Arcy (Money and Mental Health Policy Institute); Rachel Grocott (Bloody Good Period); Tim Naor Hilton (Refugee Action) Andrea Simon (End Violence Against Women (End Violence Against Women) coalition); Ben Sturgeon (Crustacean Compassion).
Participants in the ALS for senior leaders of campaigning organisations: Davina Hehir (Dignity in Dying); Deniz Ugur (End Violence Against Women coalition); Frances Goodrum (International Fund for Animal Welfare); Liz Drury (University of the Third Age) Kate Nightingale (Young Women’s Trust); and Jackie O’Sullivan (Mencap)