Looking at the bigger picture: designing and facilitating action learning across boundaries

Action learning is seen under many guises, being adapted into different contexts (Marsick and O’Neil [1999. “The Many Faces of Action Learning.” Management Learning 30 (2): 159–176.]). This is especially true in higher education, due to the divergent requirements and challenges of multiple action learning programmes and stakeholders within Liverpool Business School. We embed action learning with our DBA, MBA and bespoke leadership development programmes to support and enhance learning, development and workplace practices. Additionally, we use action learning to support knowledge transfer with industry and business growth activities with SMEs. In this account of practice, two action learning practitioners and advocates came together to share their experiences and practices of action learning. In doing so, a need for a Community of Practice (CoP) emerged. CoPs refer to groups of people who share a passion about a topic and who deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis. CoPs recognise knowledge-based social structures and groupings of people who interact around their practices. In developing an action learning CoP, we can learn from each other’s successes, challenges and even failures, with the aim of developing a supportive and collaborative learning system. This is true of action learning and communities of practice.