NYNP blog post 3-23-10

Five steps to transform a judging mindset into a learning one
Action Learning Conversations open up new thinking

Tonight's ASTDNY chapter event featured Dr. Victoria Marsick, Co-Director of the J.M. Huber Institute for Learning in Organizations, a principal of Partners for the Learning Organization, and Professor of Adult and Organizational Learning in the Department of Organization and Leadership at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Dr. Marsick introduced the concept of Action Learning Conversations (ALCs) as a tool for peer mentoring and coaching. ALCs are 45-minute group conversations using the ORID (Objective, Reflective, Interpretive, and Decisional) Framework, which moves conversations from focusing on the objective facts of the situation, to reflecting on feelings and reactions, to interpreting what the feelings and reactions mean, and finally to deciding on what actions to take.

ALCs provide a structure for getting help from peers and seeing situations in a new light. Rather than discussing or debating a challenge, which can activate defensiveness and entrench people in old ways of thinking, ALCs require listening, questioning, and thinking together, which can transform people's perspective. ALCs create an environment of win-win, where people can learn in a safe space, rather than win-lose, where people end up judging each other and closing off their thinking.

The five steps
1) Share a challenge framed as a question. The person with the challenge shares, then the group asks clarifying objective questions to learn more about the context of the situation. Then the person with the challenge may indicate the specific help needed.

2) Question-storm. Everyone silently writes down one or two reflective or interpretive questions, then the group shares the questions in a round robin while the person with the challenge silently listens and writes. After this, the person with the challenge may share a few insights learned so far, while the group listens without asking any questions.

3) Share assumptions. Everyone writes down their assumptions about the situation, and then the group talks about the assumptions as if the person with the challenge were a fly on the wall. The person with the challenge silently listens and writes, and is invited to join the conversation only after everyone else in the group has had a chance to share their thoughts.

4) Reframe the challenge. Everyone writes down how they would re-frame the original question, and then the group shares these in a round robin while the person with the challenge silently listens and writes. After this, the person with the challenge may share a few insights learned so far, while the group listens without asking any questions.

5) Identify action steps. The person with the challenge identifies next steps.

Tips for successful ALCs
Dr. Marsick advised that diversity of thinking is helpful for ALCs, so if members in a group all know each other well, it's useful to get a couple less familiar people to join in. Also, if one group member is known to be a strong personality, it can be helpful to get a facilitator, to prevent that person from taking over the ALC. Facilitators are also good for groups who have trouble following specific processes, especially because it can be difficult for people to ask real questions rather than asking fake questions that are really problem-solving advice in disguise. When the fake questions start flying, facilitators can step in and model what it looks like to genuinely inquire about facts, feelings, or thoughts.

The proof in the pudding
We had a chance to practice a mini-ALC during the chapter event tonight, and my group was really helpful with the challenge I shared. In the end, the ALC process succeeded in uncovering some of my hidden assumptions, in helping me reflect on other perspectives, and in reframing the challenge into one with a more optimistic outlook.

Recommended reading
* Understanding Action Learning by Victoria Marsick and Judy O'Neil
* Change Your Questions, Change Your Life: 10 Powerful Tools for Life and Work by Marilee G. Adams
* Knowledge for Action: A Guide to Overcoming Barriers to Organizational Change by Chris Argyris
* "The Political Brain," by Michael Shermer in the July 2006 Scientific American, reporting on research by Emory University psychologist Drew Weston