Action Learning and Group Coaching Programs
(since 1995)

Whether yours is a small organization with a few employees or yours is one of the largest companies in the world, we've worked with your kind of organization since 1995 to quickly spread Action Learning and coaching. Groups can be self-facilitated and conducted over the phone. No matter where you're located, we have strategic alliances in all of the regions of the world to work with you.

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Applications of Our Action Learning and Group Coaching Programs

Our programs are highly adaptable for a wide range of applications and outcomes, including:

• Leadership development programs
  Programs quickly cultivate skills needed in any application of leadership, whether leading oneself, others, teams or organizations.
• Solving complex problems
  Complex problems are seldom solved with a straightforward procedure. They're solved through clarifications, reflections, actions -- and learning at the same time.
• Building highly cohesive and productive teams in the workplace
  Productive teams need the necessary systems and structures to support productivity -- they also require strong cohesiveness, trust and communications.
• Ensuring that trainings are actually applied in the workplace
  How often have you noticed that people attend trainings, but then rarely apply the new information and materials from the trainings?
• Very quickly spreading low-cost, core coaching skills across the organization
  Rather than expensive one-on-one coaching sessions, instead ensure that everyone gets coached -- and learns how to coach -- at much lower cost.
• Decreasing burnout and employee turnover
  In our groups, members share support and accountabilities to take ongoing realistic actions to address current issues.
• Developing close networking and collaboration
  Research suggests that to advance in your career, it's who you know as much as what you know. Also, you need to know about the other roles in your organization.

Many Types of Organizations We Work With

We have customized programs for a wide range of organizations, including for:

• A Fortune 500 company to spread low-cost, self-facilitated peer networks around the world and in various cultures.
• An association to provide peer coaching groups as a service to its members.
• A public development commission to ensure accountability among organizations that receive funding from the commission.
• A county's leadership and management teams to ensure application and learning from its various leadership development programs.
• A residential care facility to change the culture among its staff.
• Charitable nonprofits to obtain highly accessible and low-cost networking among Executive Directors.
• A consulting firm to provide peer coaching to its clients.
• Trainers to deepen and enrich their one-shot training sessions.
• Coaches to expand the power of personal and professional coaching beyond the traditional one-on-one coaching format.
• A training center to deepen and enrich their courses, workshops and seminars.
• Individuals to obtain ongoing support and reflection for continuing professional development.

List of Some of Our Clients

We are one of the world's leaders in customizing powerful, practical programs for a wide variety of applications. Programs can be used as low-cost, free-standing programs or as convenient means to substantially deepen and enrich other peer learning activities. Here's a list of some our firm’s clients:

Accenture Alaska (state of) Allianz Life Insurance American Society for Training and Development Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota Booz Allen Boston Scientific British Petroleum Charles Schwab CompassPoint Consulting Development Training Institute Fieldstone Alliance Consulting Group Goodwill Gunderson Lutheran Hospitals

Gustavus College Hennepin County Illinois Arts Alliance International Association of Facilitators Microsoft Corporation Minnesota Career Development Assoc. New York Foundation for the Arts Nonprofit Mentorship Program in British Columbia North Ridge Masonic Homes Opportunity Partners Search Institute South Eastern New York Library Resources Council YMCA of Greater Cincinnati

Why Our Programs Are So Popular

There are numerous advantages, depending on your nature and needs, including:

Ideal for adult learning.
Peter Senge, in his seminal book, The Fifth Discipline (Doubleday, 1990), points out that adults learn best when they are 1) working on current, real-life challenges and 2) exchanging feedback with others in similar situations. Various forms of peer learning, especially when applied to real-life challenges, provide ideal conditions for adult learning.

Can expand, deepen and enrich traditional forms of services.
Peer learning programs can be used to make traditional forms of training and development much more powerful, for example, courses, workshops, seminars, consultations, etc. Rather than one-shot sessions in which experts talk at learners, peer learning programs encourage peers to share feedback, materials and support among themselves.

Peers can manage their own learning and development -- their continuous learning.
Peers can manage their own learning, including setting their own learning goals, methods and means to evaluation. Thus, forms of peer learning can set the foundation for very successful self-directed and continuous learning in life and work.

Programs can be very cost-effective.
Peers often do most of the work. Expensive consultants and materials often aren't needed. Thus, the learning can be quite cost-effective, especially when designed to complement other traditional forms of services. This can be very valuable to organizations with very limited resources, such as nonprofit organizations.

Programs accommodate the busy schedules of peers.
One of the most frequent complaints among adult learners is that they can't find the time to attend professional development sessions. In peer learning programs, peers often can schedule and locate their own learning sessions which makes the sessions very accommodating to busy schedules.

Unique Advantages of Group Coaching Over One-on-One Coaching

There are certain advantages of Action Learning and peer learning groups, including:

1. It's often much easier to have more people get coached and do so more quickly across the community or organization.
2. Along with getting coached, members develop core skills in coaching.
3. Members often receive more diverse forms of feedback resulting in more diverse views, opinions and perspectives.
4. Members often receive more support and networking.
5. The peer coaching-group process more closely resembles the team-based nature of how work gets done in communities and organizations.
6. The peer coaching program can be much less expensive because one coach/facilitator helps groups of peers to help each other at the same time.
7. It's often much easier to use peer coaching groups for organization development because effective organization development almost always gets done by teams rather than by individuals.

Why You Should Choose Our Firm

We are one of the world's leaders in customizing powerful, practical programs. We understand organizational development and change. We've worked with 100s of clients and taught 100s of professionals how to facilitate peer programs, as well. We have a cadre of senior consultants, each certified in our peer programs.

We have customized programs for for-profits, nonprofits and government agencies. We provide a range of highly affordable service options to help you to customize, implement and evaluate a peer learning program that suits the nature and needs of your organization and the people it serves.

Benefits of Our Peer Program Designs

1. Easy to start, low cost, little overhead
2. Free-standing or integrate with other programs
3. Peers share focused feedback, materials and support
4. Ideal for adult learning, networking and collaboration
5. Can use facilitator or be self-facilitated

Our Proven, High-Quality Services

1. Customize complete program design
2. Guide staffing, marketing, evaluation planning
3. Quickly train staff and facilitators, if needed
4. Provide ongoing guidance and support
5. Provide step-by-step, time-tested materials

Publicity About Our Services

• "Specialists in Learning that Lasts" in Minneapolis StarTribune
• "Developing Internal Networks of Self-Directed Learners Using Peer Coaching Groups" in Chief Learning Officer
• "Best Practices in Talent Management" (this is the last chapter, and is co-authored by Microsoft and Carter McNamara)
• "Leaders Coaching Leaders" from Leadership Excellence magazine
• "Pulling Off Peer Coaching" in Training magazine.

General Resources About Action Learning

All About Action Learning

Resources for Coaching and Action Learning Programs

Action Learning Glossary

Peer Coaching Groups( and Action Learning Process