Mindsets of experienced action learning coaches and their impact on the practice of coaching action learning groups

Abstract

ABSTRACT Team coaching has become more utilized in organizations as they realize the importance of developing highly effective teams. There has been some research done on the skills needed by those who coach teams. However, very little has been done on the mindset needed for effectively coaching teams, and no research on the mindset for coaching action learning teams. This qualitative research is the study of 19 highly experienced master action learning coaches who have been certified by the World Institute for Action Learning (WIAL) and have over 500 h of action learning coaching experiences over a 10-year-plus time period. The Master Action Learning Coaches (MALCs) were asked to (a) confirm if the 5 key mindsets identified by the researcher for coaching action learning teams were valid and (b) provide examples and questions that accrued from incorporating these mindsets in their coaching of action learning teams. The MALCs concurred on the 5 mindsets, and also provided a rich array of examples of how these mindsets affected their coaching. Two additional mindsets were offered as well. Implications for research and as well as the practice of action learning coaching are presented.