Action Learning, Leadership and Organizational Development in Public Services

Unprecedented investment is being made in leadership development across the public sector: leadership courses are growing; and development is a core theme of organizational capacity building initiatives.

Within this, action learning has attracted increasing interest as an approach that can simultaneously address individual and organizational development.

An impressive and scholarly collection, this book collates important examples and considers the evidence for action learning's effectiveness.

With rich accounts drawn from diverse public services, it investigates: accounts of the ways in which action learning is currently deployed in leadership and organization development in public service organizations; outcomes, lessons and issues in terms of capabilities developed, resources, opportunities and constraints for action learning approaches; and implications for future approaches to development of public service leaders and organizations. An important read for postgraduate students and researchers of human resources, training and development, this important book draws important insights to raise new questions concerning the role of the facilitator, the value of a 'bilingual' ability with public service issues and facilitation, comparisons with coaching and mentoring, and implications for employing action learning in a politicized or hierarchical environment and on a consultancy basis.