ACTION LEARNING SET

TOOLKIT
A structured learning method which enables
small groups to address complex issues.
CONTENTS
WHY USE THIS GUIDE 3
HOW TO USE IT 4
1. INTRODUCTION 5
What is our approach to business learning?  5
What is an Action Learning Set? 6
What are the benefits? 7
What does it look like in practice? 7
2. CASE STUDY 8
Where have we done this before? 8
Who was involved? 8
How did it work? 10
What did the participants say? 10
3. PROCESS OVERVIEW 11
STEP 1: PREPARATION 11
How do I start? 11
Who do I invite? 12
What roles are involved? 12
STEP 2: MEETINGS 13
How do I run an Action Learning Set? 13
What to do in-between meetings? 13
How do I close an Action Learning Set? 14
STEP 3: REVIEW 14
RESOURCES15
A - Meetings handouts  15
B - Roles checklist 26
C - Recording progress - journaling  28
D - Peer-Coaching (grow model) 31

2
WHY USE THIS GUIDE
We can solve problems better and faster if we bring people together to
share their stories and collaborate. This Toolkit will help you bring people
together in a productive way and jointly find better ways to integrate
circular economy thinking in your business.
Action Learning Sets are a great way to complement and accelerate your
other activities to move towards a circular business, providing you with a
problem-solving opportunity for the organisations and individuals involved.

‘Through the Action Learning Set, we were able to congregate

likeminded thinkers and doers in our organisation that hadn’t met in
any previous forum. We discussed challenges ... and came to some
new solutions, which we are developing onwards. The ALS format
provided by EMF enabled us to have structure to our meetups and
fruitful discussions’
Laura Coppen - H&M Group, The Laboratory

1. A more engaging way to expand your

knowledge of the circular economy.
2. Improved interaction with peers
& colleagues
• Collaborative learning approach
to translate circular economy ideas
HOW WILL IT into practical work contexts via greater
BENEFIT BUSINESS situational awareness

PROFESSIONALS? • Finding support & advocates for future

projects
3. Build core capabilities to create
new circular economy inspired business
opportunities

3
HOW TO USE IT
This toolkit will guide you through each step of the Action Learning Set
process and provide you with all the relevant handouts and tools to guide
you to initiate and run this approach in your business.
The diagram below shows how this Toolkit is structured. Each of elements
contains hyperlinks to lead you straight to the section that is most relevant
to you.
This document is divided into three main parts:
1. UNDERSTAND: Including an introduction to the approach and
a case study.
2. ACTION LEARNING SET PROCESS: Including information on
how to prepare, run and review Action Learning Sets.
3. RESOURCES: Including useful handouts, checklists, models
and instructions.

INTRODUCTION CASE STUDY

REVIEW PREPARATION

CLOSING FIRST
MEETING MEETING

SUBSEQUENT
MEETING

MEETING HANDOUTS
ROLES CHECKLIST
JOURNALING PRACTICE
PEER-COACHING PROCESS MODEL

4
1. INTRODUCTION
What is our approach to business learning?
Learning for circular economy
works best when you put your
theory into practice and in return
learn from your experience. This
approach to learning is also
reflected in the Action Learning
Set process.
Theoretical understanding is
deepened by developing a better
grasp of the concepts - progressing from a basic, to an intermediate and
lastly to an in-depth level of theoretical comprehension.
Your skills as a practitioner are gradually improving by applying your
theoretical understanding into real life contexts and thus developing
beginner, practitioner and finally mastery level practitioners’ skills.

Theory: Creating Practice: Applying the

conceptual theory & developing
understanding practitioner skills

Everyone is engaged in learning through action albeit it almost always

happens in a tacit, unconscious way. Engaging in an Action Learning Set
brings attention to the process of learning and making the practical skills
which you acquire (or need to acquire), more explicit.

Engaging with an Action Learning Set approach provides organisations

with a coherent way of developing three conditions that are needed to
transition to a circular business1:

1 David Ballard: ‘Using learning processes to promote change for sustainable development’ published in
Action Research (Special Issue on Change for Sustainable Development), Volume 3 Issue 2, June 2005, 5
by Sage Publications Ltd
 1. Awareness (contextual, theoretical and conceptual understanding of
circular economy)
2. Agency (individual and organisational purpose, motivation, drive and
skills to lead and manifest circular economy ideas)
3. Association (networks, alliances, collaborators and peers)

Developed by
David Ballard (2005),
University of Bath

What is an Action Learning Set?

An Action Learning Set is structured in a way that enables a group of 4-6
participants who have similar concerns and interests to meet regularly and
address complex issues together. They are a great way to complement your
ongoing activities to move towards a circular business.
The members of the group help each other to learn from their real-life
experiences. Through conversations and peer-to-peer coaching they make
sense of the situation, (re-)define their problems in creative ways, identify
new opportunities and improve ways of working as illustrated by Reg
Revans’ story below.
The following story describes the origins of the Action Learning Set
approach from the 1930s:

Back in the 1930s, Reg Revans, a young PhD student in Astrophysics

at Cambridge University, was working alongside eight Nobel Prize
winners. None of them worked in his field, but he noticed that when
they were faced with difficult research problems, they would sit
down together and ask one another lots of questions. No one person
was considered more important than any other and they all had
contributions to make, even when they were not experts in a particular
field. In this way they teased out workable solutions to their own and
others’ problems.

Revans was struck by how powerful this technique was. When he went
to work for the Coal Board, he introduced the technique there. When
pit managers had problems, he encouraged them to meet together
in small groups onsite to discuss their issues by asking one another
questions about what they saw. This allowed them to find their own
solutions rather than bringing in ‘experts’ to solve their problems for
them. The technique proved so successful and managers went on to
write their own handbook on how to run a coal mine.

Some years later, Professor Reg Revans tested and formalised the
theory which now forms the basis for the Action Learning Set process
and is the cornerstone of many management and organisational
development programmes.
6
What are the benefits?
Engaging in an Action Learning Set provides both a learning and problem-
solving opportunity for the organisation and individuals involved.

Benefits
• Improve your understanding in Circular Economy
• Develop of a ‘can-do’ and creative problem-solving mindset
• Enhance your network and collaboration across different business
functions
• Increase your confidence and motivation to continue working
towards circular goals
• Develop of a peer-to-peer coaching culture
• Creating real business results that align with circular goals

What does it look like in practice?

4-6 people meet regularly in a semi-formal setting to discuss a pre-defined
overarching theme, challenge or question.
The meetings can be run virtually or face-to-face.
All meetings follow roughly the same flow as you can see in the sample
agenda to the right.

Action Learning Generic Flow (60 min)

1. Introductions & Group Prep (30 min) only for 1st ALS
2. Check-in (15 min) Discuss learning momentum since previous
ALS (N/A for 1st ALS)
3. Individual(s) present particular cases (5-10 min) real life
scenario, challenge or question
4. Group conversation and peer-to-peer coaching (20-30 min)
to explore the issue, identify new ways forward and support
the case holder (if time allows, another person could present
his challenge/case in more detail
5. Wrap-up (5-10 min) capture key insights

7
2. CASE STUDY
Where have we done this before?
At the end of the Acceleration Workshop in Reykjavik in 2017, the
companies in the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s CE100 Network expressed
the need to offer a more engaging way of learning about circular economy.
We also saw the need for professionals to better understand how to apply
circular economy theory and concepts in practice and adapt the new ideas
in their own contexts. The Action Learning Set approach outlined in this
document was designed to address that need and in March 2018, we ran
a pilot Action Learning Sets with 11 organisations.

The aim of the Action Learning Set approach was to…

• Offer an engaging way for people to develop their understanding
about circular economy and how they can best introduce these
new ideas into their workplace;
• Improve understanding in their respective areas of Marketing,
Finance, Research and Innovation and Supply Chain Management;
• Gain more confidence to talk about circular economy at work
(and outside of work);
• Generate new ideas for their teams/organisation;
• Make meaningful connections with colleagues from other
functions (i.e. improve peer-to-peer support).

Who was involved?

A total of 80 participants across 11 organisations took part in the Action
Learning Sets pilot programme. They were based in 8 different countries
and thus the Action Learning Sets were run in 5 different languages.
The participating companies came from a variety of industries such as
construction, finance, electronics, retail-fashion, and Fast-Moving
Consumer Goods (FMCG).
In preparation for their Action Learning Sets, participants of the various
businesses attended a live webinar held by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation
to give them a more detailed overview of this approach. This webinar
introduced the overall process, the role of the host and the GROW peer-
coaching model. The participants received an Action Learning Set Guide
which gave them in-depth information on every specific aspect of an
Action Learning Set.
Each Action Learning Set group identified a host whose role involved
coordinating the planned subsequent Action Learning Set meetings and
guiding the participants in the meetings. A small number of the groups
decided to rotate the host role which worked well too

8
Forming the Action Learning Sets:
Each of participating organisations formed an Action Learning Set which
on average included 6 participants from various roles and functions across
that organisation.

“We were able to congregate likeminded thinkers and doers in our

organisation that hadn’t met in any previous forum.”
(Quote from a participant)

Action Learning Set meetings alongside

e-Learning programme:
The pilot Action Learning Set programme was designed to complement
the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s existing e-Learning programme2 and thus
create a more engaging learning experience. The recommendation was to
have 5 Action Learning Sets running along the 5 online modules on a weekly
or bi-weekly basis (see overview below).

Example Timeline

2
To access the e-Learning programme go to: learn.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
9
How did it work?
During each meeting, one participant shared their circular economy
challenge that they were facing in their line of work and that related to
the module of the e-Learning tool for that week, e.g:
• How can we work with the suppliers or with customers to help them
see and value circular product cycle approaches?
• Or how we can create a circular business model?
• What could new costing models look like?
At each Action Learning Set, the participants used the GROW coaching
model to address their respective challenges. The model offered a peer-to-
peer coaching process that took the participants through a set of questions
to establish the desired goal of the situation, the current reality, the
possible options to realise that goal and finally a way forward.

What did the participants say?

The majority of the participants reported:
• An improved understanding about circular economy
• That they could talk to others about circular economy with more ease
• That they have made useful connections with their peers from different
business functions
About half said they were more likely to apply their new insights at work.
A third felt they were able to generate new ideas for their organisation.

The following set of testimonials were shared with us by the participants

after the pilots were completed:

“It worked well to gather cross functional persons together to discuss

the varying challenges, opportunities that we face when working
towards a CE, we rarely have that opportunity in a co. this size,
so everyone commented this was valuable”

“The action learning was a great way to connect people from different
parts of our business and connect dots, share learnings. I think they
are a necessary addition to e-learning in order to make the content
relevant and actionable to our company reality.”

10
3. PROCESS OVERVIEW
The Action Learning Set process consists of three parts:
1. PREPARATION - Familiarising yourself with the Action Learning Set
approach, setting up the group
2. ACTION LEARNING SET MEETINGS – Participating or Hosting in a
series of Action Learning Sets. The first one and the last have a slightly
different purpose and therefore a different content and flow.
3. REVIEW – Capturing your own and the participants’ feedback at the
end of the last Action Learning Set and evaluating how you would
improve it in the future.

STEP 1: PREPARATION
There are several things to consider when initiating an Action Learning Set,
such as your shared question, the number of participants and who they will
be and, most importantly, the schedule and required logistics of the Action
Learning Set meetings.

How do I start?
Begin by asking yourself, in relation to circular economy, what are we trying
to do in our organisation?
Here are some examples:
• How can we become a Zero Waste company?
• How can we move towards a more circular business model?
• What could a reverse logistics process for our business look like?

A good shared question will be:

□□ Aligned with the organisation’s circular goals
□□ Ambitious enough to inspire
□□ Broad enough for people working in different roles/functions to
be able to relate to it to the questions or concerns they have in
their own line of work

In general, “How can we…?” or ‘What would it take to…?’ is a good way to
form a shared question.
The shared question frames the overarching theme of an Action Learning
Set and helps participants come together to address it in relation to their
individual concerns or questions.

Before inviting others, make sure you are clear:

□□ What you are inviting them to. What topic/ area or key question
are you proposing for the Action Learning Set?
□□ How long you would like this Action Learning process to run for,
e.g. 1, 3 or 6 months? What is your rationale for this length of
time?
□□ What meeting frequency would work best for your topic and the
group of people which you are aiming to bring together? (e.g.
weekly, monthly, quarterly?)

11
Who do I invite?
When deciding who to invite to an Action Learning Set, it is useful to think
about the different functions that are, or could be, involved in the circular
business efforts. In principle, anyone can join the Action Learning Set if they
have an interest in the shared question, have a related individual concern
or question in their line of work and are able to commit to the schedule
of meetings.

A good participant will have:

□□ An interest in the shared question
□□ A basic understanding of circular economy
□□ Motivation to engage in the Action Learning Set process
□□ An ability to commit to the schedule of meetings

The key is for participants to choose to participate in the Action Learning

Set voluntarily and eagerly.

What roles are involved?

When setting up an Action Learning Set you need to think about the roles
in the Set and the logistics required to run one.

Roles
There are two roles in an Action Learning Set: being a host or being
a participant.
The role of a Host entails the following:
• Initiating the Action Learning Set;
• Introducing the shared question;
• Inviting people to join the Action Learning Set;
• Scheduling the Action Learning Set meetings and taking care
of logistics;
• Running the Action Learning Set meetings following the templates
in this Toolkit.
More experienced groups may take a joint responsibility to cover the role of
a host while following the instructions set out in this Toolkit. Alternatively,
once the Action Learning Set has been going for a while, the group may
choose to rotate the hosting role for each meeting.
The role of a participant is to respond to an invitation, commits to
attending the Action Learning Set meetings and brings their own individual
concern or question.

Tip: We recommend that the hosts and all the participants attend an
Ellen MacArthur Foundation webinar on how to run an Action
Learning Set.

You can find a more detailed check-list of what each role requires in the
Appendices, Appendix B – Roles Checklist.

For webinar dates and registration, please go to the Ellen MacArthur Website / Our Work / CE100 / Learning
Resources

12
Scheduling and Logistics
We strongly recommend sending the invitation to the Action Learning Set
requested participants 2-3 months in advance, communicating the schedule
of the meetings so that people can commit as they reply to your invitation.
Other things to consider when planning the meetings:
• The size of the group: 4-6 people
• Frequency of meetings: every 2-4 weeks
• Duration: it can last a month, several months or be indefinite
• Length of the meeting: 60-75 min
• Room setup: sitting around the table, flipchart stand and markers
• Virtual or face-to-face: Face-to-face is a recommended option, but
with the help of technology (Zoom, WebEx etc.) virtual or blended
meetings work just as well. We would recommend meeting face-to-face
for the first time, however.

STEP 2: MEETINGS
How do I run an Action Learning Set?
Once you have established an Action Learning Group, use both the checklist
below and the handouts included in this Toolkit to help you to prepare for
and run the first and all subsequent Action Learning Set meetings.

Checklist
Before the Action Learning Set starts to run:
□□ Have you familiarised with this toolkit?
□□ Have you created a shared question/intention?
□□ Have you invited and secured the participants?
□□ Have you arranged the schedule and the meeting place?

What to do in-between meetings?

We recommend taking time to prepare for each upcoming meeting and
after each meeting taking a little moment to reflect.
The Action Learning Set meetings provide a special opportunity for you
to present your particular challenge or question and receive input and
coaching from your peers.
Consider if you would like to be presenting a case (challenge or question)
at the next meeting. If so, what input are you looking for from your peers?
How could your peers help you?
After each meeting, reflect on what new insights have come up for you and
what actions or new ideas you would like to follow-up on.
See resources for useful questions.

13
How do I close an Action Learning Set?
Once you decide to bring the Action Learning Set to a close, organise the
final meeting and use the Closing Action Learning Set meeting handout
to prepare for, and run, the final session.
At the end of the last meeting, it is an important step that you jointly
reflect how useful this process has been to you as individuals and to you
as a group.
When closing the Action Learning Set gather feedback:
• What new insights & learnings have come up for you and your group?
• What do you think went well?
• What would need to be improved when running future Action
Learning Sets?

STEP 3: REVIEW
After the closing meeting take the time to review the feedback which you
gathered at the closing event and from other stakeholders related to the
Action Learning Set group (e.g. line managers, project leads, etc) reflect on
how useful you have found this process for your yourself, your colleagues
and the various projects that were addressed:
• Would you recommend running Action learning Set’s again in your
team/ your business?
• What would you improve?
• Which other topics or challenges would you address in future Action
Learning Sets?
Based on your review you may decide to continue with the same Action
Learning Set format (and even topic and team), or initiate a new Action
Learning Set (with a new question and/or new participants).

14
RESOURCES
A - MEETING HANDOUTS
FIRST MEETING HANDOUT

Purpose:
• Getting acquainted with each other
• Creating group agreements
• Sharing individual concerns and questions
Time: 75 min

Preparation:
• Print this handout to bring to the meeting prior to the meeting
• Use the guiding questions at the bottom to prepare for your
first meeting
• Recommended: Bring along a journal or dedicated notebook for all your
Action Learning Sets where key insights, take-aways or your reflections
on the guiding questions below can be captured

SECTION DETAILS TIMING RESOURCES

Host welcomes everyone, explains

Welcome the reasons and intentions behind 5’
convening an Action Learning Set.

Everyone introduces themselves

(split the time equally among
everyone):
• Name and role List participant
Introductions 15’
• Department and years in the names
company
• What attracted you to join the
Action Learning Set?

Host briefly explains why the

particular topic or question being
discussed for the Action Learning
Set has been chosen.
Everyone shares their individual
Theme/ concern or question that they have Flipchart
20’
question brought with them. This may be + markers
tentative at this stage. Asking “How
can I…?” and thinking out loud is a
good first step.
(split the time equally among
everyone)

15
 Host shares a list of suggested
group agreements with everybody
and asks the group to agree to or
make changes to the suggestions as
they see fit to better work together.
Suggested agreements:
Group • Confidentiality
agreements
• Punctuality
on how 20’
to work • Diversity of views
together
• Respect and listening
• Commitment to attend
the meetings
Record the final list of agreements
and bring them to each meeting.
(e.g. on a flipchart or handout).

Everybody takes 5 min on their

Individual Notebook
own to reflect on the questions 5’
reflection + pen
suggested below.

Everybody shares one thing they

Group are taking away from this meeting
10’
closing which they will try to apply/focus on
until the next meeting.

When participating in the Action Learning Set, pay attention to

potential pitfalls (Don’t…) and behaviours that will help you to
succeed (Do…):

□□ Speak an equal amount of time as the others

□□ Listen attentively
□□ Attempt to see things from the other person’s point of view
□□ Ask good questions which encourage thought and exploration
□□ Respect and value everyone’s capacity to make their own
decisions

□□ Interrupt
□□ Impose your own values, views, opinions and advice
□□ Be judgemental about the person’s values
□□ Criticise, negate or trivialise what the person is working on
□□ Assume that their situation is similar to ones you
have experienced

16
Guiding Questions for Reflection
The following guiding question for reflections will help you get the most out
of your participation in the Action Learning Sets. You can use this handout
to capture your responses below or alternatively use your own dedicated
notebook or journal where you can capture your thoughts and reflections
for this and all consecutive meetings.

BEFORE attending the First Action Learning Set meeting,

please reflect on the following questions:
Taking a few moments to reflect will help you come into the Action Learning
Set more prepared and have better clarity of what you want to achieve, thus
contributing to the higher learning efficiency.

What attracted me to join the Action Learning Set formed around

this topic?

What concern or question do I have that relates to the

Action Learning Set topic?

Why is this question important to me?

What do I need from the group in order to openly share and discuss
my concerns or questions?

17
AFTER attending the First Action Learning Set meeting,
please reflect on the following questions:
Taking a few moments to reflect will help you come into the Action Learning
Set more prepared and have better clarity of what you want to achieve.

What am I taking away from the first meeting? What struck me

the most?

How has my question or concern changed since attending this

first meeting?

What actions am I going to take before attending the next meeting?

18
SUBSEQUENT MEETING HANDOUT
Purpose:
• Reflect on the learning so far
• Group coaching to address a particular concern
Time: 75 min

Preparation:
• Print this handout to bring to the meeting prior to the meeting
• Print the GROW coaching model
• Use the guiding questions at the bottom to prepare for this meeting
• Optional: Bring along a journal or dedicated notebook for all your
Action Learning Sets where key insights, take-aways or your reflections
on the guiding questions below can be captured

SECTION DETAILS TIMING RESOURCES

Everyone checks-in by briefly

sharing about:
• New developments in relation
to each individual’s concern or
Check-in question which they brought to 15’ Handout
the last Action Learning Set
• General updates at work
(split the time equally among
everyone)

Participants with a pressing concern

or question in their individual line of
work:
• Very briefly share their concern
Identifying • Rate the urgency and
the concern importance of their concern 10’
of the day on the scale of 1 to 10
Everyone decides together whose
concern they are going to address in
this meeting (based on the urgency
and importance ratings).

19
 The chosen participant shares their
concern in more detail using the
following questions:
Goal:
• What is the outcome you want
from this situation?
• What is the result you want
to generate? GROW Peer
Presenting Coaching
the concern Reality 5’ Model handout
in detail • What is happening at for additional
the moment? questions

• Why is there is a problem?

Everyone else:
• Listens attentively and gives
their undivided attention to
what is being presented
• Asks brief clarifying questions

Everyone else discusses how best

to address the presented situation
using the following questions:
Options: Handout:
Capturing
GROW
ideas for • What possibilities for action
25’ Coaching
possible do you see?
Model
solutions
• Who might be able to help? instructions (8)
The participant with the concern
may choose to briefly respond or
ask clarifying questions.

The participant with the concern

reflects back to the group using
the following questions:
Way forward:
Next steps 10’
• Which option do you like
the most?
• What are the next steps?
• What support do I need?

Everybody answers individual

Individual Notebook
reflection questions (see questions 5’
reflection + pen
below).

Everybody shares one thing they

are taking away with them from this
Group meeting and will try to apply/focus
on until the next meeting 5’
closing
Ideas to improve the future sessions
should be recorded by host.

20
The success of the Action Learning Set depends on the quality of
questions asked. The questions presented in the handout follow the
GROW Coaching Model. These are additional good questions to ask
during goal and reality:

Good questions for clarification

□□ What happened?
□□ How do you see it?
□□ What makes you say that?
□□ What else can explain the situation?
□□ Who might help you?
□□ What obstacles do you envisage?
□□ Who will be affected by your success?

Good questions for probing

□□ Can you explain…?
□□ What exactly…?
□□ Who else matters to this process?
□□ Can you give an example?
□□ What happened…and…?
□□ Who are “they”?
□□ How do you feel about/when…?
□□ What assumptions are you making?
□□ Is that assumption stopping you?

When participating in the Action Learning Set, pay attention to

potential pitfalls (Don’t…) and behaviours that will help you to
succeed (Do…):

□□ Speak an equal amount of time as the others

□□ Listen attentively
□□ Attempt to see things from the other person’s point of view
□□ Ask good questions which encourage thought and exploration
□□ Respect and value everyone’s capacity to make their
own decisions

□□ Interrupt
□□ Impose your own values, views, opinions and advice
□□ Be judgemental about the person’s values
□□ Criticise, negate or trivialise what the person is working on
□□ Assume that their situation is similar to ones you
have experienced

21
Guiding Questions for Reflection
The following guiding question for reflections will help you get the most out
of your participation in the Action Learning Sets. You can use this handout
to capture your responses below or alternatively use your own dedicated
notebook or journal where you can capture your thoughts and reflections
for this and all consecutive meetings.

BEFORE attending the First Action Learning Set meeting,

please reflect on the following questions:
Taking a few moments to reflect will help you come into the Action Learning
Set more prepared and have better clarity of what you want to achieve.

What concern or question am I bringing to the Action Learning Set?

What have I learnt since the last meeting?

What do I need from today’s Action Learning Set meeting?

22
AFTER attending the First Action Learning Set meeting,
please reflect on the following questions:
Taking a few moments at the end of the meeting to reflect will help you
capture emerging insights, new ideas, additional questions and potential
next steps, thus propelling your learning and understanding of
circular economy.

What are my key take-aways from today’s meeting?

What actions will I take before the next meeting?

How can we improve our Action Learning Set meetings?

23
CLOSING MEETING HANDOUT
Purpose:
• Reflect on individual actions and learning
• Reflect on the group experience
• Reflect and gather feedback on the Action Learning Set process
Time: 75 min

Preparation:
• Print this handout to bring to the meeting prior to the meeting
• Use the guiding questions at the bottom to prepare for this meeting
• Optional: Bring along a journal or dedicated notebook for all your
Action Learning Sets where key insights, take-aways or your reflections
on the guiding questions below can be captured

SECTION DETAILS TIMING RESOURCES

Everyone checks-in by briefly

sharing about:
• New developments in relation Print and
to the individual concern complete this
Check-in or question 10’
handout prior
• General updates at work to the meeting

(split the time equally among

everyone)

Host acknowledges that this is the

last Action Learning Set meeting
and reminds all participants of the
shared question.
Everyone shares their individual
learning experience following these
questions:
Reflecting • What have you learnt about
on individual circular economy? 30’
action and
learning • What has changed trying to
address the individual concern
or question?
• Are there any other related
learning points, insights or
experiences?
(split the time equally among
everyone)

24
 Everyone shares how it was to work
and learn together following these
questions:

Reflecting • What did you really appreciate

on working about this experience and the 20’
together Action Learning Set process?
• What could be improved?
(split the time equally among
everyone)

Everybody answers individual

reflection questions at the end of
Individual this handout. Notebook
10’
reflection + pen
Use journaling practice technique
and give 2 minutes per question.

Everybody shares one thing they

Group
are taking forward from this Action 5’
closing
Learning Set.

When participating in the Action Learning Set, pay attention

to potential pitfalls (Don’t…) and behaviours that will help you
succeed (Do…):

□□ Speak an equal amount of time as the others

□□ Listen attentively
□□ Attempt to see things from the other person’s point of view
□□ Ask good questions which encourage thought and exploration
□□ Respect and value everyone’s capacity to make their
own decisions

□□ Interrupt
□□ Impose your own values, views, opinions and advice
□□ Be judgemental about the person’s values
□□ Criticise, negate or trivialise what the person is working on
□□ Assume that their situation is similar to ones you
have experienced

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B - ROLES CHECKLIST
Host

When initiating an Action Learning Set (ALS)

□□ Familiarise yourself with the ALS Toolkit
□□ Attend an Ellen MacArthur Foundation training webinar
(offered 3 times per year)
□□ Think of the overarching theme/question for the ALS
□□ Set all the dates and times for the ALS meetings
□□ Send an invitation to colleagues to join the ALS, communicating
the purpose and process of the group discussions, together
with the dates and times of the meetings (this toolkit can also
be shared with those who would appreciate reading more
about ALS)
□□ Organise the physical/virtual space for the meetings

During the ALS meetings

□□ Before the ALS: Familiarise yourself with the meeting agenda
and process (read through the handouts included in this Toolkit)
□□ Hold the ‘process’ and stick to the agreed timings; this may
involve pointing out when the participants in their discussions
or questioning start moving away from the intended focus of
the conversation
□□ Create an atmosphere where it is safe to speak openly
□□ Ensure the focus remains on learning about the real issues
□□ Act when appropriate to prevent digression and intervene by
asking ‘Can you rephrase the question?’ or saying ‘I observe that
you are giving advice rather than letting the presenter find their
own answer’
□□ Ensure good questions are asked and formulated in an ‘open way’
(why, what, how…)
□□ Ensure only one person speaks at a time
□□ Role-models to the rest of the group what it looks like to be
a good listener and/ or to ask good questions
□□ Gathers the feedback from the group to improve subsequent
sessions. Also will send final feedback of the overall experience to
the Business Learning Team at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

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Participant

During the initial stage of an Action Learning Set ALS)

□□ Attend an Ellen MacArthur Foundation training webinar
(offered 3 times per year)
□□ Respond to the invitation to join an ALS
□□ Mark all the ALS meetings in your diary
□□ Familiarise yourself with the ALS Toolkit
□□ Think about the overarching theme/question and how it
relates to your particular job function

During the ALS meetings

□□ Bring an issue/problem/opportunity/question that is real
and relevant for you in your line of work and relates to the
overarching theme/question
□□ Share openly your experiences and insights
□□ Listen deeply and do not try to ‘fix’ the problems of others
□□ Listen to feedback of other participants and choose what
to respond to

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C - RECORDING PROGRESS
- JOURNALING
Overview
Journaling is an individual reflection practice that allows you to
access deeper levels of self-knowledge and connect this knowledge
to concrete actions.

Purpose
Journaling can be used whenever you want to contain the thoughts and
feelings about a particular situation, observe what happened in a more
detached objective way, spot patterns and links, or identify potential
next steps.

Uses and Outcomes

• Access deeper levels of self-reflection and knowledge
• Connect self-reflection to concrete actions and next steps
• Make sense of various situations and your role within them
• Recommended to use in preparation for Action Learning Set meetings
and at the end of each meeting

How-to principles
• Set a time for your journaling practice. Ideally this is a regular time in
your diary when you have some peace of mind to engage in a reflective
practice. We recommend doing this for 5-10 minutes on each occasion;
ensure you set an alarm.
• Keep the hand moving. We suggest writing without pausing - writing
without putting your pen down, regardless of what comes up, and only
stop when the alarm goes off.
• Don’t think – write. Journaling seeks to break through the chatty
cluttered mind and to allow the deeper self-knowledge and
observations come to the forefront, therefore, the goal is to write
whatever comes to mind, continuously, even if it doesn’t seem to
make sense.
• Show, don’t tell – give the sensuous detail. Recreate the experience
in full detail and place yourself back in the middle of it.
• Go fear-ward. If something uncomfortable comes up try to dive right
into it, as the biggest learning might lie there.

Set up
• Journal and pen: we recommend having a dedicated journal for
your practice.
• Timer: it is useful to give yourself a time limit for each question, which
can vary from 2 minutes (when you’re very short on time) to as long
as 10 minutes (when you really want to make a deep dive into
the situation).

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 • Find a place where you can remain undisturbed for your journaling
practice. Pick a place where others cannot see what you will be writing
so that you can do it freely and openly.

Practice Exercise
Think of a situation upon which you would like to reflect. This could be a
recent work or personal situation which has caused you a particularly strong
emotional reaction (such as “wow” or “ouch”). With this situation in mind,
answer the questions listed below.
For each question, set your timer for 5-10 minutes (depending on how much
time you have).

What happened?

How did it make you feel?

Why did I feel this way?

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 What was really going on?

What specific insights and conclusions are emerging?

For further insights, observations and potential next steps, you may want
to reread your answers either immediately after finishing your exercise
or later on.

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 D - PEER-COACHING
(GROW MODEL)
Overview
The GROW model is a simple method that can help you with your goal
setting and problem-solving which also can be used as a coaching tool
in a group setting. GROW stands for Goals, Current Reality, Options and
Way Forward.

Purpose
The GROW model allows the Action Learning Set participants to coach
each other and act as facilitators helping one another to unveil and select
the best option without offering direct advice.

What’s the challenge or issue?

What is the outcome you want What is happening at the moment?

from this situation?
How do you know there is
What is the result you want a problem?
to generate?
Where are you right now?
What will be an
outstanding result? What have you tried so far?
Wthat do others think of this
situation?
What are the next steps? What have you tried so far?
When will you do them? What possibilities for action do
What get in the way? you see?

What support do you need? Who might be able to help?

How will you know you’ve What are th benefits and pitfalls of
achieved your desired outcome? that option?
Which option do you like the most?

Uses and Outcomes

• Discover your aspirations
• Name the current situation and underlying assumptions
• See the possibilities and resources open to you
• Define the actions you want to take
• Use in a group during the Action Learning Set meetings to help your
Action Learning Set group better understand the raised concern or
question and ultimately find a good way forward
• When on your own, combine the journaling practice and GROW model
techniques to help answer the questions posed in both of these
learning/coaching tools

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How-to principles
• Powerful Questioning. Start by asking a set of questions from one
of the quadrants. Ask open questions – start broad, then narrow to
generate focus. Start with What? / Where? / Who? / How? / When?
Make sure your questions are not leading or judgemental.
• Stay flexible. Move around the GROW sequence according to your
intuition and revisit each step as necessary, in any order.
• Active listening. Listen to the answers with attention, curiosity and
empathy. Listen for potential, not problems, and let go of filters and
perceptions. Listen at a deeper level - beyond the words - in order
to get to the root cause of the presented concern/question. Reflect,
summarise, clarify, and reframe when needed.

Set up
When done in a group setting:
• Use a flipchart with markers to visualise and clarify aspects of
the conversation more easily
• Provide a pen and paper for group members
When done on your own:
• Use a notebook and pen

GROW – Guiding questions

Goal:
• What is the outcome you want from this situation?
• What is the result you want to generate?
• What will be an outstanding result?
• What will the result enable you to do?
• What will other people be saying to you?
• What will you have that you don’t have now?
Imagine 3 months from now, all obstacles are removed,
and you have achieved the goal:
• What do you see/hear/feel?
• What new elements are in place?
• What is different?

Reality:
• What is happening at the moment?
• How do you know there is a problem?
• Where are you right now?
• What have you tried so far?
• What do others think of this situation?
• What are you doing that takes you towards your goal?
• What are you doing that is getting in the way of your goal?
• Who else does it affect?

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Options:
• What have you tried so far?
• What possibilities for action do you see?
• Who might be able to help?
• What are the benefits and pitfalls of that option?
• Which option do you like the most?
• What has worked in the past?
• What steps are available to you?
• Where could you find out the information?
• How could you do that?

Way Forward:
• What are the next steps?
• When will you do them?
• How will you do them?
• Who will you talk to?
• What might get in the way?
• What support do you need?
• Is there anything you need to put in place before that?
• How will you know you’ve achieved your desired outcome?
• How committed are you to taking that action?
• What will it take for you to commit to that?

Practice Exercise
You will be using the GROW model questions during the Action
Learning Set meetings to help each other address the individual
concerns or questions.
You may also decide to use this model for a personal reflection
following these steps:
1. Think of the concern you want to explore
2. Answer 2-3 questions from each GROW section.

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