ABSTRACT
Action learning can, at first sight, appear to be largely an individual-focused activity. Yet it has been suggested (1) that every individual has within their gift, through their reflexive awareness and ability to act differently, both individually and collectively, the capacity to shape and reshape the organisational and social setting in which they find themselves. Similarly, it has been proposed that “it is through the questioning and awareness-raising processes that can produce changes of heart and mind where the near-invisible processes of change can begin” (2). This can be seen in contrast to predominant top-down and cascaded “grand narrative” Organisation Development (OD) programmes where, at best, learning and change are, in practice, limited to isolated pockets or cultural islands and are often blocked by numerous barriers and boundaries to transmission and exchange (3). What is needed are means of avoiding ad hoc and short-term initiatives with limited reach and scope and a widening of the circles of inclusivity (4,5). This approach has been described (6) as being “rhizomatic” – involving a variety of relationships and associations that extend in both space and time to form a gigantic, intricate and evolving texture of dependencies and references.
