Successful scaling of action learning principles through self-facilitated peer coaching groups

ABSTRACT

This account of practice describes an online program started in 2022, which helps leaders at BNP Paribas to be more effective problem solvers and inclusive leaders by developing stronger questioning and listening skills. The goals of this program were aligned with action learning and could have been achieved with standard, coach-led action learning groups, however there was a desire at the bank to scale this program to support up to 80 participants at a time at a reasonable budget. Therefore, at Be Leadership we set out to design a program that met our learning outcomes in a scalable, cost-effective way. This account concludes that with the right set up and ongoing support, self-facilitated peer coaching groups can consistently reach the same rich learnings and positive outcomes as those using standard coach-led action learning. Across three cohorts and 47 peer coaching groups, 96 percent of participants said they were satisfied with the program and 92 percent said insights from this program would be useful in their career development. When asked if they would recommend this course to their peers, the experience received a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 8.53 on a scale of 1–10.

KEYWORDS:

• Peer coaching
• self-facilitation
• scaling (or scale?)
• action learning (or is this self-evident)?

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Net Promoter Score (NPS) indicates the likelihood people will recommend an experience to others and is calculated by subtracting the total percentage of detractors (score 6 or less) from the total percentage of promoters (score 9–10).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Shannon Banks

Shannon Banks is managing director of Be Leadership, and an award-winning facilitator, consultant, and coach. A pioneer in the field of social leadership, she founded her company in 2014 to help organizations bring their purpose to life through their people. She has delivered quality, bespoke work to diverse clients across many sectors, including Roche, BNP Paribas, and the UK House of Commons and has partnered with world changing organizations such as Teach for India, Grameen Foundation, and Siel Bleu. She spent twenty years in the technology industry, including seventeen years at Microsoft where she held a variety of global leadership roles across the business and HR. She has won international awards for her work in leadership development and talent management and is a sought-after public speaker. She was the first action learning coach certified in the United Kingdom by the World Institute for Action Learning (WIAL). As one of only twenty coaches globally to obtain the Master Action Learning Coach qualification, Shannon frequently teaches the Action Learning Coach Certification courses held in Britain and uses action learning to support her clients in creating sustainable cultural change. She is co-author of the third edition of the field-defining book Optimizing the Power of Action Learning. Her book Because: 12 Essential Skills for Connecting How you Lead with Why was published October 2023.