From passenger to pilot: why leadership development needs action learning

We’ve all been there.

You walk out of a leadership workshop, workbook in hand, and feel… no different. Nothing’s really changed.

It’s not that the session was bad. The content made sense. The facilitator was good. But you were a passenger — not the one driving.

At Living Systems we believe the only development that truly sticks is when people take ownership. That’s why Action Learning sits at the heart of how we develop leaders — because it transforms development from a one-off event into a lived, ongoing responsibility.

Why ownership matters

You’ve probably heard of the 70/20/10 model in leadership learning. It’s been around for decades — and it still holds.

• 70% of leadership growth happens through real experience
   
• 20% through social learning and feedback
   
• Only 10% comes through formal training
   

Yet so many leadership development programmes still focus on the 10%. That’s not just outdated, it’s ineffective.

Action learning flips that model back on its feet. It creates structured, facilitated space for people to engage with the 70 and the 20 — in real time, on real problems, with real consequences.

What is action learning?

It’s not a theory, not a case study. At its core, action learning is learning by doing — with reflection, feedback, and peer support baked in.

In small groups (called “sets”), participants tackle live workplace challenges. They:

• Ask questions
  
• Share perspectives
  
• Hold each other accountable
  
• Experiment, act, and reflect
   

It’s not just about solving a problem. It’s about developing the capacity to learn through action — over and over again.

As Reg Revans, the founder of action learning, put it:

“You cannot change the system unless you are changed in the process.”

Why action learning works

Action learning delivers what most leadership programmes don’t:

• Psychological safety to explore complex, messy challenges
  
• Peer support with just the right amount of stretch
  
• Ownership of real problems — not pretend case studies
  
• Time and space for reflection — without stepping away from the job
  

It builds:

• Systems thinkers who see beyond symptoms
  
• Change agents who act without waiting for permission
  
• Self-aware learners who ask better questions, not just find quicker answers
   

This is development that doesn’t sit in a slide deck. It lives in your leadership.

From learning to impact

Action learning doesn’t just build insight — it creates traction.

Because participants work on real problems, their learning immediately translates into action. And when leaders own the challenge, they also own the outcome.

It’s not theoretical knowledge. It’s growth you can trace:

• New ways of thinking
• Tangible behavioural shifts on the job
• Measurable Cultural shifts within teams
  

This is learning that cascades — not just upwards into leadership capability, but outwards into how work gets done. Across teams. Across functions. Across the organisation.

Why Living Systems goes further: immersive action learning

At Living Systems, we go beyond traditional action learning. We create immersive learning environments where leaders work on high-stakes, high-complexity challenges — together.

Our facilitated action learning approach blends:

• Cross-functional teams
• Live simulations and learning labs
• Rich, adaptive scenarios where the “answers” don’t exist yet

This is leadership in the wild — no slides, no scripts. Just real learning, under real pressure, with real leadership  transformation on the other side.

The result? leaders who show up differently

After immersive action learning, leaders don’t just know more. They:

• Speak up differently
  
• Listen more fully
  
• Coach more often
  
• Reflect more deeply
  
• And drive action with greater confidence and clarity
  

They’re no longer passengers  in their own development.
They’re now pilots — equipped to navigate complexity with humility, agency and momentum.

Let’s stop training leaders to pass tests.
Let’s build leaders who take ownership, act boldly, and learn in the doing.

Because leadership isn’t taught.
It’s lived.

Transformation starts here…

The future belongs to organisations that unlock the power of Collective Intelligence — feeling, thinking, and acting as one. Are you ready to build that capacity? Start the conversation with us.