Rogue learning on the company reservation

Compares two companies’ use of action learning, one primarily for individual staff development, the other for staff development and business objectives. In the second, action learning’s questioning, problem‐solving ethos had pervaded corporate life. This innovative culture was substantially driven by top management, but this was not a free licence for staff to innovate, and learners’ initiatives were restrained within implicit boundaries. The research, covering all levels, was conducted by interviews and group discussions. Recommendations to amplify individual learning for corporate impact include: develop staff to bring about change; cultivate a receptive culture; allow time; tolerate some subversiveness; and prevent bounds to autonomy from inhibiting initiative.