2. www.eiil.net
EIILLearningand
theKolbCycle
At the EIIL our workshop designs
follow the Kolb learning (sometimes
improvement) cycle
• We recognise that ‘Plan > Do > Review’ is
only really effective when a thorough
Review (of detailed factual observations)
is supplemented with a ‘Theory’ step to
explain possible reasons why we
observed what we observed.
• Our coaches have developed their
expertise in observing team behaviours.
They have helped teams improve their
team-working skills over more than thirty
years, working with thousands of teams in
industry, in NGOs and in elite level sport.
• In 2006 the EIIL first adapted this
approach to acquiring business leadership
knowledge and to developing the skill to
acquire this knowledge effectively and
respectfully.
3. www.eiil.net
EIILLearningand
theKolbCycle
Inductive learning
• In our High Performance Leader (HPL) team-
working workshops, as increasingly used in
the coaching of sports teams and athletes,
we start the Kolb cycle not with a lecture
(theory) but with a short Task (action).
• Our coaches (and the team) observe team
behaviours and Review to record detailed
and factual observations of cause and effect.
• Our coaches give explanations as to why
certain behaviours may have got certain
(observed) results, and the team is then
tasked to prepare their next Action step – to
plan to change their behaviours and to see
what works to achieve a desired effect.
• With repetition teams improve their
observations and are encouraged to practice
deliberate behaviours.
• When they are able to consciously apply at
will their knowledge of the effect of these
behaviours, we consider them to have
developed skill.
4. www.eiil.net
EIILLearningand
theKolbCycle
Kolb and the EIIL Masterclass
• Since 2006 our Masterclass workshops have
developed based on this successful team-
skills approach.
• We replace the short physical tasks of the
team-skills workshops with a direct
interaction with seniors from our EIIL
network.
• Our coaches provide expert observations of
both content and process, and help teams
make sense of their interaction through
review, together with short explanatory
‘lecturettes’.
• The EIIL Masterclass workshops encourage
participants to develop their skills in
respectfully extracting learning from
experienced seniors during their interactions.
• We call it ‘learning to learn from experience’
– both from the experience, and
experiences, of the senior, and from their
own experience of their interaction.
• Once learned, we believe this is a skill which
should stay with the best throughout their
careers.
Purpose:
The purpose of this document is to prepare for the IAB – to review the EIIL year and to propose strategy developments for IAB consideration and guidance / approval.