DR RICHARD HALE - www.richardhaleassociates.com I consider myself fortunate to work in areas that stimulate me. It is hard to say what my job is and if people ask me I usually confuse them. You can see on this site though that there are certain threads running through my work and life; a passion for learning, a desire to help others learn, a need to demystify academia and a concern to inspire people and support for the underdog.I am not radical in my approach, but I do believe in challenging the status quo and some of the behaviours and thinking I come across in my business and educational roles. I like to see other people challenging and pushing boundaries. I hate complacency and arrogance and I am just uncomfortable seeing people coasting through life. It hurts me to see people in dependency relationships or feeling they are entrapped by other people or their employer or some other institution. I mention all this so you have a flavour of what you will get if we choose to work together.I have been influenced by some of the original thinking of Professor Reg Revans, founding father of action learning; he was ahead of his time. He said 'judge the person by the questions they ask not simply the knowledge they display'. He wasn't the first to recognise this of course; Socrates had a similar idea some 2,300 years before. In this post modern, high touch, socially networked, information based world I think there is a lot in this. You will see the theme of asking insightful questions runs through my personal coaching, mentoring, training and academic work. I also recognise that people often learn best from each other, in groups. I believe that achievement of learning at the knowledge, skills and motivation levels is of little use unless there is action taken and a conscious effort made to learn from that action as shown in my model of action learning.I am pleased to say I have taken the Action Learning and Leadership Questions approach to certain universities in the UK and Australia and it is now accepted as an innovative method for developing people, that can lead to accreditation and qualifications at Postgraduate Certificate or Masters degree level.WORK BASED ACTION LEARNINGIn order to make learning effective in the world of business, I believe in taking an action learning and work-based approach. This may involve forming learning groups and helping facilitate the learning which comes from tackling business related projects. It may be as part of a formal leadership development programme and linked to learning, through working on real problems which I encourage people to turn into questions.In some cases individuals and businesses are interested in providing qualifications linked to work based action learning and I have set up agreements with universities in the UK and Australia which facilitate this.Typically participants on programmes use the Action Learning Questions approach which I have developed over the past 10 years through a combination of research and experience in designing and delivering programmes with major corporations globally including for instance, Diageo, Lloyds TSB, HBOS and Westbury Homes in the UK and One Steel and Fleet Partners in Australia.I work with professional associations and institutes supporting the development of innovative approaches to continuing professional development. I have worked with the accounting institutes ICAEW, ICAI, and ACCA and I am the Director of Studies for the education programmes developed for the National Outsourcing Association. I believe CPD should be about more than tirelessly recording hours of training inputs, and with a bit of imagination can be about developing professional capabilities with a meaningful focus on work based action and learning.I run an open access learning group called Leadership at Work which participants join from different organisations and career backgrounds. It is an interesting mix and each participant works on their own Action Learning Questions based on career development interests. We all support each other with learning through meetings and discussion. Participants work towards a recognised national qualification at postgraduate level up to a full Masters Degree (MA) awarded by Middlesex University or Chester University.This is what clients & participants have to say..."It's my pleasure to endorse Richard. We worked together when his company provided the framework and expert guidance for a senior leadership development programme which culminated in the award of a Masters Degree in Leadership and Management. We rolled this out to a sizable talent pool in our Business. While enormously skilled and frankly academically brilliant, Richard has a great personal touch and is able to provide support and product tailored to the needs of the customer-. I think that's a great skill. His legacy lives on in my Business through the quality of decision making and the daily output of all those that the programme 'touched'. Plus he's a nice guy!"Mike Britton Director Personal Finance- Black Horse- Lloyds Banking Group"Richard thank you very much for all your support and guidance over the past three years on my master's journey. Your ability to encourage me to consider alternatives and to understand the huge amount of knowledge available to me has been crucial in my course. Thanks to this qualification I have mastered business techniques which I now consider everyday habits which have proven to be very successful. My biggest learning experience throughout the course has been the art of reflection. I now use this personally and with the team on a very regular basis."Mel Slaine, Blackhorse Finance, Masters in Leadership Participant"I worked with Richard on an Action Learning training programme spanning a number of years. Richard has great commitment to seeing training through from the initial delivery to generating the business value with long-term behavioural changes. I learnt a huge amount about action-learning-based approaches and the value of these from Richard"John Holland, IT Business Manager, Pfizer"Richard's extensive knowledge and work in the field of action learning and, in particular, his development of the Action Learning Question (ALQ) approach has underpinned our learning design and philosophy in ClearWorth. Our senior manager and leader programmes include the addressing of ALQs as a result of Richard's advice and influence. Richard changed our thinking and wholly for the better - our impact on organisational learning and change through including ALQs has dramatically increased. Richard helped us realise that the real learning happens back in the workplace as real managers and leaders tackle real questions that change real things - not on workshops where people toy with case studies from times past or fictional characters in staged role plays."Clive Hook, Owner, Clearworth"I have no hesitation in recommending Richard. He worked with me whilst studying for my Masters in Leadership & Management Practice with LTSB Asset Finance. Whilst he was highly skilled academically I also found he had an uncanny ability to get to the heart of an issue and reframe it in a way that made the answer obvious! A rare skill indeed.
He is also able to communicate with people at all levels in a 'non-academic' language which helped me and my fellow students immensely. Thank you Richard."Bob Bains, Lloyds TSB, Asset Finance Division"I have greatly enjoyed being a member and have found it challenging and exciting. Everyone is very positive and supportive but is not afraid of asking difficult and probing questions. I find it provides a safe and supportive environment in which to discuss complex work-related issues.""This sort of programme makes my company stand out in doing something different from every other employer probably in the area. It made me feel supported and want to do better.""Action learning and support - it is not just a traditional course - that's why it works so well.""I reflect back on my reasons for enrolling in the programme, and realise that it was in part concerned with developing my personal capital, but was perhaps mostly about challenging myself to achieve the level of academic recognition that I believed I was capable of.So as I pass the finishing line, I feel a sense of pride in achieving the objective that I suppose was subconsciously driving me all along, and find now that in many ways it is in fact a personal and private victory.I have noted many personal changes as I progressed through the programme, and along with a few more grey hairs, I am perhaps most pleased with my increased desire and capacity to reflect on experience and to become more alive to the emotions of myself and others.So whilst I am of course delighted to have realised that I am capable of M-level study, it's in the detail that I find the source of most satisfaction. I have heard it said often that the journey is more important than the destination, and I think I finally 'get it', although I find this can only be truly evaluated in looking back from the destination itself.In so doing, I find that the camaraderie of collaborative learning and the excitement of building on the work of others has made this experience truly memorable, and I am certain that the spirit of Action Learning is now firmly established as a key component of my personal approach to leadership.I therefore offer my profound thanks for introducing me to this wonderful range of learning opportunities and for providing the guidance that has enabled me to make the most of them."Keith Henderson, Blackhorse FinanceCOACHING & MENTORING"Excellent start to my coaching and mentoring programme which will not only be of practical benefit to my role as Chief Executive but also to the NTN team and membership. Richard's support is invaluable, providing speedy practical guidance, at a time and place to suit me. His knowledge of action learning is second to none!" Janet Charlton, Chief Executive, Nottinghamshire Training Network, www.ntn-wbl.co.uk"Richard was the designer/ leader of the MA Leadership and Management Practice Action Learning degree I undertook, graduating in 2007. Throughout, Richard was a challenging thought leader who was able to get the best out of the group, as a whole or an a one to one individual basis. He is very knowledgeable on a wide range of business learning topics, an excellent in his field of Action Learning. I was also lucky enough to be tutored on Management Coaching by Richard and again this was a very rewarding learning experience which I have put to very good use. I have no hestitiation in recommending Richard for group courses and individual coaching. He will design the approach and content to meet specific needs and deliver to the highest standards."Colin Wreglesworth, Lloyds Banking GroupFor a number of years throughout the 80s and 90s I had been running training courses for executives, using many of the training techniques a seasoned trainer would recognise; role plays, case studies, icebreakers and team building. My success in the eyes of the organisations employing me was measured in terms of whether people felt they had learnt something at the end of the course, and more often than not this was really about whether they liked me or felt they had been entertained. Research suggested that where 99 per cent of people were claiming to have learnt and 'changed' at the end of the course only 6 per cent were sustaining that learning one year on.I grew gradually more restless with this and decided to investigate whether effective learning relationships, that is coaching or mentoring, could help improve the chances of making learning 'stick'. My doctoral research led to the development of practical tools and programmes to support the development of mentoring and coaching relationships and programmes. I count myself fortunate to have had Professor Alan Mumford, of 'Learning Styles' fame, as my doctoral supervisor and he steered me as I probed into the theme of how people achieve learning 'insights' beyond simply the development of knowledge and skills. A key finding was that effective mentoring and action learning can lead to the achievement of powerful learning insights.I am pleased to say I have taken the Action Learning and Leadership Questions approach to certain universities in the UK and Australia and it is now accepted as an innovative method for developing people, that can lead to accreditation and qualifications up to Masters degree level.I am working with Alan Chambers MBE, polar adventurer and Phil Davies, Manager of the Welsh Rugby Football Union Academy and we are transferring best practice between the worlds of elite sports and business coaching and mentoring.I have recently partnered with Eileen Hutchinson who has developed a successful approach to coaching, we have linked her practice with my mentoring research and developed the Insight Coaching and Mentoring Programme Practitioner Certificate (undergraduate level) and Advanced Certificate ( postgraduate level). This is based around key lessons covering key materials, tools, models and exercises. The programme is validated by the Institute of Leadership & Management and is accredited by Middlesex University. Key to this programme is that participants using the materials are supported in bringing about personal change over a period of time; coaching and mentoring is just part of this process.I do coach and mentor a few people from business each year, usually around leadership and personal development issues. I do not work to a fixed formula in my coaching. I am fairly intuitive, but I do help provide focus and I am not afraid to ask the tough questions to get people thinking and bringing about positive personal change.IMPACT & INFLUENCE"The learning I have gained from participation on Richard Hale's Impact and Influence program has been extremely valuable. The basic notion of influencing others has in the past caused me to concentrate on the delivery of my own style in order to achieve my desired outcome. However Impact and Influence has provided me with a logical and structured framework to not only guide me through but more importantly help me assess my audience and tailor my approach in line with their makeup and motivations. Presented professionally by an immensely inspiring facilitator, Richard Hale's Impact and Influence framework is powerful and can be easily adopted in all forms of influencing. The use of my learning is not limited to the sales environment. I exercise the key disciplines of the framework when influencing internal stakeholders which from my experience can be more challenging than a direct customer."Chris Boothroyd, Head of Customer Support, FleetPartners, AustraliaI originally wrote the book The Power of Personal Influence in 1995 based on a programme I was running on this subject at the time with an international business school, to support the development of personal influencing skills of leaders across many business sectors and nationalities.I had been researching the subject of personal influence and realised that there was a need to develop both the skills of competencies of influencing as well as the cognitive or thinking skills associated with success.I developed the underlying model based on feedback and further research and the best-selling Impact and Influence book (Kogan Page) was published in 1999. Since then I have developed the materials to create practical workbooks which individuals, leaders or trainers can use to support personal development. These can be accessed at bit.ly/4IIBBcI am pleased to say the Impact & Influence training and development programme goes from strength to strength and there are many organisations and hundreds of individuals who have experienced the programme and who are now working with the Hale Circle of Influence.The programme covers:- Preparing for challenging influencing situations- Managing the impression you make on others- Handling confrontation constructively- Working on real influencing situations you face- Managing your self-talk and self confidence- Being confident in responding to interpersonal problemsKey Impact & Influence resources include:- The Impact & Influence workbook... which enables participants to understand the Hale Circle of Influence- The Impact & Influence PowerPoint presentation with Trainer Notes... which provides key concepts and exercises to use on a training course- The Impact & Influence 'How To Guide'... which provides guidance on how to develop the key competencies of impact and influence- The Impact & Influence CPD Question Workbook... For those wishing to gain recognition for the development of their Impact & Influence capabilityWhat other participants have said...'Action learning and support, it is not just a traditional course, that is why it works so well''This type of programme makes my company stand out in doing something different from every other employer probably in the area. It made me feel supported and want to do better''I feel positive and even more confident in my approach; I present myself more positively. It's a continual learning process'"This has helped me step back and reflect which can save hours of work going down blind alleys''The preparation (using the Hale Circle of Influence) has helped me be more relaxed when faced with questions I did not anticipate''I feel motivated and supported and that the company wants me to progress. It helps develop a culture where you are not afraid to talk about things; the benefit is huge''I am empowering my team to get them to take more responsibility for their work and projects - it is building confidence''I am working to be more forthright and organised well enough to stand my ground''I am applying the learning to the specific project of building my team and developing an effective relationship with theme'