The role of action learning in personal, professional and business development

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions and experiences of senior hotel industry practitioners in relation to business imperatives, career development and organizational learning. Design/methodology/approach - The paper uses an interview discussion format to explore the challenges, benefits and outcomes of organizational development by action learning. Findings - The paper observes that action learning provides an effective way of retaining, developing and enabling people to realize their potential at work and that this process is wholly beneficial to the host organization. Practical implications - The paper provides senior leader insights on the potential for learning at work and the underlying themes that enable organizations to develop as authentic learning organizations. Originality/value - The paper reveals the benefits of embedding and cascading action learning so that participants can develop themselves and at the same time, their workplace environment.