Chapter 10 Look After Yourself
support them through difficult times
take over in situations when they don’t know what to do
provide the appropriate resources and environment to enable them to do their job properly
always make the right decisions
never have any problems of your own
Set up a peer support group or action learning set
What is action learning?
1. A member of the group presents their problem and the rest of the group listen without interruption.
2. The group encourages further reflection and discussion of the problem using an open and non-biased questioning approach.
3. Following further discussion, the individual together with the group focuses on possible solutions. This enables the individual to devise a plan of action to tackle the problem.
4. After the meeting, the individual goes back to their workplace and follows through the agreed actions.
5. At the following meeting, the individual feeds back to the others what happened as a result of their actions. Together they discuss whether the action worked and what they learned from the process, i.e. if it happened again, what would they do next time?
6. If the action was not successful, another plan can be devised. The group can learn as much from unsuccessful approaches as they do from successful ones.
For further reading on the subject of action learning and how to get started, see Pedlar (2008).
Support and challenge
The key to the success of your group depends on:
ensuring all discussions are solution orientated, as opposed to problem orientated
meeting regularly, at least every month
ensuring that all discussions remain confidential within the confines of the group
each member being voluntary, i.e. wanting to take part and actively contribute.
