The parallels between high-tech battlefield and high-stakes business competition are striking. Combat units that rely on specific orders without the ability to improvise “on the run” rarely defeat their opponents. To cope, leaders need new strategic capabilities. Action Learning Teams (ALTs) are charged with generating new strategic capabilities that can’t be developed by other means, such as formal education or training. ALTs tend to be cross-functional, bringing together people with specialized knowledge in a form of “intellectual bootstrapping” to collaborate on solving real problems. One aim of ALTs is to prevent people from behaving like automatons. They are not there simply to obey orders but to apply their skills, talents, and intelligence to meet a goal. Detailed battle plans and strategic planning are being replaced by “strategic intent.” We are moving away from over-defining objectives and the means of achieving them, toward providing clear parameters for the discretionary use of information to achieve objectives.

The ALT Leader

What culture and structure must leaders create to promote distributed intelligence and action learning? Effective ALT leaders have seven traits. They: 1. Build on the wisdom and insight of the team. Informing an ALT, the leader questions, probes, summarizes and sets norms of behavior. The leader creates a space for the team to reflect…

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