Set advising : a model of practice?

Ashton, Sam

Abstract

This Paper consists of a set of ‘bare bones’ notes derived from my reflections about the need
for a model of practice. I’m hoping that, by exposing my thinking to scrutiny, I can prompt
others to set their ideas and experiences down on paper. Even better would be a series of
collaborative writing projects dealing with any and every aspect of practice. Why? Because I
have little idea about my colleagues’ set advising practice or how mine compares. I can’t
readily determine the extent to which our philosophies, assumptions and attitudes coincide
and, since we do not have a significant body of writing, about in-house practice, I cannot refer
to that for help.

A remedy might be (if everyone were sufficiently interested) to approach each colleague in
turn and discuss our respective practices. Even this would be unsatisfactory; we would have to
retain all of it in our heads and, periodically, we would have to update it anyway. If, by some
amazing piece of luck, we found that every colleague had created a wonderful personal model
of practice, we would still need to understand and compare each with every other, before we
had a reasonable overview.

The Revans Institute is dedicated to the professional practice, dissemination and development
of Action Learning, of which set advising is a critical element. Failure to support it with a
proper model of practice leaves us unnecessarily exposed and handicaps our collective
development.

• Other Type: Other
• Deposit Date: Feb 19, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 19, 2025