Integrated learning with international banking executives

The article describes an in-house executive development programme run by the authors in a leading banking group in the CEE region. The programme attempts to follow a systemic approach to learning and contains a mix of elements including action learning, classroom teaching, study, peer support and feedback and ‘learning visits’ to participants' workplaces. Lean service principles and techniques are taught within this context: participants are subsequently engaged in starting to apply these in their own business contexts. The learning cycle of Plan--Do--Review--Learn informs the programme throughout: the principle is ‘no learning without action, no action without learning’.