Become a Certified Action Learning Coach (CALC)
A globally recognized credential, earned through demonstrated practice.
Authorized by the World Institute for Action Learning (WIAL)
This program gives coaches, HR and L&D professionals, and organizational consultants the skills, structure, and certification to lead Action Learning coaching with confidence and credibility, in their own organizations and with clients worldwide.
Upcoming Cohort:
4-day Intensive (Virtual)
🗓️ May 26-29, 2026 (Tuesday - Friday)
🕗 9:00am-5:00pm BST | 4:00am-12:00pm ET | 4:00pm-12:00am HKT
🏆 Limited to 8 Participants
🖥️ Live Online (Zoom)
🗣️ English
💰 $3,188 USD | £2,388 GBP | €2,788 EUR
❗️Registration Deadline❗️
May 12, 2026
4 days live (in-person, online, or a combination) plus self-paced e-learning modules before attending the live program. Days can be delivered as an intensive block or spread across multiple weeks.
Small cohorts (maximum 8 participants): every participant coaches multiple times and receives individual feedback.
Support your professional practice, earning your ICF CCEUs (32.00 CCEU: 29.25 CC, 2.75 RD) or other CPD wherever applicable
Facilitated by a WIAL Master Action Learning Coach (MALC) and ICF PCC/ACTC credentialed coach with 15+ years of experience in team coaching, specializing in leadership and organizational development.
🖥️_Live Online
🤝_Face to Face
🏢_Corporate Training
Who is this for?
This program is designed for professionals who coach teams, develop people, or build organizational capability, and want a globally recognized methodology to do it with.
Executive coaches and facilitators who want to add a structured, evidence-based team coaching approach to their practice
HR and L&D professionals who want to embed Action Learning in their organizations and develop the internal capability to run it
Consultants and OD practitioners who work with leadership teams on complex challenges and want a methodology that delivers on both problem-solving and development simultaneously
No prior Action Learning experience required. Familiarity with coaching or facilitation is helpful, but the program builds from first principles.
Why this Certification?
Earn the credential that proves you can:
Effective team coaching means sensing where teamwork is stuck, what is going unsaid, and how to move them forward without taking over. CALC builds and assesses exactly that.
Create the conditions where teams think more clearly, question more deeply, and act with greater conviction.
Work with a methodology that Fortune 500s, governments, and global NGOs trust when the problems are complex and the answers are not obvious.
Carry a credential that was earned in a live coaching session, not awarded for completing a course.
Integrate team coaching into your professional practice in a way that produces measurable outcomes, real learning, and lasting organizational change.
What is Action Learning?
Action Learning is a dynamic process where small teams work on real, urgent problems, take action, and learn while doing so.
Unlike traditional problem-solving methods, Action Learning uniquely balances two equally important goals: finding innovative solutions to pressing challenges AND developing individuals, teams, and organizational capabilities.
About WIAL
The World Institute for Action Learning (WIAL) is a global nonprofit organization founded in 2005 by Dr. Michael Marquardt.
In 1995, Marquardt met Reg Revans, widely recognized as the father of Action Learning. Their dialogue led to the development of the WIAL model, which, after years of research and refinement, was formalized into the six components and two ground rules that define WIAL Action Learning today.
Trusted by Global Brands
Organizations worldwide trust and apply the Action Learning methodology advanced by the World Institute for Action Learning.
The credential that signals real competence:
CALC is not awarded for attendance. It is earned through live demonstration of coaching skill, assessed by a qualified WIAL trainer against a globally standardized framework:
Competence You Can Prove
The four skills you are assessed on are not academic. They are the exact behaviors that separate coaches who shift team thinking from those who simply manage the conversation.
WIAL's newly revamped assessment process holds you to that standard directly. Observed live by a qualified assessor. No written paper, no self-assessment, no proxies for real performance. Just coaching, in the room, when it counts.
Trusted Where Serious Work Gets Done
CALC speaks directly to the clients who already know that complex problems need more than a good facilitator.
For HR leaders, leadership teams, and organizations that have worked with Action Learning before, it signals a coaching standard that has been assessed, not assumed.
Your listing in the WIAL international coach directory keeps you visible to that audience worldwide.
Built Into Your Professional Practice
CALC is designed to sit alongside your existing professional credentials, not compete with them. It counts toward your ICF CCEUs and CPD hours, deepens your specialist capability in team coaching, and gives you a globally recognized framework you can apply immediately with clients.
It is for you if you need a methodology that delivers on both problem-solving and leadership development, this credential makes your practice sharper.
What you will go through:
CALC certification follows a structured four-stage path. Each stage builds on the last, moving from foundational understanding through to live coaching and formal assessment:
Part 1: e-Learning
Complete self-paced online modules covering Action Learning fundamentals before the live program begins, including quizzes to check understanding. This ensures everyone arrives ready to practice, not just learn theory.
Format: Online, self-paced | Prerequisite to all live days
Part 2: Foundations (Day 1)
Build the practical understanding of the foundations: the six components of Action Learning, the two ground rules, the coach's role, and the conditions that make Action Learning work. Includes a live demonstration and initial practice.
Format: Live (in-person or online)
Part 3: Coaching Practicum (Days 2 and 3)
This is where coaching skill is built. You rotate through the roles of coach, team member, and problem presenter across multiple live practice sessions, receiving structured feedback from the trainer after each one. Intervention technique, timing, question quality, and group management are all developed here.
Format: Live (in-person or online)
Part 4: Assessment Day (Day 4)
The final day is the Certification Session. You coach a live Action Learning session while being assessed by the trainer using the official WIAL Assessment Sheet, the same tool used globally. The criteria are shared with you in advance. Pass/fail is determined on the day.
Format: Live (in-person or online)
What you will go through:
CALC certification follows a structured four-stage path. Each stage builds on the last, moving from foundational understanding through to live coaching and formal assessment.
Part 1: Action Learning Principles and Framework
What Action Learning is and how it works
The six components and two ground rules
Benefits at individual, team, and organizational levels
When Action Learning is and is not the right approach
Part 2: : The Coach's Role and Interventions
What the Action Learning coach does and doesn't do
How and when to intervene
Using questions to drive learning and problem clarity
Setting tone, managing time, and ensuring reflection
Part 3: Coaching Practice
Live practice sessions rotating through all three roles: coach, team member, and problem presenter
Structured feedback from the trainer after each coaching round
Refining questioning, listening, observation, and intervention skills in real time
Part 4: Certification and What Comes Next
Understanding the assessment criteria and what is being observed
Completing the certification assessment
Pathways to advanced WIAL levels and renewal requirements
How assessment works:
The Certification Session is the final practice session of the program. You coach a live Action Learning session with your cohort: real people, working on a real problem, while your trainer observes using the official WIAL Certification Assessment Sheet.
There are no surprises. The assessment criteria are shared with you before the session. Your trainer walks you through exactly what each criterion looks like in practice, with examples of the behaviors and phrases that demonstrate each competency.
Questioning Skills
Formulating powerful questions that drive insight and shift the team's thinking: not directing, not advising, but unlocking.
Active Listening
Demonstrating deep understanding through attentive, empathetic listening. Using what you hear to inform your next intervention.
Learning Facilitation
Creating space for reflection during and at the end of the session, and drawing out key learning moments that participants can carry forward.
Group Process Management
Guiding the team through the structured Action Learning process while maintaining focus, managing time, and keeping all members engaged.
*If any candidate does not meet the certification criteria in the first assessment, the trainer will define a clear, transparent pathway for you to complete additional practice and be reassessed. No one will be left without options.
After you are certified: What being a CALC opens up
CALC is not awarded for attendance. It is earned through live demonstration of coaching skill, assessed by a qualified WIAL trainer against a globally standardized framework:
Global Recognition
Your name is added to the WIAL international CALC directory, a searchable network used by organizations worldwide when looking for certified Action Learning coaches.
You receive a digital badge for your LinkedIn profile and email signature.
A Community of Practice
Your CALC is valid for two years, and we take that seriously. Staying certified means staying practiced.
As part of the Leap Catalyst community, you have access to ongoing practice sessions, peer learning, and professional development designed to keep your Action Learning coaching sharp, current, and ready for the work in front of you.
A Clear Path Forward
CALC is the foundation of the WIAL coaching pathway. From here, you can progress to PALC (Professional Action Learning Coach), SALC (Senior Action Learning Coach), and MALC (Master Action Learning Coach).
Each level representing a deeper level of expertise and authorization within the WIAL ecosystem.
Dorothy Tsui, Director & Founder
My practice is built on one belief: development only sticks when it happens through real work, with real people, on challenges that actually matter.
I am a WIAL Master Action Learning Coach and an ICF PCC/ACTC credentialed coach with 20+ years of experience in leadership and organizational development, rooted in business management and operations.
What I bring into every program is what I apply with clients every day. Not theory. Not simulation. The actual practice of helping teams think more clearly, question more deeply, and move forward on what the business needs most.
Experience:
Results-driven. People-powered. My background is in management and operations across retail, hospitality, and business consulting before I built a specialized practice in leadership development. I approach leadership capability as a business imperative, not a people program.
20+ years specialized practice in leadership development, talent management, and organizational capability. Global experience coaching executives and leaders, and developing practitioners across industries and sectors worldwide.
15+ years certified practice in team coaching methodology. Master-level certification, one of a small number worldwide certified at this level. Former Director of Certification, World Institute for Action Learning (2015 to 2019).
Served clients:
Global corporations, government agencies, NGOs, and educational institutions across finance, retail, hospitality, technology, and manufacturing. Clients include HSBC, CBRE, SWIFT, Disney, MSD, HP, Heineken, Hyatt, Chanel, Burberry, World Vision, Oxfam, and more.
Credentials:
Master Action Learning Coach (MALC), World Institute for Action Learning (WIAL)
Professional Certified Coach (PCC) & Advanced Certification in Team Coaching (ACTC), International Coaching Federation (ICF)
Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD), Association for Talent Development (ATD)
Project Management Professional (PMP), Project Management Institute (PMI)
Prosci Certified Change Practitioner
Certified in Strengths Profile, Gallup CliftonStrengths, and MBTI
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need prior Action Learning experience to join?
No. The program is designed to build from first principles. The e-Learning stage covers foundational knowledge before the live program begins, so participants with no Action Learning background enter the live days ready to engage fully.
Is the CALC the same as an ICF coaching certification?
No. The CALC is a specialist credential in Action Learning coaching, issued by WIAL. It is recognized by ICF as a Continuing Coach Education (CCE) program, meaning it counts toward your ICF renewal hours, but it operates independently of the ICF credentialing pathway.
What happens if I do not pass the assessment?
Your trainer defines a clear, fair pathway for you to complete additional practice and be reassessed. You will know what you need to demonstrate differently and how to get there.
Can this be delivered in-house for my organization?
Yes. The program is available as a corporate in-house delivery for teams and organizations who want to build internal Action Learning coaching capability. Contact us at [email protected] or fill out this inquiry form. Let's discuss and make sure the program suits your context.
Does certification apply to both internal and external coaching?
Yes. A CALC is authorized to coach Action Learning sessions whether working internally within an organization or as an external coach or consultant.
I need to miss part of the program. Can I still attend?
We strongly recommend full attendance, especially in certification tracks, since each part builds on the last. If life intervenes, let us know as soon as possible. Make-up options are limited and handled case-by-case.
Our programs are designed as integrated experiences where each session builds on the previous one. The learning comes from continuous participation with your cohort, not just from the content itself.
Because much of the value comes from group exercises, real-time questioning, and building on shared experiences, we strongly recommend that participants who must miss a significant portion transfer to a date when they can attend the entire program. Additional fees will apply.
How does renewal work?
CALC certification is valid for two years. Renewal requires evidence of Action Learning coaching activity and participation in at least one WIAL professional development activity during the certification period. Renewal is completed via an online form through WIAL. At Leap Catalyst we will fully support you through the process.
I have more questions. How can I get more support?
Feel free to contact us at [email protected] or fill out this inquiry form. We will get back to you at our soonest.
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