Skip to main content
Our approach

Experiential Learning

Immerse yourself in experiential learning that builds essential skills through direct engagement with real-world business scenarios.

Road by the coast

What is experiential learning?

At Impact, we describe our unique approach in three words: memorable, consequential, and transferable

Firstly, our experiential learning programs are memorable. They are customized around your organizational purpose and made up of projects that are fun and challenging. Our process encourages people to step outside their comfort zones.

The outcomes are consequential. Learning is facilitated in such a way that participants can explore new ways of approaching a situation, gathering knowledge, developing practical skills and testing their abilities.

And most importantly experiential learning in the workplace is transferable. Individuals leave with the ability to apply the techniques learned, an outcome that many describe as life-changing for themselves and their organizations.

Using experiential learning to get results

Our approach to experiential training wakes up the individual in an organization, liberating their potential to become a better, more compassionate leader, to engage with your purpose and improve your organization.

All of our leadership development programs are experiential because of our fundamental belief in the value of personal and collective experience. This is not seen as an alternative to knowledge, theory or skills, but as the best way to help these inputs be understood, tested, and, most importantly, put into action.

Image
beach

Impact’s experiential learning training and methodology integrate the four domains we believe are required to drive lasting behavior change. These are:

Knowledge: This conceptual domain is about learning from books, videos and established expertise, which is codified, cumulative and fixed. 

Skills: This practical domain is about competence. This learning might be practiced but it is driven by expert tuition and direct guidance rather than being self-led. 

Direct encounter: This is where the learner actively engages with the learning need and begins to integrate knowledge and skill acquisition with trying to deliver a result. This domain is driven by the learner and integrated with the final domain. 

Reflection: This is the domain in which we process material from the other domains. It’s vital to internalize and integrate learning into new behaviors, mindsets and actions. 

Traditional educational approaches to learning design typically focus on knowledge and skills, taking a ‘tell/test’ approach to applying what experts have told or taught us. This means directly engaging with the learning objective and organizational purpose, while actively and expertly reflecting on how to put knowledge and expert tuition into practice. As a result, all domains of our model are activated alongside each other. 

Our approach isn’t cyclical because that isn’t how learning is applied in real life. Instead, we teach our methodology in a way that learners understand how to move between the four domains, depending on their needs, your purpose and the immediate context. Whether you’re managing change in the workplace, developing your leaders, or strengthening your teams, building expertise requires active engagement, best supported by experiential learning companies like Impact. 

There is no such thing as a 'typical program' with Impact. You might choose to bring your executive team together for an in-person event that includes a multi-day outdoor journey. Or perhaps your high-potential talent will be challenged with some high-energy interventions in a large conference venue. You may plan a large-scale rollout that requires your senior leaders to collaborate in small groups over a digital platform.

Whether it’s team development or change management, whoever, wherever and whatever your learning outcomes, all of our experiential learning programs feature a series of projects that have a ‘problem’ with no clear answer. Remember that success or failure is largely irrelevant. What truly matters is the opportunity for people to see what happens when they step outside of their comfort zone, empowering them to test their preconceptions and their relationships with others.

Under the guidance of our expert facilitators and using our learning model as a central reference, these projects allow individuals to challenge themselves in a safe space. They allow them to see how their values, beliefs and communication styles influence what they do and what they know themselves to be capable of. The shared experience of experiential learning quickly builds trust and encourages a place for open dialogue, encouraging team members to explore leadership styles, own a change process and embrace an organizational purpose.

Impact is the world leader in experiential learning in the workplace. For 40+ years, we have been working in collaboration with leading client organizations, facilitators and academics across the world, offering customized solutions. Our awards and achievements further demonstrate the expertise and trust we bring to every partnership.

Our expertise is in both designing and delivering integrated experiential learning using our unique methodology. What is more, our learning journeys are not linear, and they can and will shift in the moment, depending on individual learning needs. ur solutions are tailored and delivered specifically to meet your specific requirements, rather than following a one-size-fits-all approach. 

Contact us today

Image
Car lights from above

Use technology to transform the way your people learn.

Learn more

Image
Coniferous forest by the water

We design and deliver powerful development programs that are engaging, memorable and achieve real improvements in performance. 

Learn more

Image
Orange waving rocks

Discover a spectrum of Impact solutions that elevate business performance and foster innovative workplace cultures.

Learn more

Our latest insights

Change
Leadership
Teams

Experiential learning: The human-centred approach

We believe experiential learning is the best and most effective way to learn and to learn how to learn. Since lasting change for our world starts with people, we need to take a human-centered approach...

Read the article

Adventure
Change
Leadership
Teams

Podcast: What is experiential learning?

A podcast on what makes experiential learning effective, whether experiential learning works for everyone, and why global clients keep choosing to embrace this approach.

Listen to the Podcast

Adventure
Leadership
Management Development

Why choose experiential learning?

Why choose experiential learning? What are the benefits for individuals and organisations? We asked the people who work at Impact to answer this in one sentence. See what they said.

Read the article

Change
Innovation & Creativity
Leadership
Sustainable Innovation
Talent
Teams
Wellbeing & Personal Development

Global leadership insights

Discover the key challenges and insights from over 500 global leaders in this free eBook by Impact. Learn how to create human-centred cultures and practices that put people first and have a positive...

Read the article

Change
Leadership
Sustainable Innovation

Leadership podcast: learning from experience

An In Good Company podcast with David Williams , co-founder and CEO, Impact The desire to make change happen Could the 23-year-old you imagine leading an organisation for over 40 years? Taking a start...

Listen to the Podcast

Digital & Technology

Five best practices for creating powerful virtual learning experiences

It is now clear that the disruptions of Covid-19 will result in changes to the way that we engage learners. Many remain remote and dispersed, and even those who are back at work have new protocols and...

Read the article