I am delighted that Christine has been recognised for her contribution to action learning globally. In China her contribution has been immeasurable. Ten years ago, Christine came to Beijing at out invitation to support the development of facilitators using Revans action learning with the top companies in China both state owned and private. Her workshops were lively, full of practical methodology and learning and she was universally appreciated. Since then, she returned many times and has supported over 500 facilitators not just through qualifications but also through advice and offering seminars to companies here in Beijing to encourage the adaptation of Revans action learning. When I attended the Global Forum in Cambridge, she took me to many organisations she works with in the social and health care sector to support my development and understanding of Action Learning. I translated her book on Action Learning Facilitation which has become one of the best-selling texts and she supported freely me to also write a book for Chinese people, and to me and colleagues as they have written their accounts of practice for the Action Learning Research and practice journal.
We are with her enthusiasm and help developing a Chinese action learning methodology which involve many hours on zoom in very unsociable hours for Christine. however, she is always there with a smile.

More recently we founded an International Society (ISFAL) of Action Learning, and we were honoured to make Christine our first president in recognition of her contribution and wisdom in action learning in China. Our first conference was attended by nearly 10,000 Chinese people and where other speakers outside China just came for their slot, however Christine freely stayed through the night in UK time. It is that commitment that we bless her for today.

Whilst Head of Lincoln University’s Centre for Health Improvement and Leadership, Christine invited me to join as an associate and we worked together on a number of Action Learning projects including Professional and Proud – a Study of Training in Learning Organisations in the Care Sector, and New Ways of Working in Adult Social Care. She then founded the Centre for Action Learning with Mike Pedler with whom she wrote the best-selling Facilitating Action Learning – a Practitioner’s Guide (McGraw—Hill, 2013), followed by Action Learning in Social Work (Sage). We also co-authored Chapter 23 “Learning to be an Action Learning Practitioner: Three approaches”in Action Learning in Practice, (Routledge 2012). These publications drew on our experience together running Action Learning Facilitation programmes with participants from some 55 local authority social service departments. 
We used Action Learning approaches to evaluate three Social Service Teaching Partnerships – in which local authorities, universities, voluntary organisations and service user groups came together to develop social care services that went beyond merely doing things well to doing things better and then on to doing better things.
As well as running programmes and carrying out research, we have co-created - and are still co-creating – ideas and practices around Otto Scharmer’s theme From Ego to Eco, in the UK, Europe and Australia.
Christine has worked collaboratively and extensively in China, where she has introduced Action Learning to hundreds of individuals and a large number of companies with books and publications translated into Chinese. This has led to an annual programme of seminars and conferences where she has been pioneering ideas around the theme of Relational Action Learning.
As a practicing Quaker, action learning is natural to her with its testimonies of equality and justice, simplicity, peace, stewardship of the earth , and community all o which shine through her work and her work values. 

No one deserves this award more than she. Christine always commits herself generously to learners, programmes and clients, and her colleagues, treating them all with immense respect and care. She is a great networker, with co-workers, clients and friends all over the world.

I am delighted to offer a testimonial in support of Christine’s being honoured with the Robert Dilworth Award. I can only think of few people who deserve this prestigious award. Christine has been a fine practitioner of, and advocate for, action learning over many years. Revans, the father of action learning was always much more impressed with those who get on and do something about the problems and challenges we face in organisations and indeed, society at large, than those who read or write about such matters. Christine is first and foremost a practitioner of action learning, with experience in working with action learning in a vast array of different types of organisations in the private, public and voluntary sectors both in the UK and around the world.
Christine’s work has made a real difference to important organisations in public life. One example is her work with Skills for Care, a workforce development and planning body for adults, children and families social work in England. Through her pioneering work with this body over the last 10 years, she has delivered support and training in action learning to a vast number of health workers, social workers and social workers managers. These are people who are working with the most vulnerable members of society and who are tackling genuinely wicked problems of bewildering complexity. Christine’s deep understanding of the principles and practice of Revans’ action learning has enabled her to embed the approach with calm assurance and considerable skill and has thus made a real difference to practice of social work. It is perhaps worth noting that in this important work she follows in Revans’ own footsteps. Revans work with social workers back in the 1970s is captured in his classic article ‘Helping Each Other to Help the Helpless’.

Christine has produced important and useful writing on action learning as well. For example, along with Mike Pedler she has published ‘Facilitating Action Learning: A Practitioner’s Guide’ andwritten specifically for social work ‘Action Learning in Social Work’ with Paul Taylor. Here again her principal concern has been to produce work which is of genuinely practical value to those who want to make action learning work. She has been a long-term editorial board member of the journal ‘Action Learning: Research and Practice’ and has acted as editor of the Accounts of Practice section of the journal. This has been of immense value and significance to the journal, because it is this section that publishes accounts of practice written not by academics but by those who are practising action learners in the field – those who are dealing with the real here-and-now problems and challenges of work. Few if any academic journals do this, and it is to Christine’s personal credit that such a range of people working in so many different types of organisations have been prepared to write so openly about their action learning experiences. I have also had the privilege of writing and publishing with Christine myself in journals such as Human Relations, Work Applied Management and, of course, Action Learning: Research and Practice as well as practical reports on action learning practice for Skills for Care and ALNAP a global network dedicated to learning how to improve response to humanitarian crises.As a collaborator she is warm and fun to be with, as well as immensely knowledgeable, reflective and thoughtful. Action Learning is a way of life for Christine; she lives and breathes it. We are lucky that so energetic and caring an individual as Christine embodies its optimistic spirit.

I've had the opportunity to know Marilee for well over 10 years in her role as Adjunct Professor in the Key Executive Leadership Program in the School of Public Affairs at American University. I remember the first time I saw her walk into a classroom and was amazed by her presence and her sincere and authentic style. Beyond that, Marilee’s contribution of the theory and practice of Question Thinking is groundbreaking for any change agent.

In terms of Marilee’s impact on leadership, and her role as a thought leader? Well, it's far more than that. Marilee has had an impact on the way people think. Not just leaders. Everyone! Anyone who has been in any of Marilee's classes has the Judger/Learner Choice Map in their offices and on their refrigerators. She has informed thousands of conversations across the world, helping us take that all important pause before we speak—the pause that builds trust and exudes kindness and respect. Marilee has contributed to the professional development of hundreds of thousands of people, including the leadership students who were lucky enough to have her as their teacher. Furthermore, Marilee has contributed to constructive and caring conversations for many, many more. She's helping all of us, the recovering Judgers that we are, become true Learners.

Marilee Adams’ work has had an enormous and far-reaching positive impact in the world for several reasons. One reason is the sheer number of people who have read her classic book, Change Your Questions, Change Your Life, which has sold over 425,000 copies and published in 23 languages. But Marilee’s impact extends far beyond these book sales because her core ideas about Question Thinking have been widely used in numerous organizational training programs, college classes, and professional development programs that have influenced many more people. And the impact of Marilee’s profound concepts has extended to many different fields, including coaching, counseling, consulting, organizational change, executive learning, and personal growth. 

I have had the great privilege of serving as editor for all four editions of Change Your Questions as well as of Marilee’s influential book for educators, Teaching That Changes Lives—and this has meant that I have worked closely with Marilee for 20 years during my career as editor of hundreds of books. This has not only helped me to appreciate the profound power of Marilee’s ideas, it has also allowed me to observe that these ideas have influenced and enriched the work of many other authors and thought leaders—further expanding the influence of Marilee’s work.

As a Fielding alum and Institute for Social Innovation (ISI) Fellow, Dr. Marilee Adams continues to make her mark in the executive coaching and organizational development spaces. After earning a clinical psychology doctoral degree at Fielding in the mid-1980s, she has transformed not only her own career and life but has touched thousands of others. 

She lives, works, breathes, and invokes an inquisitive spirit that can inspire all of us. Her work, including her bestselling book, Change Your Questions, Change Your Life, continues to make its mark on an international stage. One aspect of her Choice Map process that stands out to me is the participants’ epiphanies. Clients, readers, and others are led to her work to solve a pressing issue in their lives. After reading her book, having distinct moments of clarity, and implementing her methods, they begin using questions as motivators instead of fear-inducers. She is not afraid to ask questions that can promote lasting change, challenge beliefs, and interlace compassion in daily practices. 

This convergence of head and heart is a signature aspect of Marilee’s work, and the Lex Dilworth Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Executive Learning represents her commitment to her thought leadership and chosen path. We are proud of everything Dr. Adams has accomplished and know she will continue to successfully use her passions, expertise, and inquiring mindset in her future endeavors.

Today, this special award for Isabel could be an invitation for us all.
The award would be to recognize that we are alive
We are a miracle
She is
I am
You are…
You are a Life Time Achievement
Todos Somos un Logro de Vida

Congratulations my dear friend Isabel
And…
Congratulations to everyone…
Stand up now
Let your voice be heard
Wait no more

Let’s go and discover our own Life Time Achievement

It is indeed my  honor to provide a testimonial for my long-time mentor, coach, teacher, business partner,  and good friend. Since I met him in the year 2000 when he led a  High Performing Team Workshop for Human Resources Leaders in the APAC region and then as a global coach in AstraZeneca’s Global Leadership Program, Ernie has been an unwavering source of guidance, support, and inspiration. His dedication to his craft and his passion to helping others achieve their goals is truly remarkable.

One of the many things that sets Ernie apart is his staunch commitment to spreading the gospel of Sharing Leadership Disciplines (SLD) and Action Reflection Learning (ARL). He co-authored books on these topics. His  insights and wisdom have been instrumental in shaping my own approach to leadership, coaching,  communication, and personal growth. His writing is clear, concise, and impactful.

Ernie is truly  zealous about making a difference in the lives of leaders and teams all over the world. He has over 35 years of  experience  applying these concepts, and is dedicated to helping others. Through workshops, speaking engagements, in both online and face to face or hybrid platforms, Ernie has inspired countless individuals and teams to take action and pursue their dreams with passion and purpose. In the past two decades, Ernie has been travelling the world and would always pass by the Philippines once or twice a year to deliver shared leadership workshops for teams or to help certify coaches.   I am incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to eventually be certified by him in a Learning Coach Certification Program (LCCP), which is now delivered as a ICF Team Coach Certification Program (TCCP) to accredit Shared Leadership Team Coaches,  and to partner with him on many occasions as an external coach to clients in the Asia and particularly, in the Philippines. 

Above all, Ernie is an exceptional human being. He is a gentle soul,  kind, compassionate, and deeply committed to helping others succeed. I have never seen him vent anger even when he experiences this. He has a rare ability to connect with people on a deep level, and is always willing to go above and beyond to help clients achieve their goals. I feel truly blessed to have had the opportunity to work side by side with such an amazing person, and I would recommend him to anyone who is looking for guidance, support, and inspiration on their own journey and that of their teams and organization.

Overall, I cannot think of anyone more deserving of a Lifetime Achievement Award than my mentor, coach, author, and friend. He has made an incredible impact on my life and the lives of countless others, and I am grateful for his guidance, support, and best of all, friendship.

Steve introduced the Action Learning methodology into SABMiller many years ago. It was an instant success, with strong ExCom ownership of problem/opportunity identification and active sponsorship of the various teams. In time, this became the primary approach to leadership development.

Commercially astute, thoughtful, collaborative and influential, this was just one of Steve’s legacies.

He also introduced the concept of the SABMiller Ways, codifying the core capabilities of the organisation to ensure sustainable adoption as well as systematic innovation. These stood the organisation in great stead, and especially so with newly acquired businesses and partnerships around the globe where the Ways also acted as powerful carriers of culture and values.

Steve is a worthy winner of any award that celebrates continuous intellectual challenge resulting in cultural and commercial value.