What is Learning Agility?
Learning agility, also referred to as change agility, is our ability to learn, adapt, unlearn and relearn to keep up with constantly changing conditions. It comprises a set of complex skills that enables us to learn something new in one place and then apply what we have learned elsewhere, in a wholly different situation. While hard to master, it can be taught and learned at any stage in life. But it is also a dynamic trait. To strengthen this skillset, it has to be constantly worked on.
Learning agility is also an important universal indication of top talent. Paired with adaptability it is one of the essential characteristics of innovative leadership and agile talent.
The learning or change agility of a person depends on two key components:
- Ability to learn: This is dependent on cognitive intelligence
- Intent to learn: This is dependent on behavioural and personality traits
These are five main characteristics that can be assessed to determine an individual’s overall learning agility.
Situational Agility – How aware are you of the need to change your situation?
Attitude Agility – What is your attitude towards adapting to change?
Thinking Agility – How does your thought process thrive with learning and change?
Executive Agility – To what extent do you carry out plans to work with change?
Persuasive Agility – How much do you influence others to accept and work with change?
What does it mean to have learning agility?
Learning agility dictates how we can figure out a way through challenging situations without knowing exactly what to do, by using past and present experiences to make sense of an uncertain situation.
It is also about being open to new ideas and innovating rather than relying on conventional practices and outdated information. As an agile learner, you are comfortable being uncomfortable. You constantly seek out new challenges, ask for feedback from others to learn and grow and are reflective.
Being able to call yourself an agile learner isn’t about what you have accomplished previously, it’s about the potential you have to accomplish future tasks and deal with unknowns.
An agile learner has the mindset that allows them to continually develop their understanding, to grow and use new strategies that they’ve learned along the way in order to ready themselves to successfully navigate any future problems.
On the other hand, a person who is emotionally unstable is less likely to be learning agile. Likewise, those who believe that events in their life are caused by uncontrollable external factors are also less likely to be learning agile.
To list just a few of the characteristics of a learning agile person:
- Makes high-quality decisions on the spot, with confidence. Connect the dots even without compelling or complete data to work from.
- Develops innovative solutions based on their ability to unlearn old solutions that no longer work.
- Sees the bigger picture – look beyond what they already know and integrate unrelated pieces of information to gain a better perspective.
- Is adaptable in their approach to a complex issue. Be open to sudden or unexpected change and be flexible – this comes from their drive to succeed.
- Deals with unfamiliarity and uncertainty confidently, rather than shy away from new and strange situations.
- Possessing the ability of agile learning means continually adapting to new business strategies, embracing working across cultures, taking remote working and dealing with temporary virtual teams in their stride, taking on new tasks but remaining unfazed when handed unfamiliar assignments.
- Innovative. People who don’t possess learning agility tend to over-rely on past solutions to deal with current problems rather than look for new solutions.
So what does learning agility look like in an individual? Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, personifies learning agility. Branson’s biggest motivation is to keep challenging himself. “I see life almost like one long university education that I never had,” Branson said.
Branson used this mindset to build businesses in music, telecommunications, air and rail transportation and even space travel. He persevered through stumbles and setbacks, using every experience to get better.
Agile learners are creators. Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank, likely applied his ‘change agility’ when creating the concept of ‘microlending’, which is now used around the world. Professor Yunus turned conventional banking on its head—with life-changing results for the bank’s millions of borrowers.
Agile learners build bridges. The late Nelson Mandela empathised with and understood those who imprisoned him. His ‘people agility’ enabled him to emerge from prison with grace and become one of the world’s most revered and transformational leaders.
Branson, Yunus and Mandela never let the status quo or even failure impede them. They broke away from conventional wisdom and changed the world.
Why is learning agility an essential skill at work?
Success in an increasingly unpredictable business landscape requires leadership styles and skills that differ markedly from those that dominated in a more stable business environment. Executives must now have the fluidity to manage disruption and the agility to adapt their strategies based on rapidly evolving circumstances. In short, exceptional leaders are adaptable, resilient and open to thinking innovatively. Having learning agility is thus paramount.
Possessing learning agility means leaders are capable of unlearning old beliefs and practices that are no longer relevant in today’s business. This allows them to seek out and learn from new experiences.
Spotting the agile learner
Objectively identifying managers with high levels of learning agility has tremendous value for an organization. Before putting time, energy, and money into developing an executive, a company can improve the odds of making the right investment in an individual. They can also avoid the mistake of overlooking an apparently nondescript employee who really is a high potential talent.
There is a way to identify these people and develop them. The challenge is identifying the talent, then matching it to the right opportunities and enabling future leaders to develop a rich set of experiences. Organizations that see their leaders as key drivers of growth and success are increasingly adopting learning agility as a way to differentiate talent and this rise is expected to continue as businesses increasingly understand the value of being led by agile learners.
