In today’s dynamic business environment, the ability to adapt and learn quickly is no longer a luxury, but a necessity, especially for leaders. Let’s explore Learning Agility in leadership, a critical competency that distinguishes high-potential individuals and drives organizational success.
Decoding Learning Agility: More Than Just a Skill
Learning agility is not just about acquiring new skills; it’s a multifaceted competency encompassing a set of sophisticated abilities. It’s the capacity to absorb new information in one context and effectively apply those learnings in entirely different scenarios.
Essentially, learning agility empowers us to:
- Rapidly learn, unlearn outdated practices, and relearn new approaches.
- Apply newly acquired knowledge and skills to foster innovation and adapt seamlessly to evolving workplace dynamics.
- Actively seek and utilize feedback to continuously improve performance and understanding.
Learning Agility in Action: Navigating the Modern Workplace
In the workplace, learning agility manifests as the ability to navigate uncharted territories without a predefined roadmap. It’s about leveraging past and present experiences to decipher ambiguous situations and forge effective paths forward.
It’s characterized by an openness to novel concepts and a proactive drive to innovate, rather than clinging to obsolete methodologies. Individuals with high learning agility thrive in ambiguity. They proactively seek out fresh challenges, actively solicit feedback for growth, and engage in thoughtful self-reflection.
An agile learner possesses a mindset geared towards continuous self-development and understanding. This involves cultivating new strategies and insights along the way, preparing themselves to adeptly tackle any future complexities that may arise.
While learning agility is valuable across the workforce, its presence in executives and leadership positions is particularly impactful, driving engagement and organizational performance.
Executives demonstrating high learning agility, coupled with tolerance for ambiguity, empathy, and social adaptability, are:
5x
more likely to exhibit high levels of engagement.
Source: Korn Ferry
Nature vs. Nurture: Can Learning Agility Be Developed?
The encouraging news is that learning agility is not an innate trait reserved for a select few. It’s a competency that can be cultivated and strengthened at any point in life. Like a muscle, consistent effort and practice are key to enhancing learning agility.
Being a learning agile individual is less about past achievements and more about the potential to excel in future endeavors. It’s a forward-looking attribute that signifies adaptability and growth potential.
Learning agility is indeed linked to certain personality traits from the “Big Five” model, such as agreeableness, openness to experience, and conscientiousness. These traits often predispose individuals to be more receptive to learning and adaptation.
Conversely, individuals with emotional instability may exhibit lower learning agility. Similarly, those who attribute life events to uncontrollable external forces tend to be less learning agile, as they may feel less empowered to influence their own learning and growth.
Therefore, evaluating a candidate’s personality alongside assessing their learning agility provides a more comprehensive understanding of their overall profile and potential.
The Indispensable Role of Learning Agility in Today’s Workplace
In today’s volatile and uncertain business landscape, learning agility has become an essential skill, particularly for leaders. Organizations aiming for sustained success need leaders who can navigate complexity and change effectively. Learning agility serves as a robust predictor of leadership potential. Notably, a significant portion of newly hired leaders struggle due to a deficiency in this crucial competency.
Successful leaders are adept at managing disruption, adapting to unforeseen challenges, and adjusting their strategies to ensure continued organizational success. In essence, exceptional leaders are adaptable, resilient, and possess an innovative mindset.
According to the Korn Ferry Institute, learning agility surpasses even intelligence and education as the most reliable predictor of executive leadership success. It’s considered the paramount attribute for identifying and developing high-potential leaders.
Companies with a higher proportion of highly learning agile executives demonstrate:
25%
higher profit margins compared to their industry peers.
Source: Korn Ferry
Cultivating learning agility within leadership and the broader workforce enables organizations to shed outdated beliefs and practices that no longer serve contemporary business needs. This fosters a culture of continuous learning and allows organizations to proactively seek and learn from new experiences, maintaining a competitive edge.
Here are several examples illustrating learning agility in action within the workplace: Agile learners typically:
- Make confident, high-quality decisions under pressure. They can synthesize information and connect seemingly disparate elements, even when data is incomplete or ambiguous.
- Develop innovative solutions by readily discarding ineffective past approaches and embracing new perspectives.
- Adopt a holistic, “big picture” perspective. They go beyond existing knowledge, integrating diverse information to gain deeper insights and broader understanding.
- Demonstrate adaptability in tackling complex challenges. They embrace change, exhibiting flexibility and resilience driven by a strong desire to achieve success.
- Confidently navigate unfamiliar and uncertain situations. They approach novelty without hesitation, viewing it as an opportunity for growth rather than a source of anxiety.
- Continuously adapt to evolving business strategies. They seamlessly embrace cross-cultural collaboration, remote work arrangements, and temporary virtual teams, remaining unfazed by unfamiliar assignments and responsibilities.
- Drive innovation. Unlike those with low learning agility who rely on outdated solutions, agile learners actively seek and implement novel approaches to address contemporary challenges.
Individuals with high learning agility are:
18x
more likely to be recognized as high-potential employees compared to colleagues with lower learning agility scores.
Source: Korn Ferry
Proven Strategies for Assessing Learning Agility
When recruiting for roles where learning agility is a critical success factor, such as leadership positions or management trainee programs, incorporating robust assessment methods into your recruitment process is crucial.
Here are effective best practices for evaluating learning agility in candidates:
1. Implement Scientifically Validated Learning Agility Assessments
Utilizing a dedicated and scientifically validated learning agility assessment is the most effective way to objectively measure this competency in candidates. Transparency is key; ensure candidates understand the purpose and nature of the assessment.
Platforms like Harver offer Personality Print, a scientifically backed personality assessment that effectively measures learning agility. This tool delivers detailed candidate profiles, empowering recruitment teams to make well-informed decisions when selecting candidates for roles where learning agility is paramount.
Harver’s Personality Print assesses learning agility through seven distinct traits, identified through proprietary research by their People Scientists. The tool also provides clear guidelines for score interpretation.
While learning agility assessments can be used independently, combining them with other assessment types, such as cognitive ability tests or personality questionnaires, often provides a more holistic and insightful candidate evaluation.
To witness these assessments in action and determine the optimal solution for your specific needs, scheduling a demo is recommended.
2. Consider the Interplay Between Cognitive Ability and Learning Agility
Cognitive ability is intrinsically linked to learning agility. While higher intelligence doesn’t automatically equate to greater learning agility, a certain level of cognitive capacity is necessary to effectively demonstrate agile learning.
Therefore, combining a personality assessment that measures learning agility with a cognitive ability test creates a powerful and comprehensive assessment strategy. Harver’s cognitive ability test, for instance, evaluates core components of Fluid Intelligence: Logical Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, Numerical Reasoning, and Spatial Ability.
Further information about these assessments can be accessed through the provided links.
3. Focus on Adaptability During Interviews
Incorporate structured interview questions designed to probe a candidate’s adaptability and learning agility. Utilize open-ended questions such as:
- “Describe a situation where you actively sought feedback from a supervisor or colleague. Who did you ask, what feedback did you receive, and why was it important to you?”
- “Tell me about a time you made a mistake at work. What was the mistake, what did you learn from it, who did you inform, and how did they respond?”
- “Share an experience where you had to undertake a task completely new to you. How did you approach it, what were your feelings, and what key learnings did you gain?”
- To assess a candidate’s ability to adapt to novel situations and unexpected challenges, employ “what if” scenario-based questions. For example: “Imagine you are assigned a new task. What initial steps would you take to begin?”
- Once the candidate confidently addresses the initial “what if” scenario, introduce an unexpected element or constraint to test their flexibility and problem-solving speed. For example, “Now, imagine you have fewer resources, a reduced budget, or less time. How would you still achieve the same outcome under these altered circumstances?”
In evaluating responses, look for indicators of key learning agility behaviors identified by Burke, including: feedback seeking, interpersonal risk-taking, collaboration, experimentation, reflection, speed, and flexibility.
The Mettl Learning Agility Matrix illustrates the interplay between the learning agility required by a role and the learning agility level of an employee.
4. Invest in Learning Agility Training for Current Employees
To pinpoint learning agility gaps within your existing workforce, consider implementing learning agility training programs. This empowers employees to recognize the specific behaviors associated with agile learners.
By fostering a clear understanding of learning agility, employees can self-assess their strengths and areas for development, enabling them to proactively improve and enhance their agile learning capabilities.
Taking Action to Enhance Learning Agility in Your Organization
Learning agility is undeniably a vital competency for leaders and a crucial driver of organizational success in today’s rapidly evolving world. If your goal is to cultivate future leaders and change agents, prioritizing the assessment and development of learning agility is paramount.
To explore how the Personality Print Professional module for assessing learning agility within the Harver platform can be integrated into your candidate selection process, schedule a demo today.
