Why do leaders need to develop learning agility?

Written by Sally Tanski, Managing Consultant

The topic of change is a perennial one in coaching conversations as leaders are often exploring how to keep up with – or ideally stay ahead of – the pace and impact of change. The seismic shift in ways of working brought about by the pandemic continue to be felt today as we push the boundaries of what we can do and how we can do it.

Whatever your acronym of choice to describe all this – e.g., VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) or BANI (Brittle, Anxious, Nonlinear, Incomprehensible) – it can be hard to navigate what feels like a chaotic and unfamiliar landscape. We are on a constant quest for innovation, efficiency, and time and cost savings. So how do leaders stay effective and successful through all of this? The key may be learning how to become an agile learner and developing their learning agility skills.

What is learning agility?

Learning agility refers to the ability to quickly adapt to new situations, learn from past experiences, and apply that knowledge to solve different problems that arise. It was first described by Lombardo and Eichinger as “the willingness and ability to learn new competencies to perform under first-time, tough, or different conditions.”

Recent studies expand on that definition, emphasizing the speed and flexibility to learn from experience as a key component as well as a person’s willingness or mindset to learn. Meaning, to what extent are they willing to engage with the ‘newness’ and find ways of applying what they know already to changing circumstances and contexts? Research indicates that learning agility, or agile learning, is a significant predictor of leadership success. Learning agility becomes even more critical as leaders transition into senior leadership roles and the complexity, ambiguity, and degree of impact increases. As Stephen Hawking reportedly said, “Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.”

5 main components of learning agility

Research has uncovered five key areas of agile learning that leaders can focus on to improve and develop this critical competency:

1. Mental agility: How well we embrace complex issues, take new perspectives, and make fresh connections between different concepts
2. People agility: How open-minded we are toward others, the extent to which we seek out people who are different to us and welcome their ideas, strengths, and interests into our ways of working
3. Results agility: The extent to which we are motivated by challenging situations while delivering successful outcomes and how likely we are to seek out unfamiliar situations which take us out of our comfort zones
4. Change agility: Our openness to change and willingness to unlearn and relearn; the extent to which we are resilient in the face of setbacks and see change as a challenge not a threat
5. Self-awareness: Our strengths and weaknesses; the ability to tune in to and take action on our emotions and use this insight to respond intelligently and non-defensively to changing situations

Leaders need to develop an agile mind

Here at Talogy our research into what leaders need to be successful in the future has uncovered six key attributes:

1. Agile mind
2. Inspiring purpose
3. Empowering approach
4. Focus on momentum
5. Authentic connection
6. Steady presence

Agile mind is particularly relevant here as it relates to how we practically apply learning agility in the workplace. Leaders with agile minds typically possess important leadership capabilities which enable them to:

• Look ahead and be ready to adjust course
• Keep abreast of what is happening outside the organization and think about new possibilities with an open mind
• Ask the right questions and assimilate complex data quickly, recognizing how disparate things fit together and explore innovative ideas

These empower leaders to handle the complexity, uncertainty, and ambiguity that comes with change and enable them to successfully navigate new situations that come their way.

How to develop learning agility

So, how do leaders put these principles into practice to develop or enhance their learning agility? We draw on insights from the worlds of psychology, neuroscience, and our expert leadership experience. Here are some of our top tips for agile learning and development.

5 expert tips for agile learning and development

1. Develop greater emotional intelligence: Leaders who demonstrate high levels of emotional intelligence are able to identify and take action on their own emotions and those of others. They have a healthy regard for themselves and other people, positioning them well to handle the stresses and challenges posed by frequent change. They are less likely to be triggered into instinctive (and often unhelpful) patterns of defensive behavior, and are more likely to remain open and curious when placed in new situations. They are also more likely to believe in their ability to be successful and stay optimistic about outcomes.
2. Learn how to learn: It’s important to constantly review what we did and how we did it as a key tool to enhance learning agility. What worked well? Why did it work? What didn’t work and what caused it to fail? Asking these questions are ways to tap into our natural ‘learning technology,’ a process we have used to learn anything new since we were born. As adults, our busy and overwhelming responsibilities may cause us to consciously shut off this process. However, if we open our minds to explore, question, and be curious, we can extract rich insights and valuable data on what leads to success. Additionally, we can apply what we learned in one situation to another to avoid future mistakes. The emotional intelligence skill of reflective learning helps us increase our understanding of ourselves and others.
3. Take micro breaks: The practice of taking short breaks during the workday has been proven to aid mental agility as it encourages us to shift between focused thinking (time spent in intense, uninterrupted concentration) and diffuse thinking (reflection, self-insight, where we are more relaxed and calm). At work we can get stuck in extended periods of focused thinking to the detriment of time spent in diffuse thinking. Short walks outdoors, exercise and stretching, or changing work locations all promote diffuse thinking which can enhance creativity and problem solving.
4. Embrace new experiences: Deliberately seek out new situations and the opportunity to work with people with different experiences, skills sets, and thinking to yours. At work this may include working on cross-functional projects, leading teams whose work you are unfamiliar with, or working with new clients or products. Outside of work you can develop this area of learning agility through volunteering opportunities or taking up new pastimes which enable you to transfer your skills and experience to something new.
   
   For example, long distance runners can take what they have learned about resilience and managing energy and apply it to open water swimming or cycling. This presents a valuable opportunity to challenge yourself by combining learning agility and critical thinking to come up with new ideas while finding ways to apply something you know well from other situations.
5. Ask for feedback: This can be a formal, structured process such as mid- and end-of-year reviews or can be something more immediate and emergent. Asking colleagues before a meeting or presentation to provide you with feedback afterwards on a specific area you’re curious about is a powerful way to understand your impact and may uncover hidden strengths as well as areas to improve.

Using learning agility to navigate the future

Change isn’t going anywhere, and if anything, it’s happening at a faster pace. If we are able to develop learning agility, we will be better poised to handle the breadth of change thrown at us as leaders. In turn, we will be ready to drive change and guide our teams through uncharted waters while also helping them to enhance their own learning agility skills.