In our latest article we discuss the second pillar of Leadership Agility: learning agility. Learning agility enables leaders to master new knowledge, skills, or behaviors to quickly seize an opportunity or overcome a challenge.
What is Learning Agility?
Even in a position of authority, business leaders may not always know how to respond during uncertain times or when an unfamiliar opportunity arises. Change requires leaders to act quickly, but without direction or understanding, they may make uninformed, rash decisions. Sometimes, leaders must first develop themselves before they can make sense of uncertainty and act accordingly. Learning agility helps leaders find new, unique solutions when they don’t know what to do. Here are a few ways leaders can seek and acquire knowledge:
- Reviewing relevant case studies or research
- Investing in leadership/staff development or consulting
- Encouraging open dialogue and listening to colleagues’ feedback
The Steps of Learning Agility
The first step in learning agility is gaining experience. Leaders must view every obstacle, challenge, or unknown as a learning opportunity. There is always something to gain from uncertain times and “failures.” There may have been situations that could have been handled differently, but agile leaders proceed with optimism for the future.
To identify new approaches for the future, leaders must analyze the situation. What new knowledge, skills, or behaviors are required to grow their understanding and overcome similar challenges in the future? How will they acquire new knowledge and skills?
With this analysis, leaders can then expand their learning through research, consulting, or additional training.
With their new knowledge leaders can then adapt, make informed decisions, and act quickly to overcome challenges. They can use this new knowledge when faced with obstacles in the future.
In a six-week series of articles, Romar Learning Solutions will break down the four pillars of leadership agility and what leaders have to gain from leadership agility training. Stay tuned to learn more about the third pillar of leadership agility: communication.
