THE MANY FACES OF LEARNING AGILITY

Learning Agility is defined as the ability and willingness to learn from experience, and then apply that learning to perform successfully under new situations.  Learning Agile People Do Four Things Well:

1. They are critical thinkers who examine problems carefully and make fresh connections
2. They know themselves and are able to handle tough situations
3. They like to experiment and can deal with the discomfort of change
4. They deliver results in first-time situations through team building and personal drive

DIAGRAM 1

Learning Agility: A Multi-Dimensional Concept

Mental Agility	Describes people who think through problems from a fresh point of view and are comfortable with complexity, ambiguity and explaining their thinking to others Characteristics: Curious Get to root causes Comfortable with complexity/ ambiguity Find parallels Look for rules of thumb and repeatable Broad perspective
People Agility	Describes people who know themselves well, learn from experience, treat others constructively, and are cool and resilient under the pressures of change Characteristics: Self‐aware Open minded Committed to personal improvement Can play many roles Likes to help others succeed Deal with conflict constructively Agile communicator
Change Agility	Describes people who are curious, have a passion for ideas, like to experiment with test cases, and engage in skill building activities Characteristics: Tinkerer Can take the heat Introduces new slants
Results Agility	Describes people who get results under tough conditions, inspires others to perform beyond normal, and exhibit the sort of presence that builds confidence in others Characteristics: Very flexible Good in first time, new situations Resourceful Drive and presence Build high performing teams

To be good at anything requires some knowledge, skills, and technical know-how.  What separates the remarkable from the good leader is the ability to perform well under first-time, challenging conditions.  These “high potential” people are what we call learning agile; they can take lessons from the past and fit them into new and different challenges they are facing.

SHARED FROM:

http://www.lominger.com/pdf/Faces_of_learning_agility_presentation.pdf, THE MANY FACES OF LEARNING AGILITY, Kenneth P. De Meuse, Guangrong Dai, George S. Hallenbeck (An excerpt from the 2010 Mid-Winter Conference of Consulting Psychology in Scottsdale, AZ)

http://www.kaplandevries.com/images/uploads/LEARNING_AGILITY_siop2008DeMeuse.pdf, LEARNING AGILITY: A New Construct Whose Time Has Come, Kenneth P. De Meuse, Lominger International: A Korn/Ferry Company

http://www.lominger.com/pdf/Final_lng_agilitysellsheet_10510.pdf, What do you do when you don’t know what to do?