Why learning agility is the most critical skill for future growth

By most metrics, we are experiencing the fastest rate of change recorded in human history, with societal, political, technological, economic and environmental transformation accelerating exponentially – and real-time updates across the globe making it feel faster.

The impact of such speed creates disruption and uncertainty – but also opportunity. For businesses and the people who work in them, learning agility is no longer a nice-to have. Described as the ability to learn from past experiences, adapt and apply lessons learned to perform successfully in unfamiliar situations, learning agility has replaced technical skills and knowledge as the source of sustainable competitive advantage. When insights can be collated by machines, those of us able to learn, unlearn and relearn at pace can create value by applying experience to successfully judge those unfamiliar situations. And yet, how many businesses recognise this? The instinct in times of uncertainty is to reduce investment in ‘non-core’ activities and learning is often in this bracket. But the cost of not learning is becoming ever higher. Companies committed to growth must find cost-efficient ways to design learning into the way they operate, and make time for their people to learn. Learning agility requires a mindset which remains curious, reflective and open to change. Extensive research identifies five dimensions: mental agility, change agility, results agility and people agility, but the most critical is self-awareness. Having worked in diverse organisations developing talent, leading transformations and supporting growth, I’ve found this to be true. Highly agile learners know their own strengths and weaknesses and are constantly seeking feedback to improve. Self-awareness enables excellent teamwork, better communication, enhanced productivity and truly inspirational leadership. Traditional models of leadership are outdated and no longer fit for the era we work in. With falling levels of engagement, increased conflict and low trust across workforces, there’s strong evidence that it’s time for a reset. As consumers, we’ve become accustomed to personalisation and as employees, we expect the same. Diverse, multi-generational workforces have diverse needs and expectations, so leaders with high learning agility are willing to understand and adapt to those needs, earning trust and inspiring teams to raise their game. Leaders with high learning agility prioritise psychological safety and meaningful feedback in their teams, encouraging collaboration and building resilience to continuously improve. These leaders succeed through balancing awareness, empathy and compassion with clear vision and performance expectations. They understand that different team members respond best to different styles of leadership and adapt to suit. Self-awareness can be learned and there are many frameworks available to support learning, including powerful psychometric tools like Insights Discovery. Insights Discovery uses a simple model based on four colour energies which, accompanied by a more detailed personal profile, helps people to understand more about themselves and others. It creates a common, memorable language that makes it easier to identify strengths and address weaknesses, so that individuals and teams can improve their personal impact to work well together and perform at their highest level. By understanding their own and others’ preferences better, leaders and team members can take simple, practical actions to adapt and connect more effectively and improve everyday relationships, providing a strong foundation for learning agility. As change continues to increase and opportunities for automation expand exponentially, there will be many unfamiliar situations ahead. Now is the time to invest in learning to position your business, and its people, for growth.

Alison Campbell is a licensed Insights Discovery practitioner and founder of Peoplescale, a business which helps SMEs and family businesses to get the best from their people and enable growth.