In yesterday’s Advisor, we defined what “learning agility” is and what “learning-agile” people can do. Today, we learn 5 ways you can become more learning-agile.
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To recap: According to research conducted by Green Peak Partners, learning-agile people can process new information and situations faster than others and adjust on the fly to changing conditions, making companies more flexible and responsive. They also help firms outperform their competitors.
Green Peak defines “learning agility” as flexibility, openness to information, and the ability to get—and apply—insight, even from a misstep, says a press release.
So, what can an employee or manager do to become more learning-agile or to cultivate learning agility within their organizations?
J.P. Flaum, managing partner at Green Peak Partners, and Becky Winkler, PhD, partner at Green Peak Partners, advise them to:
1. Innovate. Seek out new solutions. Repeatedly ask, “What else? What are 10 more ways I could approach this? What are several radical things I could try here?” “It doesn’t mean you do all of these things,” Winkler says. “But you consider all of them before proceeding.” Managers can encourage their people to seek new solutions and ask the same questions of team members.
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2. Trust your intuition, and try to find the patterns in complex situations. For example, find the similarities between current and past projects, or focus on end goals without getting bogged down too early in how to get there. Cultivate calm through meditation, and then use that newfound calm to improve listening skills by listening instead of immediately reacting.
3. Become more reflective, exploring “what-ifs” and alternative histories for projects you’ve been involved in. And seek out real input; ask “What are three or four things I could have done better here?” Make sure the question is specific but still open-ended; that way, colleagues will open up, and you’ll learn something you can act on.
4. Take more risks, as long as they’re smart risks. Look for “stretch assignments” where success isn’t a given. These might involve new roles, new parts of the company, or new geographies. Managers can help by giving stretch assignments to their employees and by defining success as the learning and exploration, not just the outcome.
5. Avoid getting defensive. Acknowledge failures, perhaps from those stretch assignments, and capture the learnings. Managers can help their reports do the same, in settings that give them the space to learn from failure. For example, 360-degree reviews will focus on projects rather than on people and that will focus on learnings and how to apply them in future.
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Adds Flaum. “If you’re learning-agile, you might be arguing with managers that a strategy needs to change, or alienating colleagues as an initiative you championed falls on its face. But you’ll be able to come out of the experience better than before, and take advantage of new opportunities.”