Agility

What is it?

The most effective way to assess a person’s potential to learn from experience is by measuring learning agility. Learning Agility is defined as the willingness and ability to learn from experience, and subsequently apply that learning to perform successfully under new or first-time conditions (Lombardo & Eichinger, 2000).

Research illustrates the connection between learning agility and performance, achievement, promotion and advancement.

We can break Agility into multiple components:

  1. Mental: not intelligence per se, but curiosity and willingness to be open and approachable to creative problem solving

  2. People: the ability to effectively relate to and work with different types of people

  3. Change: how we handle change, from resistance to an “immunity to change” (Kegan, Lahey)

  4. Situational agility: our ability to flex and use different skills and techniques in different situations

How might you develop it?

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. In a nutshell break out of the “busyness trap”. Always on, always connected, always on the go, if not checked, inhibits our capacity to be agile.

 

There are several tools and practices to consider:

  1. Examine where your mindset is fixed, unclear, or open

  2. Experiment and note what happens

  3. Fail small to learn big

  4. Build your skill and knowledge for performing tightly, with intention

  5. Feed your ability to be agile; rhythm of day, healthy habits, recovery

  6. Grow perspectives: maintain networking and follow and observe others you can learn and grow from