Learning Agility: what it is and why companies need it

Learning Agility is increasingly being talked about in companies. But what exactly is it and how does it contribute to a company's competitiveness?

Learning Agility: what it is and why companies need it

Learning Agility is increasingly being talked about in companies. But what exactly is it and how does it contribute to a company's competitiveness?

In today's environment where uncertainty related to post-pandemic, international conflicts and sudden economic transformations has become the new normal, the success and competitiveness of companies increasingly depend on the ability of employees to be adaptable, innovative and resilient. 
With this in mind, Learning Agility is a crucial skill for companies of all industries and sizes. So let's find out what it is, what benefits it offers and how to foster its development within companies. 

Learning agility: what it is

The term Learning Agility refers to an individual's ability to learn new skills through experience, thanks to strong qualities of flexibility and readiness to change. In other words, it is our ability to learn, adapt, unlearn and relearn to keep up with constantly changing conditions.

Learning agility is a crucial skill in the modern work environment: it enables people to unlearn old beliefs and practices that no longer work in today's business and to learn from experience new ways to deal with complex contexts and dynamic situations.

Why is Learning Agility an essential skill at work?

Learning Agility is critical to the success and competitiveness of a business. It, in fact, helps people to:

  • be open to new ideas and innovative solutions, rather than relying on outdated information or ways of working
  • make quality decisions in less time
  • learn from mistakes
  • look beyond what they already know and integrate unrelated information to gain a better perspective
  • deal effectively with sudden or unexpected changes
  • deal confidently with uncertain situations
  • continually adapt to business strategies
  • reflect on shortcomings, improve and grow
  • effectively fill leadership roles 

How to develop Learning Agility in companies?

To be truly learning agile, employees must feel comfortable with unfamiliar situations. This requires a mental shift, where experimentation and uncertainty become a challenging, not scary, part of the job.

The best way to do this is to provide practical training programs that include job shadowing, job rotation, and temporary assignments with which to deal with unfamiliar situations on the one hand, and online courses that teach them how to take a systematic, rational, and logical approach to problem solving on the other. In this way, they will learn the skills they need to deal with uncertainty and be able to practice them in real situations.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator


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