Learning Agility and Leadership

All employees have talent. The type of talent and amount of talent simply varies among individuals. The TALENTx7 Assessment measures seven specific areas of leadership talent. These areas of talent relate to a concept referred to as “learning agility.” Learning agility is the ability and willingness to learn quickly, and then apply those lessons to perform well in new and challenging leadership situations. Everyone has a certain amount of learning agility. Moreover, if we are willing, we can develop more of it.

Research has found that individuals who have higher levels of learning agility tend to be more successful in managerial and executive positions than those who possess lower levels. It does not suggest that those employees who are low in learning agility do not have talent, perform their jobs well, or will not have successful careers. Indeed, many jobs are performed more effectively by individuals who possess low-to-average levels of learning agility (e.g., quality control specialists, scientists, accountants, engineers, and so on). Such “high professional” positions require deep technical expertise, precision, and a consistent methodology to perform well.

An increasing number of organizations throughout the world have been using learning agility to assess, identify, select, and develop leadership during the past 10 years.