PAPERmaking! g FROM THE PUBLISHERS OF PAPER TECHNOLOGY Volume 7, Number 1, 2021
How to Build Learning Agility With improved learning agility, you’re able to make the most out of your experiences. As you build the habits that help you figure things out as you go, you’ll improve how you navigate new and difficult situations and increase your contribution to your organization. To excel at learning from experience and to succeed in changing times, follow our 4 tips for learning agility: 1. Be a Seeker. Seek out new and diverse experiences. Memorable experiences impact the way in which you lead and manage, so seek out more and different experiences. Immerse yourself in situations that broaden your skills and perspective. Explore new pathways. x Embrace the challenge of the unfamiliar; don’t just go through the motions. If you react to the new learning opportunity by staying close to your comfort zone, you minimize struggle and discomfort — and you also miss out on the corresponding rebound in growth and performance. The end result is that you’re pretty much the way you were before, and the full power of the new experience is lost. x Take on a new challenge that scares you. Find something that is meaningful, but not so important that failure will have serious personal consequences. Most importantly, tell others what you’re doing, and ask for their help and support. Taking on new challenges allows you to develop new skills and perspectives that may become an important part of your repertoire in the future. x Don’t get stuck on first solutions. We often choose the first solution to come to mind, rather than taking time to consider whether it’s truly the optimal course over the long term. By trying out new approaches, you can uncover ways of doing things that could save time and energy and surface new learning that may otherwise haven’t been considered. Look beyond the obvious or the easy. Bring in other points of view. Find another way to understand the problem. Approach it from a different angle. If you’re typically data -driven, seek out stories or go get some hands-on, action-driven insight. For each problem you face, challenge yourself to come up with new solutions, even if seemingly tried and trusted ones exist. x Make it a habit to push for new ideas — the less traditional, the better. When faced with a challenge, ask yourself 2 questions: What’s holding me back from trying something new and different? If these constraints weren’t in plac e, how would I approach this situation differently? 2. Hone Your Sense-Making. In today’s high -stakes, complex, ambiguous, and fast- moving situations, you don’t have the luxury of time. You need to dive in and start making things happen. This means you need to take an active approach to making sense of the new challenges you face. Be curious and willing to experiment. Ask “Why?” “How? and “Why not?” x Really actively listen to understand what others are saying, and trust that you’ll have a response when they’ve finished talking. x When you find yourself feeling stressed, pause. Don’t jus t say or do the first thing that comes to your head — when facing leadership stress, take a moment to consider what’s really required. x Find another way to understand a problem. Utilize multiple techniques, engage different senses, and tap into your emotions to wrest understanding, insight, and meaning from the experience. Elevated sense-making is an essential skill to develop for high-potential leaders. 3. Internalize Experiences and Lessons Learned. This process is needed to solidify insights and lessons learned for recall and application later. If you don’t process the learning, you may miss important clues to next steps. Lean on others for this if you need to. Learning-agile people recognize that others are essential to their learning and performance. They build ties and relationships that increase their access to people who can provide new experiences and opportunities to learn; they can collaborate across boundaries. x Ask for feedback and be open to criticism. Find someone who you trust to give you open and honest feedback. Show that you’re open to the process by only asking clarifying questions. Take time to think about what happened and what you’re learning. View feedback as a gift that someone’s giving you. You may not like it, and it may be uncomfort able, but there’s value in it nonetheless. Regardless of the other party’s motivations for giving you feedback, there’s always the opportunity to learn something about yourself. x Don’t defend. Resist the temptation to explain your actions or make excuses. W hen you enter a mode of self-preservation and try to defend what is, you close yourself off to what could be. To
Article 10 – Leadership
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