Talent & Learning

Today I had the privilege of doing some coaching for some emerging leaders who are undertaking an adaptive leadership program with me.  Everyone is at their own readiness of learning and it is exciting to see individuals stretch themselves in areas that aren't easy to do so.  So how do you recognise learning agile individuals. An example from one of my sessions today really highlights learning agility to me. 

First the person took responsibility for their session - I received a note outlining what she wanted to achieve and then at the start reiterated how we should spend the time together.  You would be surprised with how many people come to sessions without preparation.  So her accountability for the outcomes in the session was important.  Second, she had reflected on how her development goals and behavioural changes were going.  She was honest with herself about what she had done but also where she fell short.  At no stage was she hard on herself. She was curious about why she had not made progress on some areas rather than judging when she hadn't made the progress.

She had integrated the learning's from the program and articulated how she was applying it in her world.  She used the language from the program in an authentic way.  She knew when she was on the dance floor and when she was on the balcony.  She was able to challenge herself about spending more time in the diagnosis stage and constantly observes what is happening in the system within the cohort she is working with. 

During our session she was open to challenge and rather than  being defensive she saw it as an opportunity to learn.  She also challenged my role as the "authority" figure and how I may be creating a dependent relationship between some other members of the cohort. 

In summary - this person was curious, open, took accountability for her learning, was prepared to challenge and was specific about what she could be doing differently.  The session flew!!