Learning agility offers organizations a meaningful psychological construct and reliable associated tool with which to assess a critical suite of leadership competencies under a single banner. Rooted in a set of crucial leadership competencies, many of which are proving to be especially relevant in the current global context, learning agility informs objective talent management and the opportunity for directed personal development.

In addition to the appeal of a leadership competency-based construct, the TALENTx7 tool provides an objective measure of learning agility potential. Customarily, organizations make use of subjective information when determining the potential of the talent in their organizations. For example, some organizations who make use of the 9-box talent grid, or equivalent, base their assessment of employee potential on the subjective views of managers and human resource professionals. With the use of learning agility, talent with potential can be scientifically identified and objective career development decisions can be developed.

As an example, in a recent client case, the client, operating in the mining industry, uses the 9-box grid of performance-potential to identify talent within their organization. As part of their talent management strategy, they have determined that they intend to identify both breadth and depth of leadership potential. In other words, they intend to identify the specialists with depth of potential and the leaders with breadth of potential. The organization further planned to roll out the new talent management strategy across a significant number of employees (1700) and organizational levels (Paterson levels C, D and E) across various countries.

Why was Learning Agility selected and how was it defined and measured?

As previously indicated, learning agility offers organizations a meaningful psychological construct and reliable associated tool with which to assess a critical suite of leadership competencies under a single banner. Rooted in a set of crucial leadership competencies, many of which are proving to be especially relevant in the current global context, learning agility informs objective talent management and the opportunity for directed personal development. The TALENTx7 tool provides an objective measure of learning agility potential. With the use of learning agility, talent with potential can be scientifically identified and objective career development decisions can be developed.

What is the intended application of learning agility?

As indicated, in this case, the organization’s talent management strategy determined that learning agility and its associated scales are required to effectively manage the talent pool. They further determined that this included identifying both the breadth and depth of leadership potential - specialists with depth of potential and leaders with breadth of potential. Using the TALENTx7, objective potential placement on a 9-box grid of potential-performance became possible. Similarly, the development areas identified by the TALENTx7 are used as data in individual development plans and the accompanying targeted training interventions and/or coaching to be implemented.

What are the target audiences and contexts? Why these and not others?

In this example, the client is targeting all managers and supervisors on Paterson levels C, D and E to identify depth and breadth of potential. Given volumes, budgetary constraints, and the overall talent management strategy, lower-level employees were not included in this project.

How does learning agility compliment or replace other constructs / measures / interventions?

Learning agility provides a complimentary construct to other related constructs deemed reflective of the characteristics of successful leaders. Its value lies in the distinct set of measurable scales associated with, not only the concept of learning agility, but equally a set of highly relevant proficiencies sought in current and future leaders. The TALENTx7 provides the objective, scientific indicator of potential and for the application in our client project, the data was used in the specific contents of a 9-box talent grid illustrating potential and performance.

How has the organization come to these decisions about the use of learning agility? (How was senior management buy-in attained?)

The organization was equipped to make the decision to draw on the learning agility framework and employ the associated tool on the back of a trusted business advisor relationship which saw our practice in a position to deliver counsel regarding best practice leadership identification and development. Our experience in psychometric assessment was vital in ensuring that the client had confidence in our recommendations. Through smaller, pilot projects, implemented previously, we were also able to demonstrate the value derived from the data.

How has learning agility been received by senior leaders?

In this organization, there was good buy-in from senior leaders, because the Human Resources team has been exposed to the construct of learning agility and related tools in previous contexts and could consequently demonstrate the benefits. The scientific, objective nature of identifying potential appealed to the senior leaders of the organization.

What challenges have you experienced with the use of learning agility?

When providing individual feedback, it is vital to support participants in building their understanding of the construct, the scales used to assess it and the results derived from completing the questionnaire. Specifically, there is value in supporting candidates in understanding leadership versus technical leadership strengths and ensuring they understand the application within their own leadership career paths.

How was success measured?

Success, in this project, was measured by undertaking a review of the participants’ work performance in relation to the previously assessed psychometric results. This was done to demonstrate the successful identification of leadership potential. There was a strong correlation between learning agility and higher performance ratings.

What were the key lessons learned?

In reviewing this case study, it is apparent that in order to ensure a sustainable solution for the client – one that not only delivers on the immediate need but also provides ongoing valued outputs – it is necessary to support the client’s internal delivery team in building capability in the holistic application of the tool. That requires ensuring that the internal stakeholders not only understand the data that can be derived by the tool but also all its applications across the HR value chain. In this case, how the data could be applied in succession planning and personal development planning. Similarly, the more internal stakeholders and users of the tool are equipped in fully understanding and leveraging the tool, the better the communications related to building internal buy-in of the approach.

What would you consider best practice in the application of learning agility?

It is essential to ensure that internal stakeholders understand what the chosen tool can and cannot measure. In this case, that it cannot substitute for other useful sources of performance and potential data on identified talent. In the same way, it is vital that when interpreting results of the data, internal custodians and end users of the data understand the definition of each measured facet, individual results on these facets, and appreciate and have access to additional data points to aid decision-making.