“An organisation’s ability to learn, to harness collective intelligence and to translate that learning rapidly into action, in response to environmental challenges, is the ultimate competitive advantage in the constantly changing context of the information age” (Source: Learning Power in the Work Place: the Effective Lifelong Learning Inventory (ELLI) and its reliability and validity and implications for Learning and Development, 2013).
In the digital economy, we can improve our productivity by using technology to automate routine processes. This, in turn, releases human capacity to do the creative work currently beyond automation. Now that the knowledge we need is all online, our performance relies on our ability to search for, evaluate and apply it to the novel and complex challenges we are left to face.
Tim Coburn, an Accelerance associate based in the UK, has been involved in research made by the University of Bristol around the concept of learning capability in the context of workplace. Today he shares his views on the importance of “learning power” in developing leaders in the digital age.
Learning Capability
Whether we see it as “learning” or not, the novel and complex nature of our work means that our ability to learn – as well as our ability to perform – must be switched on at work all the time. When we face a new challenge, novel question or complex problem, we might go to Wikipedia to look for a definition, pop over to LinkedIn to ask the opinion of a global group of people or we might search a news publication for the most up to date information.
As we take in all this information, we assess its quality and evaluate which parts we can turn quickly into an idea to present at a meeting, include in a report or inform our strategy. To do this well, we need to be learning and performing at the same time. And it’s this particular form of learning to perform that increasingly drives productivity in organisations.
The increasing significance of learning has important implications for leaders.
The Evolving Role of Leaders in the Digital Age
We already know that those leaders who are “learning agile” (who show an ability and willingness to learn throughout their careers) are more likely to be successful. Ongoing research by a range of organisations, including the Centre for Creative Leadership (CCL) (http://www.ccl.org/Leadership/pdf/research/LearningAgility.pdf) and the University of Bristol seeks to define the mindset and behaviours of those leaders who perform at a high level throughout their careers, due to their ability to adapt to new contexts and environments.
“Good decisions depend on quick and effective learning. The success of an organisation hinges on its leaders’ ability to learn” (Tim Coburn)
We can take this one step further and suggest that learning capability should be nurtured in all employees, to increase the agility of the whole organisation. For this to happen, three leadership behaviours are key.
Lead with Humility
In order to learn, our minds need to be open. Leaders need to accept that they don’t know all the answers and this requires humility. If we acknowledge that we don’t have all the answers, those around us won’t feel scared of asking questions and of realising that they too don’t always hold all the answers.
Show Empathy
In order to make space for teams to learn and adapt, leaders need empathy. This will enable us to make space for people to channel the knowledge they have from the local systems they’re a part of. The internet and technology allows for multiple connections. Your team members and colleagues might have access to networks and information you are not able to access.
Embrace a desire to improve the learning capability in others
When we talk about our leadership responsibilities, we rarely mention improving learning in others. If we start introducing this into team culture, we recognise that our ability to learn drives our ability to succeed and this should be part and parcel of our everyday conversation.
The capacity to learn has had a low profile (an indeed almost no profile) in most organisations’ lists of core competencies. The need for every employee to be in learning mode all of the time in order to perform well all of the time, is a mindset we need to embrace.
Next step?
Improving the learning capability of leaders in your organisation can be supported with a Learning Power self-assessment instrument. For more information about how we at Accelerance can support your needs in this area, including access to the Learning Power assessment tool, please get in touch.
Reference
DEAKIN CRICK, R., HAIGNEY, D., HUANG, S., COBURN, T. and GOLDSPINK, C. (2013) Learning power in the workplace: the effective lifelong learning inventory and its reliability and validity and implications for learning and development. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 24(11), 2255-2272.
