Take Initiative to be Learning Agile!

Taking Initiative to be Learning Agile!
“Don’t wait for your ship to come in, swim out to it” – Cathy Hopkins- author

“Learning Agility” is our ability to apply what we have learned in the past to new situations. A real-life example of learning agility is the story of pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger who, on January 15, 2009, safely landed flight 1549 when his engines became disabled after flying through a flock of geese, saving the lives of all its passengers. Sully tapped into skills learned from past experiences as a certified glider pilot, flight instructor, and crash investigator to navigate a new unfamiliar situation.  

  • As a glider pilot, Sully had experience landing aircrafts (although different aircrafts) without an engine.
  • As a flight instructor, he knew how important it was to keep others calm in tough situations.
  • As a crash investigator, he understood the data to assess what his best option was.
  • All these skills served Sully well in a new situation so he could successfully land flight 1549 to save all his passengers.

In times of change, hiring managers and colleagues value employees that have learning agility as a skill set to better adapt to new situations like transitioning to different software or adapting to a new process.  This skill is particularly important in today’s world as departments navigate hybrid learning and working.  Learning agility starts with you taking the initiative. It is is critical to honing your learning agility behaviors and skill sets to confidently perform in new and unfamiliar circumstances.

A person with initiative is defined in the C&T Performance Feedback form as being “a self-starter, resourceful, develops ideas and methods to enhance the work unit.  Identifies and participates in training opportunities.”

People demonstrate initiative by:

  • Becoming a good team player and identifying when colleagues need support without being asked
  • Tackling challenges, solving problems
  • Collaborating with others to complete assignments
  • Stepping in when someone is unavailable or absent
  • Asking questions to better understand a process and making suggestions for improvements

Ways to develop your initiative:

  • Pitch in to help others complete a task.  Benefit by developing broader knowledge of a process or seeing a different perspective.
  • Learn how things work and figure out more efficient ways of doing them.  Look for opportunities in problems.
  • Tap into resources such as LinkedIn Learning to take a Microsoft Teams class and share what you learned with others at a team meeting.   
  • Observe coworkers who are good at taking initiative.  Talk to them; learn from them; analyze their thought processes and study how they execute ideas and accomplish goals.
  • Let people get used to hearing your input.  When you regularly offer good ideas, solutions, suggestions, and recommendations, your opinions will be sought over time.
  • Learn to be decisive.  Become comfortable at making decisions rather than agonizing endlessly over decision making.
  • Identify your development areas.  Create career and development goals for yourself and create a learning plan. Then take initiative to stick to your plan, develop your skill sets, and reach your goals.

Employees value colleagues that demonstrate learning agility to problem solve in the moment.  To do this well, take initiative to build up your toolbox of skills. What will your first step be? Take this Microsoft self-assessment to start or browse these soft skills and then take the associated LinkedIn Learning course.

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