Leading in a vuca world terrell

2013 Aspire Consulting, Inc.

Leading in a VUCA World

SPQA, September 16, 2014


“May you live in interesting times.”

寧為太平犬，不做亂世人

~ Ancient Chinese curse ~

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Complexity

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1. Over the past two years, complexity in our

organization and environment has . . .

Decreased / Stayed the Same Increased Significantly

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2. Over the next two years, complexity in our

organization and environment will . . .

Decrease / Stay the Same Increase Significantly

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10


Change

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1. Over the past two years, the amount of change in

our organization and environment has . . .

Decreased / Stayed the Same Increased Significantly

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2. Over the next two years, the amount of change in

our organization and environment will . . .

Decrease / Stay the Same Increase Significantly

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10


VOLATILITY

UNCERTAINTY

COMPLEXITY

AMBIGUITY

Interesting Times: It’s a VUCA World


Leading in a VUCA World

What do leaders need to do to successfully

and effectively lead in this VUCA world?

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Learning Agility: The Silver Bullet

There is one secret for success; it’s called Learning Agility.

KNOWING WHAT TO DO

WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO


High-Impact Talent – A Strategic Business Imperative

“Developing leaders and high potential talent has become a strategic necessity if an organization is to succeed long-term”

February 2011

Leadership Agility: A Business Imperative for a VUCA* World *Volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity

Self-awareness was found to be the #1 predictor of executive success – Cornell University Study in 2010


Boardroom Perspective


“Learning Agility has been a key element to step change how we talk

about our talent, how we assess/differentiate, and how we

deploy our talent.”

“Learning Agility has allowed us to focus on what matters most when it comes to development and

better matching talent to specific opportunities—be it new roles, projects, etc.”

Learning Agility is being used in: Fortune Top 50: 40% Fortune Top 100: 40% Fortune 500: 23% Global Top 50: 28% Global 500: 20.2%

Learning Agility has quickly emerged as the most valid and reliable predictor of high potential leaders and executive success today (more important, even, than IQ, emotional intelligence, or education level). Why? People who are learning agile more readily learn new skills and behaviors and carry forward that learning to perform successfully in a diverse mix of situations. Buyouts Magazine, November 2012

The Importance of Agility “Given the dramatic changes in how work gets prioritized, communicated and carried out, HR's challenge is to feed leadership pipelines with people who can adapt "on a dime." HR Executive Magazine cover story, Jan/Feb 2013

Learning Agile Leaders: • get promoted faster and more often than

their peers • advance closest to the top • are recognized as having the most potential

for advancement • are rated more competent • achieve greater success after a promotion to

a new role • earn higher salaries Korn/Ferry Research findings


In a VUCA world, the race doesn’t go to the swift, strong, or smart . . .

. . . the race goes to the most adaptable, who learn from experience and co-evolve

with the complex adaptive systems within which they work and live.

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RESEARCH ON LEARNING AGILITY


? What behaviors are most important for executive

success?

Why do executives derail?

Primary Research

Two major research streams from seminal work at the Center for Creative Leadership and ongoing Korn/Ferry studies.


Supporting Research

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– Lombardo & Eichinger (2000) indicated that learning

how to deal effectively with first-time or changing situations is

more predictive of long-term potential or performance than is raw

intelligence.

– Sternberg et. al. (2003) identified street smarts (or

learning from experience) as far more correlated with level

attained in organizations than IQ… and reported that a revised

college admissions test that measures practical and creative

problem solving skills did better at predicting college success

than current SAT and GPAs.

– Bennis & Thomas (2002) describe the signature skill of

leaders as the ability to process new experiences… and to

integrate them into their life.


Have You Seen Agile Learners?

• Keen observers of themselves,

others & situations

• They compare things, search

for parallels, look at history

• Have resilience and optimism

regarding change

• Resourceful under tough

conditions, inspiring others to

perform beyond normal

• They make sense through “rules

of thumb”

• Open to the ideas and opinions

of others

• Willing to learn from

feedback, and willing to admit

to weaknesses

• Think “more” in comparison to

others: more ways to handle

situations, more things to learn,

more ways to achieve it, etc.

The Leadership Machine


Have You Seen Agile Learners?

Eventually, as Sternberg’s research

indicates, they pile up at the top of

organizations.

They accumulate more diverse

experiences, spend far more time making

sense of them, and as a result develop

more skills and perform better.

CCL studies were similar.


Traditional Learning

• Intelligence, IQ

• School grades, position in class

• Scores on tests

• Functional/technical skills

• Verbal skills

• Analytical/Data crunching skills

• Straightforward problem solving


Agile Learning

• Conceptually complex

• Curiosity/initiative

• Emotionally intelligent

• Street smart/wise

• Asks “why and how?”

• Rules/principles

• Broad range of perspective


Learning to Learn and IQ

• IQ leads to analytical skills and acquiring new technical knowledge. IQ is a must to get into the game.

• However, IQ doesn’t lead to acquiring new behaviors. Learning agility is essential to long term success in organizations.

• The best predictor of long term success is ability to learn from experience.


Learners

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Conventional intelligence

Grades/test scores

Functional/technical skills

Analytical skills

Straightforward problem-solving

Quick thinkers

Initiative/curiosity

Fresh connections

Principles/rules of thumb

Broad-range thinking

Traditional Agile


Those with a

Mastery

orientation are superior performers in similar jobs/functions year after year.

Those with high

Learning Agility are those who perform well in first time, challenging situations—often, in a variety of very different jobs.

TALENT


Promotable within

own or similar

functions, may not

aspire to broader

management

“We’re going to be in the Hudson”

Capt Chesley (Sully) Sullenberger, Pilot, US Airways (retired)

Going Deep

• Recognized functional, technical, managerial expert

• Knows current job extremely well so can be counted

on; difficult to replace in kind

• Superior performers year after year in similar

jobs/roles/functions

• Works independently with little or no supervision

• Excellent at developing people

• Can be counted on as a trusted resource within the

organization

• Widely recognized outside the company


Promotable outside

their areas, especially

into general

management and senior

leader roles

“Every day I’m learning something new”

Sir Richard Branson, Founder – Virgin Group

Going Broad

• Easily learns new functions

• Clever problem solver; thinks strategically

• Performs well under new, first-time, or tough conditions*

• Changes behavior or approach easily

• Has wide interests (highly curious)

• Deals well with ambiguity/complexity

• Thrives on change; likes to try different approaches

• Impatient, doesn’t accept the status quo


Learning Mastery: Growing in Depth

• Engaged and passionate about the job • Understands key strengths and weaknesses • Delivers performance results • Continues developing skills • Interested in learning • Focused on growing a career • Diligent, determined, perseveres at learning

within the field/function • Embraces structure, quality, consistency • Follows procedure, policies, norms • Enhances and deepens expertise


Learning Agility: Growing in Breadth

• Engaged and passionate about the job

• Understands key strengths and weaknesses

• Delivers performance results

• Continues developing skills

• Interested in learning

• Focused on growing a career

• Embraces uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity

• Resourceful, risk taking, bored with routine

• Views the big picture


Depth Breadth

• Diligent, determined, perseveres at learning w/in the field/function

• Embraces structure, quality, consistency

• Follows procedure, policies, norms

• Enhances and deepens expertise

• Embraces uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity

• Resourceful, risk taking, bored with routine

• Views the big picture

Similar Between Depth and Breadth?

BOTH can be:

• Engaged and passionate about the job

• Understand key strengths and weaknesses

• Deliver performance results

• Continue developing skills

• Interested in learning

• Focused on growing a career


Magic Multiplier

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Potential

Learning Agility Raw

Material

The “Right Stuff”

Competency Building

Experiences

Raw Material

Intelligence (IQ), character, career motivation

Learning Agility

The ability and willingness to learn from experience

Experiences

Job changes, in-place assignments, hardships, people, feedback, courses, workshops, readings:

(70:20:10) development

Potential

• Capability to move and effectively perform several positions/levels above the current roles

• Capability to take on broader scope, new, and challenging responsibilities


Learning Agility

Is related to…

Potential.

Performance once promoted outside their area.

The ability to handle tough, new assignments.


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Learning Agile leaders step out of their comfort zone.

2013 Aspire Consulting, Inc. ©2011 Korn/Ferry International ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 3

0

The ABILITY and

WILLINGNESS to

learn from experience

and subsequently apply

that learning to perform

successfully under new

and challenging

situations.

What is Learning Agility?


Learning Agility Factors

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SELF-AWARENESS Insightful, reflective, clearly

understands personal strengths and weaknesses, actively seeks feedback,

sensitive of impact on others

RESULTS AGILITY Delivers results (even in tough

situations), resourceful, inspiring, has significant

presence, builds high performing teams

PEOPLE AGILITY Can work easily with a diversity of

people, politically agile, skilled communicator, manages

interpersonal conflict well

MENTAL AGILITY Comfortable with complexity and ambiguity, finds solutions

to tough problems, broad interests, highly curious

CHANGE AGILITY Constant tinkerer (never

satisfied), introduces novel perspectives, enjoys leading

change efforts, willingly takes heat of any resistance to change


Mental

Are very curious.

Get to the root causes.

Have a broad perspective.

Find parallels and contrasts.

Question conventional wisdom.

Find solutions to tough

problems.

agility Those with this type of

©2011 Korn/Ferry International ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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People

Understand others.

Are skilled communicators.

Enjoy helping others succeed.

Are comfortable with diversity.

Handle conflict constructively.

Use others effectively.

agility... Those with this type of


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Change

Enjoy tinkering with things.

Often introduce new perspectives.

Strive for continuous improvement.

Can take the heat and pressure of change.

Understand impact of change and how to manage it.



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Results

Build high-performing teams.

Are very flexible and adaptable.

Perform well in first-time situations.

Driven by challenge.

Accomplish things against the odds.



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Self-Awareness

Actively seek feedback.

Tend to be self-reflective.

Is candid to a fault about self.

Sensitive to their impact on others.

Know personal strengths and weaknesses.

Take corrective action based on feedback



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”Let’s look beyond the

obvious…"

"I was curious to see if

there were similarities or

contrasts between this

problem and…"

"Another way to

look at this is…"

Name the Agility: Verbal Cues

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“Let’s stick with

the proven

approach..."

"This is risky —

I want to be

certain that we

get it right…"

"It’s plain to see

what the solution

is…"

Those who demonstrate Mental Agility less often

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Name the Agility (HINT: It may not be example of “High”)

“His position just doesn’t

make sense based on what I

know to be right…”

“We wasted so much

time talking about her

weekend that I was late

for my next meeting…”

“Let’s just agree

to disagree...”

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“Let me see if I

understand

your position

…”

“Really enjoyed our chat

yesterday! Speaking of

that, what do you think of

this idea to help out your

situation…?”

“What are your

ideas on this…?”

Those Higher on the People Agility continuum

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"I’ve been reflecting on how

I might have handled that

situation differently …"

"I’d love to get your

perspective on how I

came across in that

meeting…"

"This continues to be a

problem area for me. If

I’m going to reach my

goal, I need to keep

working on…"

Name the Agility

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"I’m lucky;

things just

seem to usually

work out for

me…"

"It doesn’t do any

good to engage in a

lot of hand-wringing

about what went

wrong…"

"I know what’s

best for me..."

Those who demonstrate Self-Awareness less often:

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“I followed standard project

protocol… It took a lot of

time.”

“They didn’t say a word

to me about new policy.

So I waited.”

“Tell me

what you want –

specific and clear.”

Name the Agility:

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“I know it looks bad, but

let’s not give up yet…” “I enjoy working on a lot

of things at once….”

“I’m not going to take it

personally...”

Those higher on the Results Agility continuum:

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“I spent all day and all

night thinking of

better ways to finish this

project”

“Why can’t it be done…?

“OK, so this didn’t work.

What did we learn that

we can apply…?”

Name the Agility:

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“This is how we

have always

done it…”

“There is a lot to consider

before moving forward

with this”

“If it ain’t broke,

don’t fix it…”

Those lower on the Change Agility continuum:

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So Why Should You Care?

are victimized by past successes.

have blind spots.

have undeveloped or untested competencies.

fail at relationships and transitions.

can’t relinquish control.

seem to have quit learning.

Many EXECUTIVES DERAIL because they:


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DO ALL JOBS REQUIRE LEARNING AGILITY?

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Individual Activity

How much of your role is dependent on each of the five factors? Rank order (1 through 5) each of the 5 factors

(1 – the most,

5 – the least)

Mental Agility

People Agility

Change Agility

Results Agility

Self-Awareness


Group Activity

In what roles/jobs does Learning Agility really matter? How much? Use flipchart to brainstorm.

Divide Room:

– Jobs that require Mastery /

Depth

– Jobs that require Agility /

Breadth

On a flipchart:

• Make a list of the jobs

• Be ready to defend or debate

• Elect someone to present

• Full group debrief

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Individual Activity

For your job…

Use the Learning Agility Job Scale tool to determine the level that’s needed in a given role.

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• It is NOT about high versus low, good versus bad

• It is about your preference for breadth vs. depth

• It is HOW you learn from experience, not WHETHER you learn at all

• It is about what adds VALUE in your role and organization

• It is about what career GOALS you have and what motivates you to get there

KEY MESSAGES:


LEARNING MORE ABOUT LEARNING AGILITY

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• Article “High Potentials as High Learners”

• Article “Learning Agility: A Construct Whose Time Has Come”

• Proof Point “What is Smarter than IQ?”

• Technical Report “Criterion- Related Validity of viaEDGE Assessment: Findings from Two Recent Field Studies”

• Technical Report “The Development and Validation of a Self Assessment of Learning Agility”

• Technical Report ” Test-Retest Reliability Analysis of viaEDGE Assessment”

• Whitepaper “Using Learning Agility to Identify High Potentials Around the World”

Learning Agility Readings

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Developing Learning Agility

• Becoming an Agile Leader: A Guide to Learning From Your Experiences (guide)

• Becoming an Agile Leader: Know What To Do... When You Don’t Know What To Do (book)

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How do we measure Learning Agility?

Choices™ Learning From Experience™

viaEDGE™

Assessment Content

Assesses five factors, 27 dimensions of learning agility

Five factors are: Mental Agility, People Agility, Change Agility, Results Agility, and Self Awareness

Assesses five factors of learning agility


Assesses five factors of learning agility


Plus several verification scales such as self presentation and response consistency scales

Assessment Methodology

A multi-rater assessment tool that can be administered through several methods such as online survey or paper questionnaire

A structured interview using a standardized interview protocol

A self report assessment that can be administered through online survey

Assessment for Selection

Requires raters to have adequate knowledge about the ratees, thus can only be used for assessing internal candidates

Can be used to interview both internal and external candidates

Can be used to assess internal and external candidates

Assessment for Development

In-depth assessment down to item level, therefore provide greater insight into an individual’s relative strengths and developmental needs than viaEDGE™

Generally not used for development purposes, but does yield rich examples of how an individual applies his or her learning

A broad assessment of learning agility that identifies strengths or weaknesses in general terms, and help to direct the development effort. Factor level only.

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Thank You! [email protected]

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Leadership & Management

Leading in a vuca world terrell