Invited Paper: Coaching for Learning Agility: a coaching psychology program designed to improve the learning agility of newly appointed leaders
Dr Vince Szekely, Hungarian Association for Coaching Psychology
Learning agility is a highly valued meta-competency in today’s volatile business word which considered essential for successful leaders (de Meuse. 2017). In sport agility refers to the ability to change and control the direction and position of the whole body while maintaining a constant rapid motion. The concept of learning agility has been used by Toffler (1970) as an ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn. According to Lombardo and Eichinger (2000) learning agility is “the willingness and ability to learn new competencies in order to perform under first time, tough, or different conditions”. As a psychological construct, learning agility is still under development. A latest model (De Meuse & Feng, 2015) propose that learning agility consisting of the following seven factors: cognitive perspective, interpersonal acumen, change alacrity, drive to excel, environmental mindfulness, feedback responsiveness, and self-insight. Developing learning agility require a knowledge of several psychological model. Just to mention a few of them: the process of learning, self (ego) development, self-regulations and intentional change.
This presentation describes the coaching approach and preliminary results of a pilot programme which intended to develop learning agility of newly appointed corporate leaders. The ‘Leadership Learning Accelerator” group coaching programme is based on and integrated goal-focused (horizontal) and developmental (vertical) coaching approaches. We are planning to deliver six group and two 1to1 online sessions. The level of learning agility of the participants will be measured by a self-report learning agility questionnaire and a learning agility journal.
References:
De Meuse, K. (2017). Learning agility: Its evolution as a psychological construct and its empirical relationship to leader success. Consulting Psychology Journal, 69(4), 267-295.
De Meuse, K. P., & Feng, S. (2015). The development and validation of the TALENTx7 Assessment: A psychological measure of learning agility. Shanghai, China: Leader’s Gene Consulting.
De Meuse, K. P., & Feng, S. (2015). The development and validation of the TALENTx7 Assessment: A psychological measure of learning agility. Shanghai, China: Leader’s Gene Consulting.
Eichinger, R., & Lombardo, M. (2000). High potentials as high learners. Human Resource Management, 39, 321-329.
Toffler, A. (1970) Future shock. New York: Random House.
Dr Vince Szekely is a practicing coaching psychologist, executive coach. He is a founder and president of Hungarian Association for Coaching Psychology. He has a special interest in training and supervision coaches and coaching psychologists. As a senior lecturer he teaches coaching psychology and leadership coaching.