Learning Agility: How Great Leaders Develop Their People and Managers

Learning agility is one of the most important leadership skills today, and yet it’s one of the least clearly understood.

If you’re a leader trying to develop your managers in a fast-changing environment, the ability to learn, unlearn, and adapt may matter more than any technical skill you bring to the role.

In this conversation on the What Do You Know To Be True? podcast, I’m joined by Melissa Janis to explore why learning agility for leaders has become a defining capability for effective management development and leadership development. Melissa believes learning agility isn’t just about personal growth. It’s about how leaders create the conditions for managers to grow.

We talk about what learning agility actually looks like in practice, why so many leadership development programs fail to build it, and how leaders can develop their people more effectively by closing the knowing–doing gap. This conversation is grounded, practical, and deeply human.

If you’ve ever wondered how to help your team adapt faster, think more critically, and grow into their potential, this episode will give you a new lens on leadership learning and development.

This conversation is for leaders who care deeply about developing people, leading through change, and building the kind of learning culture where growth doesn’t wait for formal training to happen.

Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Melissa Janis Consulting: https://www.melissajanis.com/
- “Learning Agility: The Key to Leader Potential" by David Hoff and Warner Burke https://www.abebooks.com/9780692995365/Learning-Agility-Key-Leader-Potential-0692995366/plp

In this episode, Melissa answers the following questions:
- How can I learn new skills as a manager?
- What does learning agility mean?
- What training should new managers have?
- Why does training fail for new managers?

My favorite quote from the episode: “To act in a crisis as if you’ve been there before? What a great thing that is. And the way you can get there is being able to learn really, really quickly.”

Music in this episode by Ian Kastner.

"What Do You Know To Be True?" is an invitation to be inspired to discover your superpower, unlock your potential, and create your impact in the world.

This podcast is for coaches, org development professionals, small business owners, people leaders, and anyone who is working on their leadership capabilities and personal growth in their pursuit of unlocking and living into their possibilities.

For more info about the podcast or to check out more episodes, go to: https://whatdoyouknowtobetrue.com

"What Do You Know To Be True?" is hosted by Roger Kastner, is a production of Three Blue Pens, and is recorded on the ancestral lands of the Duwamish and Suquamish people. To discover the ancestral lands of the indigenous people whose land you may be on, go to: https://native-land.ca/

Keywords
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