Leadership Skills for Building a Learning Culture

Five research based skills that modern day leaders need to build a culture of adaptability and learning to navigate a complex world.

Tanmay Vora
Updated on

To respond effectively to adaptive challenges like the pandemic, geopolitical conflicts, financial crisis etc., organizations cannot rely on top-down problem solving. Such challenges require emergent leadership from across the board within organization to make sense of reality, iterate solutions, adapt and learn along the way.

How do leaders go about creating a culture of learning and adaptability?

In her research, Herminia Ibarra of London Business School identified five critical leadership skills that organizations should prioritize in order to build a culture of adaptability and learning.

The five skills are:

Cross-cutting: Building diverse networks and strong ties within and outside the organization enabling access to diverse perspectives and knowledge.

Collaborating: Harnessing the benefits of diversity by creating a safe environment for people to contribute.

Coaching: Empowering people to use their autonomy by having conversations that develop others’ potential.

Culture Shaping: Moving towards a a culture that fosters growth mindset while also assessing corporate practices.

Connecting: Building trust and engagement amongst team members through empathy and authentic leadership.

Here is a quick #sketchnote summary of the five skills:

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