The key to success in this environment is organizational agility. According to mckinsey, organizational “agility is the ability of an organization to renew itself, adapt, change quickly, and succeed in a rapidly changing, ambiguous, turbulent environment.” consulting firms help organizations become agile.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia the bookstore is full of books on leadership. However, organizational agility and constant change are only useful if employees recognize their value and continuously develop their skills.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia

Organizational agility enables companies to compete with a faster response to changing market conditions with improved agility. Organizational agility for an employee means nonstop stress and uncertainty.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia how can the two co-exist? They cannot without the power of continuous performance development and recognition, creating a culture of trust and growth.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia

Organizational agility means having a change management office, implementing agile processes, integrating the voice of the customer, and driving iterative project management.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia however, you cannot project-manage or iterate the mindset of employees. You cannot make employees agile through processes. You can tell them to be agile.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia you can give them processes to follow. However, you need to win their hearts and minds to be willing to grow and change on a rapid basis.

With change, employees grow concerned about their jobs and spend hours ruminating about what is happening.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia as a result, productivity plummets. Many of us have worked in strategic, agile organizations where leaders ignored employee mindset. The situation created a toxic environment where very little was done because employees were either disengaged or fighting for executive visibility to protect their job.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia

Employees must understand that it is safe to learn new skills to support change, that they will not necessarily lose their job when change occurs, and that they have input into how each change impacts their short- and long-term career goals.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia otherwise, the strategy will fail, attrition will increase, and your employee experience will suffer, impacting your reputation, brand and profitability.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia how can an organization become agile if employees fear change? It cannot. How can employees change without continuous performance development?Cognitive learning definition wikipedia they cannot.

In a psychologically safe climate, teams and individuals listen to one another and learn from their mistakes. Group members have a high level of engagement, and they work in an atmosphere of constructive conflict management.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia all of these elements have a positive impact on creativity, innovation and agility. If an employee does not feel safe, he or she won’t communicate new ideas or provide constructive feedback.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia change becomes something to be feared. Google identified psychological safety as the top attribute that underpins their most successful teams.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia

So how can an organization create psychological safety? By building a culture of trust, community and strong relationships through social recognition.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia when organizations have a culture where social recognition is given across, up and down the organization, trust increases, relationships are built, and people feel comfortable bringing their authentic selves to work.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia

Social recognition builds a sense of tribalism and community. It creates a culture of continuous performance development among people who want to learn and grow on an ongoing basis.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia learning and growing from mistakes become an innate part of the culture. Employees become comfortable evolving as the organization changes. Such an environment fosters agility.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia

In cultures of psychological safety and social recognition, course correction and continuous development accelerate. Employees are comfortable being coached by people they work with.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia employees are open about their skills and how they seek to grow. Individuals lift each other up by giving recognition and feedback on how others are developing and learning.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia

A globoforce customer had a culture where individuals defined feedback as “tattling” to get ahead. The company implemented social recognition, which improved trust and safety.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia feedback then became “coaching,” which lifted employees and created an environment that supported organizational agility. Their engagement scores increased significantly as the organization embraced a culture of recognition and feedback.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia

As an organization’s goals change and evolve, crowdsourced feedback creates an opportunity for individuals to grow based on new goals and strategy.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia for example, if the strategy moves from new customer acquisition to customer retention, individuals need to learn the critical skills for customer-centricity.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia learning becomes an opportunity for growing versus a chance to panic. Individuals no longer worry about losing their jobs if things change. They are supported through continuous performance development from the entire organization as everyone learns and evolves.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia shared vision through feedback

Developing a shared vision is a key component for employees to evolve with organizational changes. According to peter senge, a systems scientist and senior lecturer at MIT, a shared vision is what employees want to create or accomplish as part of the organization.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia A shared vision is not imposed by one or a few people as an organizational mandate. Instead, it is derived from members of the organization, creating common interests and a sense of shared purpose for all corporate activities.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia

Crowdsourced feedback enables the building of a shared vision. Only when people genuinely believe in the shared vision will they have the energy and desire to go through the process of shifting and changing.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia A shared vision, when built through feedback, creates purpose for employees, as well as organization agility. Manager-employee alignment creates agility

cognitive learning definition wikipedia

When managers communicate with their employees and build relationships where each person understands each other, without bias, then employees can effectively provide feedback to their leaders.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia managers and employees can have honest and authentic conversations about what the organization needs and how the employee can grow with the organization.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia

This is especially critical at the top of the organization. Humble leaders focus on guiding their employees and can admit mistakes and learn from others.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia humble leaders are comfortable asking for help and receiving feedback. Humble leaders foster a culture of continuous performance improvement with employees by legitimizing continuous performance development through feedback.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia summary

To achieve organizational agility, leaders must build a culture of continuous performance development in a psychologically safe environment created through recognition.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia not only will this create agility, but the organization will also be one where people are proud to work, where employees are emotionally tied to the mission and goals, and where employees give the discretionary effort needed for success.Cognitive learning definition wikipedia