Corporate leaders that talent management powerhouse Korn Ferry works with are assessed for “learning agility,” described as a top predictor of leadership success. After the company teamed up with Exelis Action Corps and Points of Light on the Leveraging Military Leadership Program, Korn Ferry’s experts were able to discover how veterans measure up.
As a group, “it is obvious” that vets rate “high on learning agility,” says Korn Ferry’s Noah Rabinowitz. “In fact, examining the distribution of overall learning agility, we found that close to two-thirds of them are higher than the population mean.”
Learning agility predicts a leader’s likelihood of being successful in new situations — “the willingness and ability to learn from experience and then apply those lessons to succeed,” according to the company.
Korn Ferry measures five factors to get an overall learning agility score. Overall scores of the 200-plus veterans ranked in the 58th percentile on average, meaning the veterans scored higher than 58 percent of leaders in Korn Ferry’s database.
While it’s possible the veterans in question were higher on learning agility than a wider population of vets — “there’s a reason they applied to the program; that’s a signal of learning agility itself,” Rabinowitz said — he also pointed out that the veterans were compared largely against “high-performing people in great organizations.”
The veterans, on average, scored highest in “results” agility (60th percentile), suggesting the group is “skilled in executing and getting the job done,” he said.
Their “change” agility, however, was found to be lower than the population mean (47th percentile). “They may enjoy or be accustomed to a command-control environment where efficiency and predictability are emphasized,” Rabinowitz said.
Their “people” agility was well above average for the population (58th percentile), and self-awareness was slightly above average (54th percentile), which Rabinowitz said may be due to military training making individuals “readily open to direct and candid feedback.” Mental agility — “ability to examine problems in unique and unusual ways” — ranked in the 52nd percentile.
The vets’ overall score placed them among “executives” in leadership roles defined by Korn Ferry, which include supervisor, manager, executive and senior executive.
“In a sense, this cohort’s scoring pattern is reminiscent of ‘The Champion,’ — someone who achieves results with a combination of intense drive and resourcefulness,” Rabinowitz said. “At the same time, they allow others to shine as well and can handle difficult situations with humor and grace.”
The Leveraging Military Leadership Program is organized into three-day residential “cohorts,” the fourth already full and getting underway in March. It includes one-on-one time with executive coaches. The creators sought to offer an alternative to what they characterize as “remedial” aspects of transitioning (résumés, cover letters, job boards and casting a wide net), which Rabinowitz likened to being “a little bit like walking around in the dark.”
Instead, the LMLP coaches help participants form a clear view of what their next step will be.
The “confidence boost” among veterans in the program has been palpable, said Bernadine Karunaratne, president of U.S. Government Consulting Services for Korn Ferry Leadership and Talent Consulting.
“You could quickly see a shift in behavior, even in conversation,” she said.
Follow Korn Ferry on LinkedIn to find out when the Leveraging Military Leadership Program starts accepting applications for the fifth cohort. An announcement could come as soon as the end of March.
