There was a time when experience alone defined leadership credibility. The longer you had been in the system, the more dependable you were considered. But that equation has quietly shifted. Today, what truly differentiates leaders is not just what they know—it is how quickly they can let go of what no longer works and embrace what comes next.
Organisations are operating in what many leaders call a “never normal” world—one defined by relentless disruption, technological acceleration, evolving employee expectations and heightened risk consciousness. In such a landscape, learning agility has emerged as a prized leadership capability. Yet, as with many corporate phrases that gain popularity, an uncomfortable question lingers: Is learning agility becoming a buzzword, celebrated in leadership conversations but inconsistently measured and rarely embedded into organisational DNA?
The answer, it seems, lies not in redefining the phrase but in operationalising it—building systems, leadership behaviours and cultural anchors that make adaptability measurable and non-negotiable.
Ruchira Bharadwaj, Chief Human Resources Officer, Kotak Life Insurance
No, it’s not a buzzword—it’s embedded in how we’re designed as an organisation.
The beauty of Kotak lies in this very philosophy—we are designed for improvement, but we are not designed for comfort. We operate in a “never normal” world. That means disruption is not episodic; it is continuous. The environment will remain fast-paced, ambiguous and extremely challenging.
What makes our approach distinctive is that even as we scale, we refuse to compromise on governance, risk discipline or the humanness of our decisions. Learning agility is not about reckless speed. It is about mastering the balance between extremes.
I often describe Kotak as an organisation that consciously balances speed with governance, innovation with risk discipline, algorithmic insight with human judgment, and aspiration with sustainability. Yes, we leverage algorithms and data. But we will never allow decisions to be driven only by algorithmic outputs. Human judgment must remain central because organisations are ultimately human systems.
Embedding learning agility begins with acknowledging this duality. On one end, we design for innovation and forward momentum. On the other, we teach risk governance and boundary management. If learning agility is to remain meaningful, it must show up in how we design roles, how we evaluate decisions and how we prepare leaders to live productively today while sustaining the future.
Takeaway: Learning agility is less about reacting quickly and more about building an organisation capable of evolving responsibly—balancing speed with governance and innovation with discipline.
Kashish Kapoor, Chief Human Resources Officer, NEC India
It’s essential, but only if we connect it to humanity.
When I think about agility, I do not separate it from humanity. An organisation cannot claim to be adaptable if it fails to respond sensitively to the realities its people face.
Imagine a high-performing senior employee going through severe psychological stress and sharing this confidentially with a psychologist. If that information reaches HR, the question is not merely procedural—it is ethical. Do we immediately inform leadership and begin planning a replacement? Or do we pause and respond with maturity?
If I were in that situation, my first step would be to meet the employee. Transparency matters because information travels quickly, and trust, once broken, is difficult to rebuild. Today, who among us is completely free from stress? The fact that someone has proactively sought help should be appreciated, not weaponised.
Too often, organisations rush to label individuals instead of addressing the situation. The problem is not the person—the problem is the condition. Medical conditions can improve; people should not be discarded because they are temporarily vulnerable.
For me, learning agility means resisting the temptation to make quick conclusions. It means evolving beyond transactional HR and becoming deeply human first. Only then can leaders create environments where employees feel safe enough to adapt, grow and recover.
Takeaway: If organisations start replacing people every time they encounter difficulty, one day we may find ourselves replacing everyone—including HR. True agility requires humanity, not just speed.
Atul Mathur, Head – L&D, Aditya Birla Capital
It’s essential—but only if we assess and develop it rigorously.
When we talk about learning agility, what we are really saying is that in a volatile world, leaders must be able to unlearn quickly and learn even faster. The challenge is ensuring this capability is assessed objectively rather than assumed.
In hiring, behavioural event interviews are particularly powerful because they go beyond achievements and examine what the individual actually did. Many successes are organisational—driven by context rather than personal adaptability. By drilling deep into specific situations, we understand how a person handled change, navigated difficulty and applied learning elsewhere. Psychometric tools and simulations add validation, especially when people are placed in dynamic scenarios with shifting instructions.
But assessment is only half the equation. Development is where learning agility truly takes shape. I strongly believe in the 70-20-10 model. Classroom training—the 10 per cent—can spark ideas, but it rarely transforms behaviour on its own.
The real engine is the 70 per cent: on-the-job experiences. Job rotations, stretch assignments and role expansions introduce complexity that forces individuals to think differently. The remaining 20 per cent comes from coaching, mentoring and peer learning.
The true test of learning agility is not what someone learns—it is how they respond, adapt and transfer that knowledge into entirely new contexts.
Takeaway: If organisations want agility to be real, they must design learning strategies that prioritise experience over instruction—assessment and development, not just discussion.