THE SCIENCE AND APPLICATION OF LEARNING AGILITY: INTRODUCTION TO THE SPECIAL ISSUE

This article introduces a special issue of the Consulting Psychology Journal focused on the science and application of learning agility. Although the construct of learning agility has been used by many organizations around the world as a means to identify and develop leadership talent during the past 2 decades, much about it remains unclear. For example, there are different viewpoints about its definition, its measurement, and even its importance to leader success. In this introductory article, the historical recognition of leadership in organizations is briefly explored, and the emergence of learning agility as a critical component to identify and develop leaders is reviewed. Sections on the application and the science of learning agility examine the popularity of the construct today and provide the psychological linkage to other established theories and research in our field. The underlying hope of this special issue is to stimulate more scholarly investigations into clarifying the construct and offer talent-management professionals, leadership coaches, and consulting psychologists guidance when implementing learning agility in their client organizations.