Learnability quotient (LQ) is a term I stumbled upon this week

Learnability is being cited as a key skill to have in 2022 and beyond. The accelerated pace of change in the modern world of work continues to render certain skills and knowledge obsolete. This is forcing many in the workforce to have to acquire new skills and knowledge in order to stay relevant.

As Chris Gray points out:

As technological innovation accelerates the pace of change, there is growing awareness that individuals who seek learning opportunities will be better positioned for career growth. Today, professional success is determined both by an individual’s ability to adapt to change and their willingness to own the progression of their career.

So having a high LQ has become a critical success factor:

Why this is important:

When new skills become in demand as fast as others become extinct, employability is less about what you already know and more about your capacity to learn. It requires a new mindset for both employers trying to develop a workforce with the right skillsets, and for individuals seeking to advance their careers.

I found an online assessment tool that helps you determine your current LQ. Find your LQ here.

I took the assessment and here is what I discovered about myself

The Breakdown

Most definitely the case for me. Planning is one of those things I feel that I “ought” to do but rarely do I ever stick to a plan. I have a running script in the background that says, ‘look before you leap, but those who hesitate, lose.’ I much prefer to jump right in and figure out the rest as I go along. Certainty equals boredom to me.

This resonates less with me. My default mode is learning doesn’t have to have a purpose for me. I like learning for learning’s sake regardless of any immediate use for the knowledge gained through the process of learning.

I don’t have much love for authority and I hate being told what to do or how to think. I believe this attributes to my resistance to formal learning in a classroom with a teacher (authority figure in my eyes). I’d much rather go and find the information for myself. I have tremendous respect for the teaching profession. I personally just dislike formal training for myself. For others, it’s fine, just not for me. I have explored the independent scholar route, which is much more suitable for me. I can learn what I want to learn how I want to learn it.

Final thoughts

Learnability feels like a concept I want to explore in more depth. It completes the triad in my three focus words for 2022. I’ll have to write a separate post about my new focus words that came about after I reset 2022. But for now, here are my new words:

Self-Awareness | Learnability | Quantified-Self

If you do decide to take the free LQ assessment, let me know how it goes and what your three traits are.