The Role of Learning Agility in an AI World

How ready are organizations to embrace AI? Not nearly enough. The latest Pew Research report shows that 52% of workers worry about how AI will be used in their workplace. The technology is accelerating, but trust is not.

At Burke Assessments, we believe that learning agility is the differentiator that determines whether AI becomes a competitive advantage or a costly failure.

In 2019, before generative AI even entered the mainstream, the OECD predicted that within 15 to 20 years, automation would eliminate 14% of jobs and significantly transform another 32%, impacting more than one billion people worldwide. What those forecasts didn’t anticipate was the rapid emergence of GenAI assistants powered by large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity. The world is moving even faster than expected.

A Harvard Business Review article from late 2023 underscored this urgency, noting that the average half-life of skills is now under five years, and in some domains just two and a half years. If the OECD predictions hold, and evidence suggests they may be conservative, millions of workers must not only learn new skills, but also be willing and able to move into entirely new roles.

 

The Trust Gap: The Real Barrier to AI Adoption

 

Organizations want efficiency, innovation, and sustainable growth. AI promises all of this. Yet even generative systems that support employees, or agentive systems that act autonomously, face a massive obstacle: employees don’t trust them.

And organizations cannot simply replace workers whose skills no longer fit. Even if that were possible, it would be financially reckless. Talent scarcity is increasing, competition for digital skills is fierce, and onboarding new employees requires time organizations no longer have.

Current employees, on the other hand, bring something invaluable:

  • A known track record of performance
  • Established behavioral patterns
  • Proven collaboration skills
  • Cultural understanding
    This institutional knowledge would take a year or more to identify in a new hire.

Retaining and reskilling existing talent is not only more humane. It is better business.

 

What Employees Need: Transparency and Trust

 

Research by Reichheld and colleagues is clear: employees stay when organizations invest in transparent communication and trust-building.

Workers want:

  • Clarity on the who, what, when, where, and why of AI implementation
  • A voice in shaping solutions, rather than having technology imposed on them
  • Visible investment in training and development
  • Promotion and reward systems aligned with the new reality

AI implementation is not just a technology initiative. It is a change-management journey. Trust is the currency that determines the pace of adoption.

 

Where Learning Agility Comes In

 

The title of this article asks a crucial question: What is the role of learning agility in an AI world?

Dr. Warner Burke, Professor Emeritus at Columbia University, defines learning agility as:

“Finding yourself in a situation you’ve never been in before, not knowing what to do, and figuring it out.”

That definition might as well be the blueprint for AI transformation.

There are nine dimensions of learning agility. Here, we focus on two that matter most during disruption: Performance Risk-Taking and Interpersonal Risk-Taking.

1. Performance Risk-Taking

This dimension reflects a willingness to:

  • Seek unfamiliar tasks
  • Take on ambiguous or challenging assignments
  • Embrace work that involves uncertainty
  • Accept the possibility of failure in pursuit of learning

AI will challenge every employee. Some will thrive in this ambiguity; others will hesitate. Organizations must signal, through communication and reward systems, that responsible experimentation is expected and supported.

2. Interpersonal Risk-Taking

This dimension includes the ability to:

  • Raise difficult issues
  • Ask for help
  • Admit mistakes
  • Challenge ideas, even as the lone dissenting voice

These behaviors are critical during AI adoption. They create learning loops, reduce fear, and strengthen trust. Without them, teams retreat into self-protection—and AI initiatives stall.

Both risk-taking dimensions are measurable through the Burke Assessment, and both are developable. But context matters: if leadership behavior contradicts the message they communicate, trust collapses, and no amount of training will compensate.

 

The Bottom Line

AI is no longer optional. It is a strategic imperative for every organization that intends to remain competitive.

But technology alone doesn’t drive transformation, people do.

Organizations that succeed with AI will be those that:

  • Invest in their existing workforce
  • Build trust through transparency
  • Reward experimentation
  • Equip teams with the mindsets and capabilities needed to adapt

Learning agility provides the shared language and framework to make this possible.
It ensures that AI reaches not only its technical potential, but its full organizational and financial potential as well.