Catch the Wave: Learning Agility for Leader Development During Changing Tides

Kirsten Rodgers, President & Founder of Proximate Learning

When I was young, my favorite thing to do at the beach was boogie boarding. I would spend hours in the ocean anticipating each wave and waiting for the perfect one to ride into shore. Having never learned to surf, this was my way of experiencing the adrenaline of letting go, while spending my afternoons in the water observing the currents, studying how the waves broke, their timing, and their force. I learned how to make quick decisions on which waves to ride, knowing in the back of my mind that each had the ability to knock me over. There were plenty of times that I chose the wrong wave, hit the ocean floor, got knocked around under tow, and didn’t know when I would pop back up above the water’s surface. Yes, it was dangerous for a child in a wild ocean, but that was just it, the unknown was thrilling.

Fast forward a few decades and I still invite the unknown, ambiguity, and risk that comes from a great wave, except now, I know it as navigating the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world. I  intentionally pursue new situations and learn how to adapt to the unfamiliar. I don’t seek comfort. Instead, I seek out situations where I can make decisions based on my observations of the changing context, trusting my intuitions, embracing challenges, and taking risks without knowing the result. Some might say it is the same feeling of adrenaline I knew as a kid. As I reflect on my favorite pastime as a child, and now of my own children (10 and 13 years old), I realize that boogie boarding was my first true lesson in learning agility. Without knowing it at the time, I was navigating complex, rapidly changing environments, adapting to each new wave, and making quick decisions on when to ride.

Learning agility is exceedingly important given that our world is not getting less VUCA. Across the globe, people are experiencing an era of rapid political, economic, and cultural transformation. With the current administration’s shifting policies on healthcare, education, and workforce development, uncertainty has become the only constant. These changes create VUCA, but for those who embrace learning agility, they also present unparalleled opportunities.

As regulations and funding shift, resources become unpredictable, and professionals who actively seek the waves in the form of new skills, ambiguity, and innovation will thrive. Those who resist the waves or stop observing altogether will struggle. 

This moment isn’t just about surviving change—it’s about embracing it. Learning agility is no longer a bonus skill; it’s the single most important trait for leaders. On April 18th at the Society for Public Health Education 2025 Annual Conference, Proximate Learning will be teaching others how to catch a wave in our current, disruptive environment. Knowing that the structure of public health, as we have known for decades, is changing, we will need to get comfortable with the uncomfortable and brace ourselves for what lies ahead. There will be many waves, some too big to catch that will knock us over and others so small that they are hardly worth the effort. But there will be plenty of waves that will give us the ride of a lifetime and take us safely to shore.