在我與來自全球各地的企業高管談話時，他們最擔心的一個問題，是企業缺乏足夠優秀的領導人才，能夠帶領企業在這個不斷變化、高度動蕩和充滿不確定性的世界中開展競爭。各行各業的企業已經意識到，企業的未來發展，需要的是具有創業精神和能夠協作解決問題的人才，以前的教育體系不可謂不成功，卻已經愈發不能適應新時代的新需要。

十年前，誰能想象到有朝一日會有“無人機操作員”、“VR制片人”、“機器學習工程師”這樣的工作？而現在，隨著人工智能、數字化、自動化技術的影響力和效能與日俱增，這種變化的速度也只會越來越快。

然而，傳統的高校教育并未跟上就業市場的變化腳步。很多大學的辦學理念還是沿襲自將近一千年前，也就是大學教育剛剛誕生的時候。然而這個社會卻早已發生了翻天覆地的變化。

因此，我們需要一種專門為21世紀設計的全新的教育機構。這種機構必須將重點放在我所說的“適時學習”上。

一個“適時教學機構”，必須遵循三個主要原則。

首先，它只有“開學”，沒有“畢業”。你可以想象一下，你18歲時進入這所教育機構，但永遠不會從這里“畢業”。起初的三四年，你每年要花8個月的時間學習，4個月的時間工作。然后在此后的職業生涯中，每年花1個月的時間，用11個月的時間工作。這家教育機構還會向你提供來自同事的持續的、適時的反饋，讓你了解自己掌握了哪些技能，以及還有哪些不足。這種自適應式的學習方法，就是這家終身學習機構的個性化教學模式的基礎。

其次，衡量教育成功與否的標準，不在于你考試的能力，而在于你“學習如何學習”的能力。來自麥肯錫全球研究所的數據表明，在當今這個瞬息萬變的世界中，有50%的工作任務都可以被自動化取代。如果你有了學習新技能的能力，面對世界的不斷變化，你就有了重塑自我、保持生產力的資本。

第三，你必須能夠通過多種方式學習，而不僅僅是在課堂上學習。因為根據創新領導力中心的研究，人只有10%的技能是在課堂上培養出來的；還有大約20%的技能，是在你與同事、導師等發展關系的過程中習得的。剩下70%的技能則全部來自于經驗。

簡而言之，最好的學習方法，就是“從干中學”。在適時教育機構中，你的表現并不取決于考試的成績，而是取決于你執行的項目，以及同事和經理人的反饋。在這里，你要構建原型產品、做實驗、做研究、跟專家取經，就好像給專家做學徒一樣。

這就是為什么醫科大學的教育模式雖然偏向傳統，但在培養人才上十分有效。醫生們會告訴你，醫學院最強大的地方，就在于他們可以開展臨床實習。他們通過親自做手術來學習手術，通過親自與病人互動來學習怎樣與病人互動。

這種激動人心的教學模式和教學趨勢，已經可以在General Assembly等培訓機構中看到了。General Assembly開設了數據科學等短缺技能的短期課程。此外還有優達學城（Udacity）這樣的在線培訓機構，通過短短幾周的強化學習，就能在這里獲得“課程徽章”和“納米學位”。此類培訓機構的缺點是，它們過度集中于科技和數據科學，而且很多課程只在線上開設，學員沒有與其他同事和導師發展關系的機會——而這一點對他們的未來發展也是至關重要的。

不光是科技領域，所有的學科門類都需要引入“適時學習”的理念——我們人生的每個階段也是如此。正因為如此，過去15年間，我們一直致力于打造一個終身的領導力發展平臺——從非洲領導力學院（ African Leadership Academy）的預科教育，到非洲領導力大學（African Leadership University）的本科和MBA項目，再到我們去年創辦的全新的大型終身學習機構——ALX。

這些注重經驗式教學的項目都取得了成功，令人深感鼓舞。比如今年早些時候，我們讓100名中層管理人員參加了一個為期6個月的應用領導力發展項目，它融合了互動式教學與人際關系發展，同時又注重將新知識立即應用到實際工作中。在這100名經理人中，有15人在課程結束前就獲得了提拔重用，其中一人甚至當上了他所在公司的CEO。

如今，“大學”與“現實世界”之間的界限正變得越來越模糊。如果企業想讓員工掌握必要的新技能，首先要愿意讓員工在工作和學習之間適時切換。而傳統大學從設計上就從來沒有考慮過這一點。因此，我們需要一種新的教育體系。

而那些勇于打破傳統、勇于重新思考應該怎樣開展學習的企業和高管，則將在新一波技術顛覆的浪潮中立于不敗之地。（財富中文網）

Fred Swaniker是非洲領導力集團的創始人和CEO。他對本文中提到的企業并無投資或其他關系。

譯者：樸成奎

As I meet with senior executives around the globe, one concern haunts them more than any other: the deficit in the leadership talent necessary for their companies to compete in today’s highly dynamic, uncertain, and volatile world. Organizations of all stripes are increasingly realizing that the education system that propelled their success in the past is failing to produce the entrepreneurial and collaborative problem-solving talent necessary to thrive in the future.

Ten years ago, who would have imagined that jobs like “drone operator,” “virtual reality producer,” or “machine learning engineer” would have existed? The growing influence and efficacy of artificial intelligence, digitization, and automation means that the pace of such change is getting faster and faster.

Unfortunately, conventional universities are not keeping pace with this rapidly evolving future of work. Many are based on traditions that were established almost a thousand years ago, when universities were first created. A lot has changed since then.

We need a new breed of learning institution that is designed for the 21st century. This type of institution must focus on what I call “just-in-time learning.”

A just-in-time learning institution is designed around three key principles.

First, it starts but never ends. Just imagine entering the institution at the age of 18 but never “graduating” from it. For the first three to four years, you spend eight months learning and four months working. Then, for the rest of your professional life, you spend one month learning and 11 months working. This institution equips you with continuous, real-time feedback from your colleagues to give you a sense of the skills you’re mastering and the gaps you need to address. This adaptive road map is the basis for your personalized learning at the lifelong institution.

Second, success is not measured by your ability to recall facts and figures, but by how well you “learn how to learn.” In our rapidly changing world, where, according to the McKinsey Global Institute, about 50% of current work tasks could be automated, the ability to rapidly learn new skills enables you to reinvent yourself and remain productive as the world changes.

Third, you learn from multiple methods, not just from the classroom. This is because according to research conducted by the Center for Creative Leadership, only 10% of skills are developed in a classroom. Roughly 20% come from developmental relationships with peers and mentors, and a whopping 70% come from experience.

Simply put, we learn best by doing. At a just-in-time learning institution, your performance is not assessed by exams, but by actual projects you implement and by feedback from your peers and managers. You build prototypes, conduct experiments, interview experts, and perform research. You apprentice under professionals.

This is why medical university education is one of the more conventional university education models that actually still works. Doctors will tell you that the most powerful aspects of medical school are their clinical rotations. They learn surgery by doing surgery. They learn how to engage with patients by engaging with them.

One of the most exciting trends approaching this model of learning today can be seen in training providers like General Assembly, which offer short courses in scarce technology skills like data science. Or look at online programs like Udacity, which deliver “badges” and “nano-degrees” in intense bursts of a few weeks. The downside of offerings like these is that they are overly focused on technology and data science, and many of them are only offered online—lacking the developmental relationships with peers and mentors that are so crucial to growth.

We need just-in-time learning in all disciplines—not just in technology—and at every stage of life. That was the inspiration for the lifelong leadership development platform we have been building over the past 15 years—from our pre-university African Leadership Academy to our African Leadership University undergraduate and MBA programs to the new, large-scale, lifelong learning institution we launched last year, ALX.

The success of these experiential-focused endeavors is encouraging. For example, earlier this year we took 100 mid-level managers through a six-month, applied leadership development program which blended interactive, peer-based learning with immediate, real-world application of new skills to their teams at work. Fifteen of these managers were promoted before they even completed the program, and one of them even became CEO at his organization.

The lines are blurring between the “university” and the “real world.” Companies must be willing to let their employees pivot between work and learning if they want them to have the skills necessary to remain relevant. Conventional universities were never designed with this in mind. New vehicles are needed.

The organizations and executives that are courageous enough to break with convention and rethink learning are those who will thrive in the coming tsunami of technological disruption.

Fred Swaniker is the founder and CEO of African Leadership Group. He has no investments in or associations with the companies mentioned in this article.