Idea in Brief

The Concept

The S Curve of Learning describes the typical trajectory individuals experience in a new job: a period of slow progress, followed by a rapid ascent as learning quickens, and then culminating with a sense of mastery at the peak.

The Insights

People’s positions on the curve reveal whether they are ready to seek new challenges and what kind of development plan their managers should craft for them.

The Applications

Understanding employees’ curves can help managers develop succession plans, recruit talent that may need stretch roles to stay engaged, and build a team of people with diverse but complementary strengths.

Nearly a decade ago I realized that the S Curve could be a powerful career-management tool. Popularized by Everett M. Rogers, who used it to show how new ideas and technologies spread, it also describes the trajectory that people move along as they develop competence in a new domain of expertise. I call it the S Curve of Learning. Growth is slow and effortful at the outset, known as the launch point. That phase is followed by rapid upward progress as people acquire new skills and overcome setbacks: a stretch I think of as the sweet spot. At the peak is mastery—when work becomes easier, but the curve flattens because there is little left to learn. When that happens it’s time to jump to the bottom of a new S Curve, put in the effort, and experience the thrill of climbing again.

A version of this article appeared in the January–February 2022 issue of Harvard Business Review.