Unlearning doesn't mean you've done it all wrong.

It took me a while to get my head round unlearning as a leader, mostly because I've been so focused on what I needed to learn to lead well. Here's a few of my thoughts sparked by the latest episode.

Having talked a lot through my career about learning, I struggled a bit initially to consider what unlearning means and how I might go about it to improve my leadership. In my own mind I over complicated it, thinking about whether it was all about doing things wrong and trying rectify that.

It was only when I got out of my own head and stopped beating myself up, that I realised so many of the leadership conversations I’ve had with Lee, and with others, have been about creating the culture and mindset for unlearning.

We all pick bad habits up along the way, and we often don’t make the time to consider the impact we are having as leaders, on others and on ourselves, as we get caught up in the busyness of the day to day (how often do we talk about trying to keep out of the weeds as leaders?). Unlearning is really about being open.

Being open to new perspectives, open to challenge from others and ourselves, and open to seeking feedback about how we could lead more effectively. When I started to thinking about unlearning as growth and improvement it clicked with me. We have been talking about a lot of these things through How To Take The Lead so I’m already on my journey of unlearning.

I realised it’s not about forgetting all the things you’ve ever learned about being a leader but understanding what makes you a good leader and where you can improve.

To unlearn you must be willing and have a sense of curiosity. The more I’ve thought about it, the more I see learning and unlearning as two sides of the same coin. While they seem like the opposite of each other, they are in fact closely linked and to be better leaders we need to do both.

in 2024 I’ve decided that my learning and growth will be focused on unlearning, genuinely reflecting and putting the work in to identify the areas I’m less effective so I can understand what I might need to unlearn and reframe in order to grow.

I’m looking forward to hearing more about your experiences of unlearning and how you are building this approach into your leadership.

Until next time…Carrie-Ann xx

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