Training Industry Magazine - March/April 2018 - 13

PERFORMANCE MATTERS
JULIE WINKLE GIULIONI

UNLEARNING
THE OTHER SIDE OF SKILLS/
KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION

"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be
those who cannot read and write, but those
who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn."
- Alvin Toffler, Futurist
During times of change people at all
levels of an organization desperately
need new and expanded skills. But for
many, the mind is already full, with little
or no free space within which to invite
additional knowledge. What's required is
not more, but actually less. What's required
is a focus on unlearning.

BUILDING A CULTURE
THAT SUPPORTS
UNLEARNING BEGINS
AT THE TOP.
Unlearning involves releasing what one
has known, how one has performed, and
practices that have worked in the past
to make room for new learning and the
new possibilities it can bring. It's about
shedding outdated mental models that
no longer serve the individual or the
organization. It's about consciously
exorcising
old
strategies,
skills,
approaches, tools, rules and procedures
so that the mind is ready to take in and
act upon what's relevant today.
While unlearning seems like it should
be a welcome and liberating task, it's a
significant challenge for many individuals.
First, what we "know" is deeply embedded
beyond our conscious minds and is
routinely translated to tacit knowledge
and habits - both of which can be hard to
recognize and even harder to overcome.
Second, unlearning can be threatening.

It challenges our sense of competence. It
forces us to let go of an expert mindset,
which puts our contributions and even our
identities into question. And if learning
makes a person vulnerable, unlearning
magnifies that sense of discomfort.
Yet, despite the challenges, unlearning
offers tremendous benefits. Most
obviously, it frees up mental space
and attention, allowing individuals to
update their knowledge and evolve
their performance to meet current
needs. It creates new potential and new
possibilities. It enhances neuroplasticity,
helping the brain to continue to grow and
change regardless of age.
Unlearning builds greater adaptability
and flexibility. It's the key to innovation,
as old ways rarely produce new
results. And, with the introduction
of countless exciting new jobs each
year (and the routine obsolescence of
outdated roles), unlearning is becoming
increasingly vital to career survival and
organizational success.
Helping individuals embrace unlearning
as a prerequisite for new insights, skills
and results require a concerted effort
throughout the organization, with
support from executives, line leaders and
L&D professionals alike.
Building a culture that supports unlearning
begins at the top. Senior executives must
challenge themselves to revisit and
streamline values, mission and strategy.
Rather than adding to these important
framing tools, they must rationalize and
simplify what exists. They must audit,
and edit, policies. Before introducing

new initiatives, they must identify the old
initiatives that will be eliminated.
And while executive support is essential,
what line leaders do (or don't do) may
have the greatest impact on an employee's
willingness and ability to unlearn. Leaders
need to:
* Grant permission and set expectations
around challenging what people do
and how they do it.
* Engage in ongoing dialogue with
provocative questions that let others
know that "how we've always done it"
is not sacred and should
be challenged.
* Inspire curiosity, experimentation
and risk-taking while being careful
to recognize effort versus
punishing failure.
* Forge fresh mental models by
encouraging people to embrace and
construct innovative frameworks
versus simply forcing new ideas into
an old mold.
Finally, L&D professionals can also
contribute to a culture that embraces
and leverages unlearning. Simply
inviting people to consider what's old
and needs to leave to make room for
the new can free up mental space and
energy for new learning. And in these
times of constant change, we must help
everyone hold lightly what they know -
anticipating that it will likely need to be
unlearned at some point.
Julie Winkle Giulioni has 25 years of
experience working with organizations
worldwide to improve performance through
learning. Email Julie.

T R A I N I N G I N DUSTR Y MA GAZ INE - LEAD THE CHANGE 20 18 I WWW. T RAININGINDU S T RY . C OM/ MAGAZ I NE

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Magazine - March/April 2018

https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_winter2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_fall2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_summer2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_spring2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_winter2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_fall2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_summer2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_spring2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_winter2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20210910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20210708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20210506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20210304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20210102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20201112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20200910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20200708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20200506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20200304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20200102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20191112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20190910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20190708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20190506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20190304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20190102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20181112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20180910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20180708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20180506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20180304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20180102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20171112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20170910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20170708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20170506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20170304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20171112_se
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_20161112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2016fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2016summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2016sales
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2016spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2016winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2015outsourcing
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2015fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2015summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2015leadership
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2015spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2015winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2014fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2014summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2014spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2014winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2013fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2013summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2013spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2013winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2012fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2012summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2012spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2012winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2011fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2011summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2011spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2011winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2010fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2010summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2010spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2010winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2009fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2009summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2009spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2009winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2008fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2008summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/trainingindustry/tiq_2008spring
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