“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
Leaving the comfort zone and entering the unknown is always a painful transition. Why? Change is the only constant thing in our lives yet we all abhor and fear change. So what’s the solution? One answer is to keep learning continuously.
It is true that change is happening so fast that no one can understand everything in depth or possibly know everything; therefore, we need to learn continuously. But there is one thing about it that is often misunderstood and needs clarification: Learning is not just about acquiring knowledge; it is about learning, unlearning and relearning.
Learning is not just about adding information and knowledge to our repertoire; it is also about unlearning the habits and beliefs that hold us back, and replacing them with habits and beliefs that help us to achieve the desired success.
The secret to effective learning is to be willing to unlearn and try to find new methods — even if your previous approaches brought about great results. That is why unlearning and relearning usually happen together as a consecutive process.
The saying “the boss knows best” might not always work anymore as our world faces relentless changes in technology, communication and other fields. As a result, our expectations for leaders to have all the answers are no longer justifiable. But the question is, if the leaders don’t know everything, how can we expect them to lead effectively? The answer is rather simple: Leaders also need to keep learning, and they need to encourage others to keep learning as well. That way, leaders can then act as guides and decision-makers rather than lecturers and directors.
Larry Fink, the chairman and CEO of Black Rock, a leading asset management firm and the Financial Times’ CEO of the Decade in 2011, once said: “ ... (I)t is imperative that all of us worldwide take the time to be a student. That’s the most important lesson I’ve learned watching other firms. They (leaders) actually forget that their job has to evolve and change all the time, and that what worked in the past will not work in the future. In my opinion, if you’re not a student, you’re probably going backward (and taking others with you).”
So, what do learning, unlearning and relearning really mean? Here are some short summaries:
Learning means acquiring knowledge or being acquainted with or informed about something. It is a process that starts from birth and continues throughout life. Evert incident in life has learning attached to it.
Unlearning means discarding something you have learned. This will only happen when your mind is open to new perspectives on things you already know. It is vital to note that unlearning is not simply about forgetting something; it is also about rejecting a previously held belief, or rejecting long-held and valued theories. However, it does not mean that we have to toss out all our accumulated experiences or presume that the things we learned earlier will keep us from success. Rather, it asks that you stay open to different ways of getting things done.
On the other hand, relearning is about learning something that you might have previously forgotten again. It will happen when you accept a new perspective and appreciate your knowledge from that perspective. Relearning means we can learn something from new perspectives, overcome misconception and misunderstanding; thus, our knowledge and skills can be improved day by day.
How can we build the best learning strategy and incorporate it into our workplace? The following five simple principles are the primary approaches that will help leaders unlearn and relearn better.
Step 1: Determine what needs to be unlearned and what needs to replace it. If you are going through a change, ask yourself what needs to be discarded from the old paradigm? What perspective should replace it when this kind of change happens?
Step 2: Explain the reasons for the change. Normally, if people understand the reason they are being asked to make a change, they will be more willing and prepared to drop old habits and methods, as opposed to a situation where they are asked to change their behaviour without being given any solid reason.
Step 3: Offer feedback. Sometimes people are not aware of what they are doing badly or what is holding them back from doing better. A 360-degree feedback is a tool that can provide great insights into damaging behaviours. When people receive feedback that clearly reflects their behaviours, they can then realise what should be unlearned and relearned.
Step 4: Provide coaching support. We all know that old habits die hard and many people can’t change without constant support. Coaching will help individuals to get rid of old habits and adopt new ones more easily and systematically. A coach can skilfully expose the way bad habits are causing problems for the individual, his or her colleagues and the organisation. This will eventually help them get back on track with their unlearning and relearning journey.
Step 5: Start with yourself. The trouble with many leaders is that they want their people to always learn in order to be ready to cope with change and improve their behaviour; however, leaders themselves don’t want to do any of these things. They assume self-improvement is only for subordinates when in reality, great leaders need to be role models for others and start the learning process to motivate others.
Many leaders often think that continuous learning to deal with change is an old concept that they already knew. Such a belief must be unlearned and relearned since learning, as we know now from this article, is not merely about acquiring new knowledge, but also about discarding what we have learned and being ready to learn something from an entirely new perspectives as well.
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Arinya Talerngsri is Group Managing Director at APMGroup, Thailand’s leading Organisational and People Development Consultancy. For more information, write an e-mail to arinya_t@apm.co.th or visit www.apm.co.th