"You must unlearn what you have learned..."

There's a famous scene in the 1980 film "The Empire Strikes Back" (perhaps the greatest movie sequel in the history of cinema), where the great Jedi Master Yoda is trying to convince Luke Skywalker that he can use the Force to lift his X-wing fighter out of the swamp on the planet Dagobah.  Luke counters that using the Force to lift small stones, as he has been doing (here's the entire scene), is different from trying to lift something as heavy as a spaceship.  Yoga then says the classic line, "No. No different.  Only in your mind.  You must unlearn what you have learned."

Yoda was right (that's why he was a Jedi Master).  I've commented a number of times in previous posts that change is not easy.  Change is difficult for everyone.  Leading through change is even more difficult.  As I mentioned in a recent post, change is the law of leadership.  Just take a look at how different experts have labeled the pervasive resistance to change in most organizations - "fossilized as the status quo", "cognitive rigidity", and "organizational constipator" are two of my favorites.  There are just as many metaphors used to describe the process of leading and navigating an organization through change - consider Kurt Lewin's three-step change model of unfreeze-change-refreeze (note that the unfreezing stage mostly deals with "overcoming organizational inertia and dismantling the existing mindset") or even John Kotter's 8-step change model that leverages the "burning platform". 

As organizations focus on High Reliability Organization (HRO) principles, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, and becoming a so-called "learning organization", they would do well to remember that "learning" doesn't occur unless there is "unlearning".  Some would even argue that learning is "only half the process...the other half is unlearning".  Gary Klein (see his book, Streetlights and Shadows: Searching for the Keys to Adaptive Decisionmaking) uses a metaphor of "shedding a snakeskin" - as we outgrow our existing mental models, we need to shed them to develop new ways of thinking.  The ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said, "To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, subtract things every day."

It would be extremely naive to assume that "unlearning" is a simple and straightforward process (see all of my comments above about resistance to change).  There are (at least) three types of "unlearning" - "routine unlearning" (also known as "fading"), "accelerated and direct unlearning" (also known as "wiping"), and "deep unlearning" (also known as "shock and rupture").  Occasionally, simple habits fade away over time as we learn and develop new habits.  With repetition and reinforcement, these new habits become sustained over time, and we forget (see the famous Ebbinghaus forgetting curve) the old habits, which fade with lack of use.  This "routine unlearning" or "fading" typically occurs slowly over time with habits that are often subconscious and with very little emotional impact on individuals ("old ways of doing things recede, prior expectations fade, discomfort is reduced, and forgetting takes place").  

"Directed unlearning" or "wiping" requires a conscious, deliberate action by individuals to change how they think and act.  "Directed unlearning" is usually triggered by an imposed change event and typically occurs more slowly over time.  Moreover, the emotional impact is more variable than in "routine unlearning" but is still typically not significant.  Here, in order to change, individuals have to "wipe out" past learning.

"Deep learning" often entails a radical break with the past.  It is usually triggered by a sudden, unexpected, and often unpleasant event that forces a change in habit or behavior.  Rather than slowly moving down the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve, "deep learning" results in "dropping off a cliff".  In order to change, individuals usually have to confront deeply held convictions, assumptions, and beliefs, and as a result, the emotional impact of this kind of unlearning is significant - "the process shocks, hurts, and threatens; it challenges ingrained cognitions and behaviors, and it triggers grieving."

The process of unlearning has three parts.  First, we have to recognize that the old mental models are no longer relevant or useful (here is where Kotter's "burning platform" can help).  Here, we have to be open to being vulnerable, willing to listen, and capable of considering new ideas.  Second, we need to find or create a new mental model that can better serve the goals of the organization.  Here, leaders can use data to help inform and drive the learning and change.  In addition, leaders absolutely have to create psychological safety and be willing to tolerate failure as the new mental models take effect.  Third, we need to ingrain these new mental models through repetition, reinforcement, and practice.  

For a really interesting take on the concept of "unlearning" and "learning", check out the following video on TEDEd ("The Backwards Brain Bicycle").  After a group of welders altered a bicycle (they changed the steering mechanism so that when you turned the handlebars to the left, the wheel would turn to the right, and vice versa), engineer Destin Sandlin found out that he could no longer ride a bicycle.  However, with time, he "unlearned" the old way of riding a normal bicycle and learned to ride the backwards one!

Just to finish out the story from "The Empire Strikes Back" - Yoda proves his point to Luke Skywalker and uses the Force to lift the X-wing fighter out of the swamp.  Luke exclaims in surprise, "I don't believe it", to which Yoda responds, "That is why you fail."