Unlearning involves intentionally letting go—releasing outdated knowledge, assumptions, and behaviors that once served us but no longer do. Sometimes this means unlearning how we perform technical tasks. Other times, it means unlearning how we see ourselves.
The ability to identify and detach from old paradigms and ways of being that no longer enable us to reach our full potential is one of the most critical growth capacities a leader can develop.
Technology and innovation are obvious arenas where unlearning is required. Yet what may be even more consequential is the unlearning leaders must do around identity—of approaches, mindsets, and self-concepts that got them here but won’t take them there.
Leading well requires ongoing growth and inner transformation. We learn ways of adapting, surviving, and succeeding that help us thrive in one season, but those same patterns may quietly limit our highest potential in the next.
A simple example is the leader who has been successful by doing everything themselves—taking on the work, not delegating, and ensuring excellence because they personally execute the task. That approach can work under a certain load. But eventually, what once fueled success becomes the very thing that constrains it.
When circumstances change—through increased responsibility, promotion, or personal life shifts that require greater balance—leaders often experience a moment of confrontation. Frustration rises. Burnout creeps in. Results stall.
While it may not feel like it at the time, this is often the moment where unlearning becomes the gateway to the next level of leadership. The leader is invited to unlearn self-reliance as the primary path to results and to learn instead how to partner, empower, and lead others toward shared outcomes.
The challenge is that when these moments arrive, it is easy to blame others, blame ourselves, or move into deflection and defense—rather than recognize we are being offered an invitation for growth.
This dynamic applies not only to leadership or business, but to every relationship and domain of life.
If your greatest growth in the year ahead came through unlearning, what is the thing that got you here—but won’t take you there?
