Unlearning
I’ve noticed that “unlearning” has become a buzzword lately, tossed around in leadership seminars, innovation workshops, and strategy retreats. But behind the jargon lies one of the most difficult and essential skills for modern governance.
We often talk about continuous learning as the hallmark of great directors. But what about unlearning?
Unlearning isn’t about forgetting what we know. It’s about releasing the grip of what used to be true so we can make space for what’s true now.
What Unlearning Is and What It Isn’t
Unlearning doesn’t mean discarding experience or expertise. It means questioning the assumptions that shaped them.
It’s the quiet discipline of noticing when the mental models that once served us, the “tried and true,” are quietly becoming the “tired and obsolete.”
Unlearning isn’t:
Rejecting expertise or wisdom.
Starting from scratch every time the world shifts.
Following every new trend that promises transformation.
Unlearning is:
Making peace with being a beginner again.
Letting go of the certainty that comes with knowing.
Allowing curiosity to interrupt confidence.
Why It Matters in the Boardroom
Boards are built on experience, often decades of it. But experience can calcify into conviction, and conviction, if left unchecked, can become complacency.
Unlearning matters because the context of leadership is changing faster than the playbooks that built it. Think about what’s shifted in just a few years: digital transformation, ESG accountability, AI governance, stakeholder capitalism, geopolitical volatility. The instincts that once guided good governance may no longer serve the moment we’re in.
A board that values learning but resists unlearning risks mistaking longevity for wisdom.
Three Questions Every Director Should Ask
What assumptions am I carrying from a world that no longer exists?
Maybe it’s the belief that shareholders always come first. Or that cyber risk belongs solely to IT. Or that hybrid work reduces productivity. Unlearning begins with noticing our defaults.Where might my expertise be a blind spot?
The more seasoned we are, the more seductive certainty becomes. Wise directors ask what they might be missing because they “know too much” about how this used to work.Who helps me unlearn?
The best boards create space for challenge, for reverse mentorship, for generational voices, for uncomfortable data. They hire for fresh lenses as much as they do for deep experience.
Unlearning as a Governance Skill
In governance, unlearning is an act of humility and courage. It is the willingness to say: What got us here won’t get us there.
It is the discipline to pause before defaulting to precedent, to listen before asserting, to let go before locking in.
The directors who thrive in this era will be those who know not just how to learn, but how to unlearn gracefully.
Because sometimes the most powerful thing we can do in the boardroom isn’t to know more. It’s to know less and listen better.