Do You Have The Courage To Unlearn?
As Adam Grant said on Twitter:
“It takes curiosity to learn. It takes courage to unlearn. Learning requires the humility to admit what you don't know today. Unlearning requires the integrity to admit that you were wrong yesterday. Learning is how you evolve. Unlearning is how you keep up as the world evolves.”
If you do not have the courage, expect to be left behind.
If you do not have the courage, expect to become irrelevant.
Alvin Toffler in his 1970 book “Future Proof” said,
“The illiterate of the future will not be those who can’t read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”
I talked about the concept of learn-unlearn-relearn in my newsletter and videos last week and wanted to continue that theme with the lens of ‘courage to unlearn.”
The world of work is fundamentally different today than it was before March 2020. We all must have the courage to unlearn and relearn to embrace what the future holds. I have often said that we are being presented with the greatest opportunity to rethink the way we work we may ever get. Those with the courage to unlearn and the integrity to admit that they were wrong will be the victors, the frontrunners, and the heroes in our organisations.
There is clear evidence that many are not demonstrating courage right now. Let’s look at what needs to be unlearned and relearned and why courage is needed.
Unlearn the role of the leader
The role of the leader should be the same whether leading a fully distributed or partly distributed team. They should motivate, enable, and trust. It is not so much what leaders should do, but how that must change. We know there are still many so-called leaders who micromanage, control, disempower, and undermine trust. This is what must be unlearned.
The role of a true leader is to be a coach, connector, conversationalist, carer, and cultivator.
Coach
Just like the role of a football coach is to motivate, coordinate, align, develop, upskill, and improve the players, the leader’s role is the same. They do not micromanage to try and get results. They do not get on the field to play the game. They allow their employees to do that. They are provided with autonomy, flexibility, and trust. Leaders as coaches facilitate problem-solving and encourage employees’ development by asking questions and offering support and guidance rather than giving orders and making judgments.
Connector
Leaders as connectors introduce employees to other employees on the team or in the organisation for coaching and development, collaboration, co-design, and continual improvement. Leaders as connectors intentionally and skilfully connect the right people at the right time for the right purpose. They confidently, courageously, and compassionately network and create coalitions to harness the diversity of thinking driving innovation and change.
Conversationalist
Leaders as conversationalists proactively and regularly seek feedback on their own performance and act upon that feedback. They provide regular feedback to their team and colleagues, and that feedback is a conversation, not a one-directional dialogue. When they receive feedback, they ask questions and clarify their understanding. They encourage others to do the same.
Leadership as conversationalists have a high level of emotional intelligence, they know when to talk and when to listen, and how to provide feedback in a manner that is empowering, inspiring, and motivating.
Carer
Leaders as carers have employee well-being as the priority. They deliberately check-in on a regular basis to find out how their employees are faring. They check in they do not check-up. They know the questions to ask and the signs to watch for that indicate an employee may be struggling. They know the appropriate actions to take if it is needed.
Leaders as carers check-in, have the conversation and then leave. The check-in on employee well-being is not a preamble to another agenda item nor is it something tagged on at the end of a 1:1 meeting. Leaders as carers do not say, “Oh, and by the way, before we close, how are you doing?” The check-in is wholly and solely a check-in on well-being.
Cultivator
Leaders as cultivators have a focus on employee learning and development. Cultivators build learning and development into their employee’s workflow. Research suggests that an approach known as “learning in the flow of work” can help ensure that learners retain and apply new skills and concepts in their day-to-day workflows.
Cultivators can use five tactical, research-backed strategies to build learning and development programs that embrace this approach and deliver results.
Bruce C. Rudy explains the approach in a 2022 HBR article “Building Learning into Your Employee’s Workflow.”
The five strategies are:
· Contextualise the learning
· Use frequent nudges
· Build in time for reflection
· Create micro-learning experiences
· Measure progress
Unlearn what constitutes trust
Most leaders do not want to fail to build trust, they just don’t realise that it must be intentional and proactive.
There can be the assumption that trust just happens and grows over time. The longer you are with someone, the stronger the trust bond. It does not work that way. Unlearn.
Some assume that others view trust in the same way they do. Trust is based on perceptions which are a person’s unique personal experiences.
Many assume that trust is a warm and fuzzy concept and mention of it is met with raised eyebrows, rolling of the eyes and cynicism. Yet, trust has a hard bottom-line impact on organisations.
So, leaders that believe the above, must unlearn and relearn what constitutes trust.
Leaders can build trust by being transparent, authentic, and leading with integrity. They do not keep employees in the dark and they build an environment of psychological safety where employees feel safe to speak up and voice their opinions. They are self-aware and prepared to show their vulnerability. They follow through on what they said they would do and treat everyone fairly.
The HBR Magazine (September – October 2022) contains a great article called “Don’t Let Cynicism Undermine Your Workplace: How to restore trust and confidence in your leaders.” It suggests two approaches to re-establish trust.
“First, develop policies and processes that redirect the organizational culture toward collaboration and trust. Second, make sure that all leaders—not just those at the top—model trusting behaviours and combat cynicism in their interactions.”
Unlearn the office
Leaders must unlearn that the office must be the place to go for reasons of culture, connection, and productivity. None of those holds any substance.
Culture is about shared values and beliefs, assumptions and expectations, and patterns of behaviour. I challenge you to find a definition of culture that includes mention of a location, building, or office.
If you have not already read it, check out my newsletter “Culture Does Not Live Here.
A recent “Future Forum Pulse Report” states:
“Despite concerns that flexible work damages employees’ sense of connection, new data shows that not to be true. Remote and hybrid workers are equally or more likely to feel connected to their immediate teams as fully in-office workers. And across the board, they are more likely to feel connected to their direct manager and their company’s values.”
The same report dispels the myth about the office and productivity.
“But this is another case where the data runs counter to conventional wisdom: flexible work is associated with increased productivity and focus, not less. Future Forum data shows that workers with location flexibility report 4% higher productivity scores than fully in-office workers, a difference that across a workforce can add up to material improvements to the bottom line. And schedule flexibility leads to even greater benefits. Workers who have full schedule flexibility report 29% higher productivity than workers with no ability to shift their schedule. They also report 53% greater ability to focus.”
What the office was pre-pandemic has changed. The office is now just another of many remote workplaces. It is not a case of you going here or there. You go to the place where you can be your best and do your best work. Work is what we do, not where we go. Your choice could include a café, a shared workspace, a library, a home office, or what used to be called “the office.” You may choose the latter as it provides with less distraction than other locations, has activity-based working facilities, and provides you with access to technology that you do not have elsewhere. You may choose the latter as it provides spaces and facilities to enhance team building, and support highly active collaboration and innovation sessions.
Back in May, I wrote a newsletter called “There Are Only Five Reasons to Return to The Office” with the first being preference.
Unlearn measures of performance
I mentioned this in my newsletter and videos last week but feel it is worthy of further dialogue. I believe this could be one of the biggest unlearns and relearns facing leaders and employees today.
Leaders must unlearn that performance is not linked to the hours an employee spends at a desk. Historically, some leaders have equated in-office work with maximum productivity and performance. According to data from the 6th annual State of Remote Work Report from Owl Labs, 60% of leaders are still concerned that workers are less productive when working remotely.
This is supported by the research from top10vpn which shows the sustained global demand for employee surveillance software compared with the demand in 2019. The sustained demand is 58% higher since the pandemic was declared. Owl Labs (2022) also reported that 37% of employers have added or increased the use of employee activity-tracking software in the past year.
Leaders must unlearn and relearn measures of performance. At a high level here are top 10 suggestions to relearn.
1. Set clear goals and clarify understanding
2. Establish clear expectations on both sides
3. Goals should be outcome-based
4. Involve employees in the process
5. Measure achievement of goals by outcomes not hours
6. Check-in on a regular basis that employees are on track and provide coaching as needed
7. Ensure they know you are there to support them and remove obstacles at anytime
8. Do not micromanage – get out of the way
9. Make sure there is a level playing field wherever employees are location
10. Ditch the proximity bias
Unlearn employee expectations
I cannot believe that it is nearly a year ago when I wrote the newsletter “What’s Your EVP?”
Leaders must unlearn that employees are not just after a great salary and compensation package and that is all they must provide in the Employee Value Proposition (EVP). Throwing more money at employees is not going to make them stay. It is not going to attract and retain the talent that you need. This is how some leaders have been responding to “The Great Resignation” with little or no effect.
Leaders must unlearn that an employee value proposition is not just one comprised of transactions such as compensation. Employees are now looking for the relational aspects of employment.
These include aspects such as:
· Flexibility and autonomy
· Great leadership
· Holistic well-being
· Belonging and purpose
· Learning and development
The Employee Expectations Report 2022 from Workday shows the following as primary concerns for employees.
Flexible Working – leaders must relearn the need for autonomy, fairness, career development training, and effective communication.
Growth – leaders must relearn to provide training to managers, ask employees what growth means to them, encourage more cohesion within and across teams, and be transparent about growth and reward opportunities.
Belonging and Diversity – leaders must relearn how to create more psychological safety, embed Belonging and Diversity practices in all aspects of the organisation, support internal networks and hold themselves accountable.
Environmental, Social, and Governance Practices – leaders must relearn to make ESG commitments visible to the organisation, ask employees for their ideas, offer volunteering as a benefit, and embed ESG into the organisational values.
Summary
It is not a should be, it's a must be. Every leader must realise that what they have learned and lived by in the past will not support them in a leadership role now. They must embrace the concept of learn-unlearn-relearn. They must recognise that some beliefs, behaviours, and practices must be unlearned, and new ones learned. This must be a continuous process that is undertaken to remain an effective leader. They must have courage.
“It takes curiosity to learn. It takes courage to unlearn.”