Leaders need to Learn how to Unlearn!

The digital revolution profoundly changed the way we collaborate and create value together in our organizations. The leadership models used after the industrial revolution do not fit the new collaboration world that is emerging in the digital era. For instance, the leadership based on control and long term rigid plans are replaced by collaboration based on intrinsic motivation and values alignment, that fosters testing and learning within agile organizations.

But leaders are struggling to engage with these new behaviors, and that should not come as a surprise. Many of our leaders developed themselves in organizations that support and promote behaviors that are exactly the opposite of what is asked by organizations today. Leaders that were directive, bossy and centralizers were usually viewed as competent and possessing the characteristics that leadership positions asked for. This was obviously reinforced by successive positive feedbacks, particularly in the form of performance appraisals as well as promotions inside these organizations.

The world changed. There is a consensus that we need supportive and empathetic leaders, who share the information and facilitate and support collaborative co-creation within teams. There is a strong behavioral gap between the two models, and some leaders might feel strong cognitive dissonance between the old “superman” patriarcal leader and the collaborative leader that organizations need today.

Training programs that intervene only on the cognitive aspects of these changes will not produce behavioral change. Leaders need to learn how to unlearn some of these old habits and reflexes that served them very well in the past. Some new initiatives that tap into emotions and behavioral science can help to accelerate this transformation. For instance, we design leadership transformation programs in which leaders first learn to identify the particular behaviors they want to change, and then they experience different organizational cultures, spotting these emotions and behaviors when they occur. Talking to the mind, as well as talking to the heart - is the key to help leaders to transform themselves.

This experience needs to be something that changes completely the environment of the leader, and give her the possibility of testing new beliefs and behaviors in a safe way. For example, one of our transformation programs sent leaders to work for startups of our ecosystem, allowing them to experience a completely different work environment. During the experience, these leaders described the different feelings and behaviors they experienced, and how these new experiences illuminated their leadership practice. That also helped identifying some key elements that triggered some old behaviors, allowing the leaders to redefine those elements and avoiding being trapped on the old reactions again.

Learning experiences that will help leaders to learn how to unlearn will pave the way to changing mindsets and including a new set of skills that will help leaders to thrive in this new fast changing organizations world.

There is a long path to unlearn some of the past behaviors we are used to. Asked old smokers how hard it was to stop smoking and you will quickly understand how hard it can be to replace an old behavior for a new one. Learning experiences that will help leaders to learn how to unlearn will pave the way to changing mindsets and including a new set of skills that will help leaders to thrive in this new fast changing organizations world.

I would love to hear your thoughts about the importance of learning how to unlearn. Please, leave your comments below.

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Adilson Borges is the Chief Learning Officer at Carrefour and the Immediate Past President of the Academy of Marketing Science. Adilson is also the IRC Professor of Marketing at Neoma BS. Before that, he held various positions and worked as a consultant for different organizations in Brazil, Europe and USA. He's is passionate about marketing, learning, decision making and behavioral science. Adilson enjoys sharing his personal thoughts here on LinkedIn. All statements and opinions presented in his articles or posts only reflect his personal opinion.

Follow Adilson on Twitter: @aborges_mkt