Unlearn and Relearn: Tough but Critical for Growth

Dear Reader,

Over the last couple of years we’ve heard different versions of the statement that we need to do things differently. In the heat of the early pandemic with global lockdowns, businesses were “pivoting” and soon after tasked to seek their “new normal.” As the impact of the pandemic rooted down into our lives, we’ve heard a lot about how to work in a virtual environment and the need to change daily work habits and team supports ( . . . though let’s not forget those who never went virtual and continued to serve us all through this upheaval). And throughout these past two years we’ve been challenged to rethink how we show up each day, how we treat others, and how our actions and institutions are contributing to harm with embedded institutional racism.
As I’ve reflected on this, I’ve determined that this shake-up was needed. Sometimes we get attached to our thoughts and beliefs, and it takes something seismic to move us beyond “what we know.” But what if we took a more pliable approach to learning and knowing?

This week one of our team members shared a link to The Great Unlearn* and Rachel Cargle’s work to unlearn and relearn history. This made me reflect on an unlearning moment we had recently during a session we hosted supporting a grantmaker client. The session was designed to hear from their grantees, and the youth and families those grantees serve. Not only did the participants share what was and wasn’t working in the grantmaking process, but they also shared what was and wasn’t working with our process to hear from them. While we’ve had great feedback from clients about our process, this provided us with a moment to unlearn and detach ourselves from what we thought we knew in order to evolve and change.

Unlearning and relearning is tough. It requires us to acknowledge what we thought may not be accurate, that our daily paradigm may be off, and it causes us psychological discomfort. This is hard for us and we will flee from it if we are not intentional because it requires us to work and change, continuously.

But unlearning also allows us to make smarter decisions because we have gained new perspective.

With our own core services, this is what we coach people to do even as we coach ourselves to do it better. In our sector there is a focus on data use for reporting and accountability, but what we truly need is to harness data and insights for learning. When we take the time to listen, capture perspectives (that’s data . . .) and understand them, this can lead to powerful new thinking and changes that are good for all of us.

What are you unlearning, or will work to unlearn?

WATCHING & LISTENING

Rachel Cargel Teaches Us How to ‘Unlearn’ the Whitewashing of History – Examples that demonstrate what you might need to “unlearn,” including widely held beliefs that you were probably taught in school.
Rethinking Your Position - Insight into why we should spend time not just thinking, but rethinking with Adam Grant, Professor of Psychology at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and author of the New York Times bestseller Think Again.