F E A T U R E

JOURNEY TO CHAOS AND BACK: UNLEARNING INWORKPLACE TRAINING PROGRAMSB Y A D R I A N O P I A N E S I

“The real voyage of discovery is not seekingnew lands but in seeing with new eyes.”

—Marcel Proust

“After I acquire new eyes, what do I do withthe old ones?”

—Ramon Soto-Crespo,paraphrasing Friederich Nietzsche

ave you ever tried to drive onthe left side of the road if you are

born in a country in which one driveson the right? Or have you tried to usea measurement system different fromthe one you originally learned as achild? Or have you broken out in asweat trying to learn a foreign languageor the latest version of a software sys-tem you have been using for years? Allthese situations confront us with thetough challenge of replacing onebehavior with a totally different one;one in which the rich combination ofbehaviors, knowledge, attitudes, andskills, reinforced over the years, acts as abarrier to our efforts.

The challenges of rapidly changingenvironments raise the concern:Canpeople’s ability to acquire new knowledge inthe workplace on an ongoing basis keep upwith the continuous introduction of newchange initiatives/new programs/newopportunities? Organizations’ preoccupa-tion with acquiring the latest informa-tion or knowledge rarely takes intoaccount the processes required toreassess and release already acquired

H

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TEAM TIPLook at whether your organizationsupports both learning and unlearning.If you don’t explicitly support people’sprocess of unlearning, then theywill find it difficult to adopt newbehaviors.

beliefs and previous learning.As result,the challenge that many organizationsface when managing change programsand organizational transformation is tolearn, unlearn, and relearn.

As a trainer, I have always dealthead-on with conflict, disagreement,resistance to new ideas, differences ofopinion, common fears, anxieties, andfeelings of incompetence in any class Ihave taught.A workshop with thoseelements is the rule not the exceptionand—more important—confronting thedimensions of unlearning and relearningresults in more effective learning experiencesthat strengthen the possibilities of real orga-nizational renewal and change.Unlearn-ing should not be viewed as an end initself, but as a means to ensure learningexcellence, innovation, and ultimatelychange. I have come to believe that, toeffectively train adults in the work-place, trainers must intentionally anddeliberately attend to the process ofunlearning and then relearning.

I have guided groups through learn-ing and change in conditions of highuncertainty, little management support,and scarce budgets.Whether training ona new company policy, improving team-work skills, or working on organizationaltransformation, I have faced unlearningdecisively, with the idea that it must beconfronted before the class, in the class,and after the class. In this article, I wouldlike to share the strategies and sugges-

Unlearning should not be viewed

as an end in itself, but as a

means to ensure learning

excellence, innovation, and

ultimately change.

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tions that have proven helpful for me insupporting individual and team unlearn-ing in the classroom.

In this article, I talk about:1. Unlearning and learning theorieswith a quick overview of the literatureon the subject2. Three behaviors that facilitate theinner work of unlearning3. Four roles for facilitating unlearn-ing as a team process4. Six strategies for facilitators to han-dle the unlearning process effectively5. Three strategies for handling theunlearning process before and three forhandling it after the class

Removing the Debris• Three hours have passed. I am in themiddle of a workshop on “FacilitationSkills for Project Managers.”A manraises his hand and says,“The answersyou gave are possibly correct for HRtypes. But you need to state and clarifyto the class that, if you are not an HRtype, then this is not necessarily thecorrect thing to do.”• In a new system implementationclass, a trainee asks a stream of ques-tions in an increasingly confrontationaltone. I give an answer and thenanother and then another . . . at onepoint, with frustration, she stands upand storms out of the room, screaming,“I am not going to take this anymore!”• “No, thanks,” says one trainee in aworkshop about effective teamwork aswe talk about a way to increase effec-tive listening.“I do not think I will usethis. I understand it, but I do not believethis skill will make a difference in myteamwork.”

If these scenarios are familiar, thenyou have probably experienced first-

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Unlearning asDeleting

Hedberg (1981)

Obsolete knowledge isdeleted while newknowledge is created.Thisprocess is different fromforgetting because it isintentional.

Unlearning asStoring for Later

Klein (1989)

Obsolete knowledge is noterased; it is simply storedbeside the new knowledge.It will degrade if not usedfor some time, or it can beretrieved if the individualreturns to the old context.

Organic EmergenceRatherThan Unlearning

MargaretWheatley (2006)

Obsolete knowledge iscontinually redefined, addedto, and recomposed in acontinuous process.“We never pause to unlearnbefore we engage in learningand adaptation.”

OVERVIEW OF THEORIES ON UNLEARNING

hand how removing the “debris of pre-vious construction” to rebuild thefoundation for new understanding cre-ates disorder and disorientation for thetrainer as well as for the learner.WhileI have learned through the years not totake these reactions personally, at thebeginning of my career, I often won-dered how to deal ethically and effec-tively with people fighting the contentI was teaching.

In this task, I received little helpfrom professional training books.Theycall this behavior “dysfunctional” andrecommend dealing with it through amix of tact and assertiveness, with thegoal of maintaining control of the classand minimizing disruptions. In fact,dismissing or labeling those behaviorsdid not really provide an answer to myquestions:• What are the most effective ways bywhich I can help the people in myclass deal with letting go of old knowl-edge, assumptions, and ideas?• Why do adults refuse to learn?Should adult educators protect thelearner’s right to refuse to learn thecontent taught? If so, how?• How can a learning facilitator be aneffective facilitator of unlearning?How do we manage the process mosteffectively in our team learningexperiences?• How do we design instruction foradults that is unlearning/relearning-friendly? How do we design/plan forunlearning/relearning?• What role do conflict managementskills and creativity play in the process?What best practices can trainers followto handle the chaos or disruption thatall this entails?

I sensed that something essential tothe learning process and to the neworganization whose birth we are tryingto facilitate might hide in the answersto these questions.

Learning Theories onUnlearning“I find that another way of learning for meis to state my own uncertainties, to try toclarify my puzzlements, and thus get closer tothe meaning that my experience actuallyseems to have.”

—Carl Rogers

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“Unlearning” is not the failure to learn(often treated with remediation, addi-tional training, improved instructionalactivities, or sanctions) or willful non-learning—the deliberate refusal tolearn and to unlearn for personal rea-sons. So what is unlearning?

Despite a lack of empirical studies,the concept of unlearning has animportant place in the learning theoriesof Kurt Lewin, David Kolb, JackMezirow, Chris Argyris, and others (see“Overview of Theories on Unlearn-ing”).While it doesn’t use the termunlearning, Lewin’s three-stage model(the unfreeze-change-refreeze model)centers on the identification and rejec-tion of prior learning in order toreplace it. Kolb defines experientiallearning as “a process whereby knowl-edge is created through transformationof experience” and as “A solitary actthat happens in relationship with others. . . making the strange familiar” (likereflecting on unexpected events) as wellas “making the familiar strange” (likereflecting on our everyday practices).

The ability to analyze what weconsider “familiar”—our current way ofdoing things, assumptions, and mind-sets—in order to experience it as“strange” is critical to the concept ofunlearning.This perspective is at theheart of Jack Mezirow’s transformativelearning theories as well as ChrisArgyris and Donald Schön’s double-loop learning.Mezirow touched on theissue of unlearning by identifying stagesof the learning process in which learn-ers “become critically aware of theirown tacit assumptions and expectationsand those of others and assess their rele-

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vance for making an interpretation.” Hedefines emancipatory education as “anorganized effort to help the learnerchallenge presuppositions, explore alter-native perspectives, transform old waysof understanding, and act on new per-spectives.” According to Mezirow, thecore of transformative thinking is theuncovering of distorted assumptions.Asa result, supporting unlearning is seen asengaging and questioning assumptionsin the class; the job of the educator is tomake those assumptions explicit, exam-ine them, and let the learner decidewhether the assumptions should berejected or confirmed.

Argyris and Schön’s double-looplearning, a process that involves ques-tioning the assumptions and processesthat underlie errors, is centered on theidea of unlearning as making the famil-iar strange. In this context, learning (andunlearning) is born out of the process ofuncovering the hidden incongruencebetween what we think we do andwhat we actually do. Because thisprocess can feel threatening, to para-phraseWilliam Noonan, the work oflearning needs to overcome defensiveroutines that individuals in organizationsuse to remove conditions of embarrass-ment and threat. Being emotionallytriggered by certain situations preventsus from learning from them.Moreover,we have become so skilled at our com-petence to deal with these situationsthat we cannot even recognize—letalone change—those behaviors.Thecore of double-loop learning is theuncovering of distorted mental modelsthrough a commitment to self-reflectionand willingness to engage differences.

INKER® JUNE / JULY 2009 3

Overview of Theories onUnlearningFor the purpose of this article, I usethe term unlearning to describe:1. An individual process of personaltransformation executed with theintention to change ideas, attitudes,or skills though personal emotional/cognitive work as well as a dose ofcourage.2. A group process through whichindividuals in learning teams build newknowledge by releasing or transform-ing prior learning, assumptions, andmental frameworks in order to accom-modate new information or values.

Pragmatically, as facilitators oflearning, we ask the following key ques-tion: In our sessions of workplace teamlearning—before the class, in the class,and after the class—how do we jump-start the unlearning process and helpour learners question their assumptions?

Three Behaviors ThatFacilitate the Inner Work ofUnlearning“If we wish to blossom, we should remem-ber that a seed will only germinate if itceases to be a seed.”

—The Mithya Institute for Learning andKnowledge Architecture website

How do individuals within an organi-zation decide to embark on the jour-ney of creating a new life or newresults? Brian Hinken identifies twokinds of “awakeners” that can leadsomeone to “snap out of the non-learner posture” and take the first stepon what he calls “the Learner’s Path”:1. A desire to create a new life ornew results (an inside-out awakener, as itoriginates in the internal processes ofthe individual)2. Feedback that contradicts some-one’s belief about the results theythought they were getting (an outside-inawakener, as it can come in the form ofnew data or new events)

The path to unlearning is marredby anxiety, solitude, embarrassment, andanger: upheaval within us as well as inour relationship with our world.Theroad to replacing assumptions, concepts,and values is uncomfortable.What does

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this imply for us as facilitators of learn-ing? How can we support the unfoldingof this inner process in our learners?

Rather than labeling people’sbehaviors “dysfunctional,” we can dothree things to help:

• Regards: We Must AcceptWhereOur Learners Are Coming From. Alltrainees come to a session with a richrepertoire of experiences. I find it eas-ier to handle that baggage if I believethat everyone is always right—notmoral, not legal, not correct, but alwaysright in their circumstances of doingwhat they do and having the ideas theyhave. During the needs analysis phaseof any workshop, I try to surface thosedifficult feelings and get ready to listenwith interest.

• Awareness: We Must AcknowledgeThat It Is Our Job to Deal with theUpheavals of Unlearning, andWe Haveto Do It Openly. Facing the process ofunlearning is key. In A Failure of Nerve:Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix,Edwin Friedman denounces the“avoidance of the struggle that goesinto growth, and unwillingness toaccept short-term acute pain that onemust experience in order to reducechronic anxiety.” Friedman claims that,as renaissance explorers ready to moveinto the unknown, we should foster asense of adventure in our learners toprevent their “missing out on challeng-ing opportunities to grow.” Indeed, it istough to discover, explore, and developourselves if all we worry about is safety.We confront this challenge not bybeing in denial about it, but by seeingit as part of our job and by stressing tolearners the importance of venturingout of our comfort zone.

• Compassion: We Must Bring OurOwn Compassion or More toThisTask. Herbert Kohl talks about hisexperience of helpingWilliam, an ele-mentary school student termed an

It is tough to discover, explore,

and develop ourselves if all we

worry about is safety.

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“underachiever.” He describes his firsttask as “helping him unlearn his senseof failure . . . cultivating his ability toresolve this sense of inferiority in acoherent and productive way.” Hesummarizes his most important mes-sage toWilliam as: “I won’t let themmake me stupid.” By demonstrating anunderstanding of the difficultiesinvolved in unlearning, educators cannurture an inner dimension of compas-sion and solidarity in their students.

The Four Roles ThatFacilitate Team Unlearning

“I find that one of the best, but most difficult,ways for me to learn is to drop my owndefensiveness, at least temporarily, and to tryto understand the way in which his experi-ence seems and feels to the other person.”

—Carl Rogers

“Uncertainty creates the freedom todiscover meaning”

—Ellen Langer

How do people in a team learningexperience decide as a group to identifywhat they have learned and if/howthey want to change it? How can afacilitator of learning lead that process?I once worked with a trainer whowould bring candy to class. I havealways deemed such strategies ineffec-tive for increasing motivation, as if itcan be accomplished through seduc-tion and ultimately manipulation.Instead, for unlearning, trainers need toradically rethink their role in the classand manage it according to four differ-ent dimensions:

• Host: As a host, the trainer creates asafe place for all parties where empow-erment starts with comfort and free-dom of expression.This role sets thestage for the unlearning process to takeplace.Allow plenty of time for com-plaining, disputing, and fighting thenew content (all signs that the traineesare taking it seriously), and make it safefor the trainees to disagree with youand with the subject matter. I try to letconfrontation unfold and never takedisagreement personally. Instead, I viewthese as signs of unlearning.

• Co-Learner: As a co-learner, thetrainer joins the inquiry process as one

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voice among many others, questioningassumptions and seeking to understand.This role stimulates an environmentwhere assumptions—all assumptions—are worth examining and where non-defensive communication is the rule.

• Provocateur or Devil’s Advocate (alsoknown as *#+!@ agitator): The trainerneeds to challenge openly and vigor-ously, present new ideas, insinuatecomplexity, dispell comfort, and sowdoubts.This role creates the premise forreal creative controversy, for challeng-ing assumptions, and for modeling theability to deal with the ambiguity ofreal life.

• Supporter/Resource: In this role, thetrainer assists the revision of old orinadequate concepts in an effort tofacilitate the process in its entirety.Thisrole sets the stage for a safe experienceand a new beginning.

The literature often covers theseroles; however, I tend to focus on therole of the trainer as provocateur, usingthe theory of Jack Mezirow to analyzewhat that role entails.The work for thefacilitator here is not to manage a sim-ple problem-solving exercise, but rathera less tidy and more involving processof self-discovery and meaningful self-revelation. In fact, people might notnecessarily be aware of their assump-tions, and it might be hard to makethem explicit. From there, they stillmight not want to give them up due totheir associated sense of security.

In order to deal with this chal-lenge, Mezirow talks about a stage inthe learning process of “disorienting

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Question In order to…

Have we created a safe Create the safetyenvironment for people? and group explor

Have we assumed a Let yourself be exrole as co-learner? and in a non-thre

Can we evoke emotions Engage anxiety, anand be comfortable emotions that arewith them? adults go through

THREE QUE

dilemma,” a moment of confusion thatjump-starts the work of critical self-reflection for transformative learning.Why does disorientation help peopleunlearn? Because it is in this apparentconfusion that new meanings and newbeginnings find their place. So, in therole of the provocateur, we must con-fuse our learners for their own sake.However, to be effective as provoca-teurs, we need to have answered “yes”to three questions (see “Three Ques-tions” below).

Here are six strategies I have usedsuccessfully in my own workshops tofacilitate team unlearning:

1. State Ground RulesThat DealOpenly with Unlearning. I set the fol-lowing ground rules:• Confusion is O.K.: letting go ofthe old brings new beginnings• Cleverness is not O.K.: instead,seek what is truly meaningful toeach of us

2. Analyze the Current Mindset of theLearner in the Class. In a facilitationclass, we asked participants to describewhat a superb facilitator would do in agiven situation.This process creates apicture of exemplary performance (e.g.,“She would never let conflict derail themeeting”) that reveals hidden assump-tions (e.g.,“Conflict is bad for meet-ings”) that the trainer can openlychallenge.

3. Create Disorienting Dilemmas forthe Learners in the Format of CaseStudies to Discuss. In a training sessionon a new policy for a governmentagency, we wrote a fictional case of an

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Otherwise…

needed for the inner Actions willation obtain the

opposite result:perienced authentically hardening ofatening way assumptions

rather thanger, and sadness, the freedom tolikely to surface when challenge thema transition

STIONS

architectural firm that was strugglingwith the same compliance issues thetraining was supposed to address.Twokey managers described in the case—each impersonating one of the prevalentopinions about the work ahead—hadcome into conflict over how to dealwith the issue of compliance.Thedilemma was discussed in the class.

4. Use “Creative Controversy”TasksinWhich Different Groups Support aParticular Position and Argue its Merit.In order to be most effective, thisprocess needs to allow disagreement andconfusion to unfold:The trainer mustresist the temptation to come to the res-cue with the right answer, letting thelearners confront the reality that there isnot a single perspective, but rather com-peting and discriminatory processes ofestablishing a truth valuation.

5. Manage the Power of Feedback,Given in a Non-ThreateningWay by aFellow Learner (Not by the Facilitator),as a way to candidly reflect the learner’saction back to him or her.You mightwant to establish the rule of “no feed-back on feedback”; recipients shouldrespond with a ritual “Thank you.”

6. Tap intoYour Creativity to SurfaceUnexpressed Emotions. In a class, I onceused the “wall of shame”: I left theroom and asked this group of learners—who would clearly rather be in a den-tist’s chair than in the class—to writeanonymous messages on a poster thatlooked like a wall, stating openly (withinthe limits of decency) why they wouldrather leave than stay in the session. Inanother exercise with a different group, Iasked that they write down their pastbad experiences with the content I wasteaching—their “baggage.”All theirmessages were read aloud, collected,locked in a tiny box, and dropped in thegarbage.At the end of the class, I askedpeople to write the message “Goodbye. . . Welcome . . . ,” naming what theyhad jettisoned and what they actuallygained from the class.

Before and After theUnlearning ClassA trainer who deals openly withunlearning needs to address it as a

INKER® JUNE / JULY 2009 5

“Sunglasses”

The occasional change ofvision needed to deal withsome situations calls fora shift of vision andperspective that isfunctional and temporary.

“Contact Lenses”

The vision stands correctedand the perspective now isaltered rather profoundlyand on an ongoing basis.

“Eye Surgery”

Renewal of perspective,without the possibility ofturning back. It is a radicalshift that brings new vision.

UNLEARNING OUTCOMES

process not only in the class but espe-cially before and after it. In his classicstudy on the transfer of learning, JohnNewstrom defines the three dimensionsof before, during, and after the class andmaps them with the three roles ofsupervisors, trainers, and learners. Heidentifies nine possible ways for success-ful learned behavior to be used in theworkplace. Newstrom’s findings empha-size the role of supervisors; the degreeand quality of work with trainee’ssupervisors before a session is the toppredictor of use of the skill in theworkplace.

I recommend the following activi-ties before the class to ensure successfulunlearning:

1. Prepare the Client for the Roller-coaster of Unlearning.Unlearning iscounterintuitive; therefore, it is impor-tant to clarify your assumptions withyour stakeholders. Explain to them inadvance that behaviors that are com-monly termed as unprofessional (likeanger and blaming) actually prove theeffectiveness of the strategy.

2. Define Unlearning/EmergenceObjectives. As is the case with learning,unlearning can have unpredictableresults.The following three metaphors(“sunglasses,”“contact lenses,” and “eyesurgery”) can exemplify the possibleoutcome of many unlearning/relearn-ing efforts (see “Unlearning Out-comes”). Define the objective of yourclass in advance. Keep in mind that,while unlearning/relearning is the fuelof healthy organizational culture, it isnot required for every workshop, forevery client, and to the same extent inevery case!

3. AddTime to the Agenda (based onyour objectives) to allow conversationsto emerge that deal with the unlearningprocess. I normally schedule an hour forunplanned activities that might be nec-essary to support unlearning.

The creation of support mecha-nisms (formal and informal) that iden-tify and manage the emotional and

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cognitive work of unlearning after theclass is also an important factor in suc-cessful unlearning—and represents agreat problem for limited trainingengagements.While many desire thebenefits of unlearning, only a fewunderstand that it cannot happen with-out an expense of time and effort.Thefollowing is a list of low-cost activitiesthat can be used to engage a commu-nity of unlearners after a class:

1. Create an Online Community. Thiswork ensures that your learners con-tinue to use each other and you tobring about the change that unlearningempowers.

2. Ask the Supervisors to Meet withthe Learners After the Class. In thismeeting, learners engage with theirdirect supervisors in a conversationabout how to bring about the changesthat unlearning entails.

3. Create Informal Events (HappyHours, etc.). These activities allow forthe camaraderie and fellowship of thelearning community to continue tosupport its unlearning effort.

An Openness to Experience“Wisdom comes along through suffer-ing’’ says the poet, and the philosopherreminds us that “The truth of experi-ence always implies an orientationtoward new experience.”The opennessto experience in general, to newthings, to new ideas is addictive.Asfacilitators of learning, we need to cul-tivate that openness in ourselves and inour learners. •

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Adriano Pianesi is the principal of ParticipActionConsulting, Inc., and has 15 years of experience inthe non-profit, government, and private sector intraining adults, course development, facilitation, ande-learning.A certified Action Learning coach andHarvard Discussion Method expert, he teachesworkshops in the areas of facilitation, train-the-trainer (training design, development, and delivery),teamwork, customer service, and supervisory skills.His clients include the Pension Benefit GuarantyCorporation, the USDA Graduate School, theNational Labor Relations Board, Keane FederalSystems, Silosmashers, Serco North America,Aderas,and MRIS.

For Further ReadingBecker, Karen Louise.Unlearning in theWork-

place: A Mixed Methods Study, QueenslandUniversity of Technology Thesis, 2007

Broad, Mary L., and JohnW. Newstrom.Transfer of Training:Action-Packed Strategies toEnsure High Payoff fromTraining Investments(Addison-Wesley, 1992)

Cranton, Patricia.Understanding and PromotingTransformative Learning:A Guide for Educatorsof Adults (Jossey-Bass, 2006)

Delahaye, Brian, and Karen Becker.“Unlearn-ing: A RevisedView of ContemporaryLearning Theories?” in Proceedings from Life-long Learning Conference, 2006

Duffy, Francis M.“I Think,Therefore I AmResistant to Change,” Journal of Staff Devel-opment,Vol. 24 No. 1,Winter 2003Kohl, Herbert. “IWon’t Learn fromYou” andOther Thoughts on Creative Maladjustment(New Press, 1995)

Macdonald, Geraldine.“TransformativeUnlearning: Safety, Discernment andCommunities of Learning,”Nursing Inquiry,Vol. 9 No. 3, 2002

Mezirow, Jack, and Associates. Fostering CriticalReflection in Adulthood:A Guide to Transfor-mative and Emancipatory Learning (Jossey-Bass, 1990)

Soto-Crespo, Ramon E.“The Bounds ofHope: Unlearning ‘Old Eyes’ and a Peda-gogy of Renewal” in Thresholds in Education(May and August, 1999)

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