INSIGHT
‘‘ KIM Matters
Pink elephants, empty vessels and fear: learning and unlearning in knowledge management
T
HOSE of us who work in knowledge management put significant effort into helping our colleagues with the
creation, sharing and application of new knowledge. We help them learn from experiences, learn from databases, and learn from each other.
One thing I find that we are less good at factoring in, is the need for unlearning as well.
People are not clean slates or computer programmes on which learning is written, or empty vessels into which new learning pours. People are complex individuals with complex frames of reference, biases (conscious and unconscious) and huge networks of intertwined experiential learning, which means that old knowledge cannot be simply rubbed out, overwritten or decanted. For early-career professionals, unlearning can be a fairly straightforward process without cultural or personal expectations. Unfortunately, for more mature experts it can be difficult to adapt to the changes necessary to unlearn existing processes or best practices.
How can knowledge managers help with this process inside their organisations?
Firstly, we need to understand that unlearning is not about forgetting. If you’ve ever tried to “not think” about pink elephants, you’ll know how impossible “forgetting on demand” is. Instead, unlearning is about questioning the existing mental models that we work with, discarding those that no longer provide value,
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and moving towards working with new ones. This might sound simple, but as with other situations involving change by humans, it is a process rather than a discrete event.
There isn’t much written about this aspect of knowledge management, but my own experience suggests that unlearning and learning is a three- stage process.
Firstly, one must understand the reasoning behind the change and why one’s existing mental model no longer works. This can be a difficult change to support, as mental models are often unconscious and, even if conscious, letting go of them can feel like failure. Experts may have built their reputations on their mastery of a particular field, and an admission that new models are needed can feel like a genuine loss. Secondly, we need to support our experts to find a new mental model that will work better for them, and thirdly, practice and repetition is needed until the new mental habits are embedded.
What can knowledge managers do
to help with this process? The skills needed to question, let go and learn, are best learned through experience and reflection upon that experience. A strong culture of non- judgemental curiosity is a foundation for this. Knowledge managers can help their teams by discussing the value of new knowledge as part of a wide tapestry of learning, and encouraging reflection on relevant experiences. Senior leaders can support this by modelling appropriate behaviours and removing organisational barriers which block reflective learning. Knowledge managers can also help
Knowledge managers can help their teams by discussing the value of new knowledge as part of a wide tapestry of learning ...
Hélène Russell (
helenerussell@theknowledgebusiness.co.uk) runs The Knowledge Business and is Chair of CILIP’s K&IM Group.
those they support, but in particular their subject matter experts, to understand that new understanding or changed method of working doesn’t have to create dissonance with existing knowledge. Each moment of unlearning and new learning is in fact part of the creation of a wider expertise. Observation, experimentation and creation of new ways of working and understanding are essential to successful organisations, and experts’ wide levels of knowledge and lived experience of change, help them to adapt in novel situations, where simple application of existing best practices do not apply: the skill of unlearning and relearning makes them better experts.
Lastly, the great news is that unlearning and learning appears to be a process that gets easier with repetition, so the task should get easier in time.
These are my experiences of supporting unlearning and new learning, but I would be interested to hear your views. Email me at
helenerussell@theknowledgebusiness.co.uk. IP
March 2022
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