This is the final blog in our November series on The Art of Unlearning. Having explored how letting go creates space for what matters and loosening identity expands how we lead, we now turn to how unlearning shows up when clarity hasn’t yet arrived - when curiosity becomes our greatest guide.
While we’re releasing old ways of working and re-examining familiar habits, another layer of unlearning often unfolds.
This is the practice of leading when the path ahead is still forming, and progress grows through curiosity more than control.
The art of unlearning at this layer becomes less about letting go and more about seeing differently. It's about noticing patterns, listening more deeply, and trusting that clarity often grows in the space we’re willing to hold open.
When the Map Stops Making Sense
There are times when the familiar playbook starts to feel out of step:
- A strategic plan that no longer matches the pace of change.
- A stakeholder conversation where every option carries trade-offs.
- A team looking for answers when you’re still sensing what the real question might be.
It can feel uncomfortable when established strategies no longer fit but the next approach hasn’t taken shape, especially when others look to you for direction.
We describe these as threshold moments, the space between what worked and what’s emerging. In moments like these, analysis can only take us so far. What’s needed is a different kind of leadership, one that pauses long enough for shared insight to surface. That pause isn’t indecision; it’s awareness in practice.
Unlearning the Need to Know
We’re often rewarded for our decisiveness, knowledge and expertise, yet in complex, shifting environments, those habits can limit what’s possible.
Some of the most effective leaders we’ve worked with are the ones who can say, “I’m not sure yet - let’s explore it together.” This simple statement does something powerful: it reframes leadership from answer-giving to sense-making. It signals trust in the collective and opens the doo rfor insights that no single perspective could reach.
Unlearning can feel deeply uncomfortable. Most systems prize confidence over curiosity, and we often carry the expectation of having answers.
Admitting uncertainty can feel exposing - like stepping into the room without armour.
Yet again and again, it’s in those moments of shared openness that genuine insight and alignment begin to surface.
Practical Ways to Explore Leading Through Not-Knowing
Name what’s still unclear - Instead of filling the silence, share what you’re noticing and invite others to do the same. Clarity often begins when someone has the courage to say Here’s what we don’t yet know.
Ask broader questions - Try: What might we be missing? What assumptions are shaping our view? Inquiry expands awareness faster than advice.
Hold competing truths - Resist rushing to one “right” answer. Sit with the tension long enough for a better option to emerge.
Create pause points - Build intentional check-ins during fast-moving projects to see what new information or insight can be surfaced. Create space to reflect on what the team has noticed, not just what it’s done.
Reflection
- Where in your work are you being asked to lead without clear answers?
- How could curiosity strengthen confidence in your team rather than replace it?
- What would it look like to pause long enough for a deeper insight to appear?
For many leaders, the challenge isn’t a lack of knowledge - it’s the weight of what they are already holding and what’s already known.
Unlearning invites a quieter kind of strength - one that makes room for curiosity, shared insight, and renewal.
Because in a world that keeps asking for more, sometimes progress begins with the courage to pause, reflect and start again with fresh eyes.
Images by Alex Shuper and Natasha Grabovac on Unsplash
