Alfonso Bucero, PhD & Randall L. Englund
Introduction
Learning anything in life requires an open mind. As project managers, we need to be open to new ideas. Reflect on how many assumptions, techniques, knowledge, and perceptions you have relied on that are no longer practical or relevant in today’s project world. Most of us are unaware of our mindset and perceptions; we employ them and remain in our pilot in our everyday lives. The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.
Choosing an alternative paradigm
Unlearning is not about forgetting. It’s about the ability to choose an alternative mental model or paradigm. We add new skills or knowledge to what we already know when we learn. When we unlearn, we step outside the cognitive model to choose a different one. As project managers, we are used to initiating, planning, monitoring, controlling, and closing projects. More and more AI substitutes the planning and tracking, resource assignment, and reporting activities done by AI software. It is amazing how many products have come to the market during the last three years, and it is a train that will not stop. So, we, as project managers, need to be focused on managing people, building relationships, using our influence, and practicing emotional intelligence. Every project manager needs to move towards learning, unlearning, and relearning new things. Many of the things we learned some years ago are not valid today for several reasons; please reflect upon that. Our focus needs to be people. See what happens in our brain when we learn, unlearn, and relearn in Figure 1.
For example, I (Bucero) rented a car several years ago to travel to the UK. I had never driven this kind of car before, so I had to learn the placement of the various controls. I also had to know how to drive on the left side of the road. All of that was relatively easy. The hard part was unlearning how to drive on the right. I had to keep telling myself to “stay left.” It’s why crosswalks in London remind pedestrians to “look right.” It’s difficult to unlearn the mental habits that no longer serve us. Another example is that most project managers started managing projects following a unique approach (Waterfall); now, organizations need to understand the different project management approaches and be supported by project managers to select the right approach to manage their projects.
I (Englund) used to make presentations in typical lecture style. I soon found that audiences wanted to interact, ask questions, and share ideas among themselves. I needed to change my approach and that led to being a more effective trainer.
We are evolving from formal hierarchies to fluid networks in the organizational context. But this requires a substantial amount of unlearning. Our instinct is to think of an organization as an organizational chart. We automatically escalate decisions to the boss. I often hear executives talk about being “more networked,” but what they really mean is collaborating across the silos. Becoming a networked organization requires decision principles that create alignment and autonomy. However, this requires unlearning in management, leadership, and governance. See Figure 2.
In the project management context, we are observing that we have more and more tools that can automate activities like planning development, resource assignment, monitoring, control, and report generation when managing projects, being a great help for the project manager. Hence, they need to focus more on the people side of project management. We are not talking about forgetting what we learned but being more effective when using our time to manage projects.
Our suggested process
1. Identify and recognize that the old mental model is no longer relevant or practical. This situation is challenging because we are usually unconscious of our mental models. We might be afraid to admit that the existing model is growing outdated. We have built our reputations and careers by mastering these old models. We have studied and educated in schools and universities that way. Many of us are scared of that situation, and letting go can seem like starting over and losing our status, authority, or sense of self.
2. They are finding or creating a new model that can better achieve our goals. At first, you will probably see this new model through the lens of the old. Many companies are ineffective in using social media because they still consider it a message distribution channel. They haven’t made the mental shift from one-to-many to many-to-many. Social is best thought of as a context rather than a channel. So, we need to evolve our mindset towards a new model.
3. You are incorporating new mental habits. This process differs from creating a new behavioral habit, like your diet or golf swing. The tendency will be to fall back into the old way of thinking and, therefore, the old way of doing. It’s helpful to create triggers that alert you to which model you are working from. For example, when talking about your customers, catch yourself when you call them “consumers” — this corresponds to a transactional mindset. Find a word that reflects a more collaborative relationship. The shift in language helps to reinforce the change in attitude.
4. Embrace a mindset of being authentic and acting with integrity. This means always saying what you believe and doing what you said for the reasons stated. Previous violations may have led to “integrity crimes” that distracted from leadership effectiveness. Unlearn these behaviors and learn better ways to communicate.
Summary
· The good news is that practicing unlearning will make it easier and quicker to shift as your brain adapts. (It’s a process called neuroplasticity.)
· Learning anything in life requires an open mind. As project managers, we need to be open to new ideas.
· “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them” (Albert Einstein).
· Unlearning is not about forgetting. It’s about the ability to choose an alternative mental model or paradigm.
· The old mental model is no longer relevant or practical.
· We are finding or creating a new model and need to achieve our goals.
· We need to incorporate new mental habits.
Bios
Alfonso Bucero, PhD, CSE, MSc, PMP, is the founder and managing partner of BUCERO PM Consulting (www.abucero.com) where he serves as an author, speaker, trainer, and consultant. He was a senior project manager at Hewlett-Packard Spain for 13 years. Alfonso received a Distinguished Contribution Award, the Award of Excellence, and designated a Fellow of the Institute from the Project Management Institute (PMI).
Randall L. Englund, MBA, BSEE, NPDP, CBM, is an author, speaker, trainer, professional facilitator, and consultant for the Englund Project Management Consultancy (www.englundpmc.com). Formerly he was a senior project manager at Hewlett-Packard for 22 years. He facilitates project management training for professional associations and teaches university courses. He received a Distinguished Contribution Award as well as the Jenett Award of Excellence from PMI
Bucero and Englund co-authored books and training sessions on The Complete Project Manager: Integrating People, Organizational and Technical Skills, 2nd Ed, The Complete Project Manager’s Toolkit, and Project Sponsorship: Achieving Management Commitment for Project Success, 2nd Ed.