Learning, Unlearning, and the Exformative Edge
Capability building is more then passing on knowledge; it’s about experiential learning—applying concepts in real-world scenarios while balancing AI-saturated efficiency with human sense making.
This blog series delves deeper into the intersection of technology and human development, highlighting how you can build your resilient adaptiveness to thrive in the digital age.
In a world that demands adaptability, learning is often celebrated as the key to progress. But what if the real challenge isn’t just learning more—but also unlearning what holds us back?
“Learning is how you evolve. Unlearning is how you keep up as the world evolves.” – Adam Grant
Yet, unlearning is not merely about forgetting old knowledge—it’s about making space for new meaning. This is where exformative learning, a concept developed by Francis Laleman, plays a pivotal role. Unlike traditional learning models that focus on acquiring structured information, exformative learning is about stripping away pre-defined meaning, inviting us to venture into the unknown, and reconstructing knowledge in new ways.
Unlearning doesn’t happen automatically—it requires intentionality, courage, and discomfort.
Why Unlearning Feels Difficult
We don’t just learn skills and facts—we become attached to them. Our mental models shape our identities, our sense of expertise, and even our confidence. Letting go can feel like a loss. I discovered three core areas of unlearning:
Mental Model Unlearning – Reassessing beliefs, values, and long-standing ways of seeing the world.
Procedural Unlearning – Breaking free from outdated workflows, systems, and internal processes.
Business Unlearning – Letting go of legacy markets, products, or strategies that no longer serve the organization.
Of these, mental model unlearning is the hardest. It challenges deeply ingrained habits and forces us into discomfort—the very space where transformation to relearning happens.
Breaking the Attachment Trap
Exformative learning recognizes a fundamental human challenge: our attachment to what we already know. Why We Resist Unlearning?
This attachment doesn’t just apply to people; it applies to ideas, identities, and institutional knowledge. Organizations, for example, often resist change because they are deeply invested in legacy systems and rigid workflows which have become their comfort zone.
When looking for countermeasures, I like to explore why AI-assisted prototyping or low-code development isn’t just a technological shift—it’s an opportunity to unlearn deeply ingrained processes and embrace adaptability. But unlearning doesn’t mean discarding everything. It means deconstructing existing knowledge and selectively retaining what still holds value.
Exformation: Making Space for What Matters
Exformation, as defined by Kenya Hara and expanded by Laleman, is the process of removing unnecessary information to create new meaning. It is learning through subtraction rather than accumulation. I just finished rereading this inspiring book and invite you to check it out and share your insights in the comments.
In talent development, exformative learning happens when employees are encouraged to explore beyond their job descriptions, challenge assumptions, and experiment with new ways of working. For instance, I have been experimenting with a role marketplace within an organization to allow employees to reassess their current responsibilities, identify areas of growth, and pivot into new roles that align with their evolving strengths. This fostered a continuous cycle of learning and unlearning, preventing stagnation and encouraging innovation.
Think about how organizations mostly handle learning and development (L&D). Too often, employees are bombarded with excessive training materials and knowledge databases, leading to learning overload. Instead of enabling growth, this leads to stagnation because employees don’t know what’s truly relevant.
Moving from Content Overload to Meaningful Growth
The biggest challenge in corporate learning I notice today is still too much information. Many organizations assume that providing more courses and resources leads to better learning outcomes. However, studies show that information overload can actually hinder decision-making and engagement. Interesting research goes to drivers capturing the root causes of unnecessary cognitive load in a work team context.
Facilitative learning, rooted in exformative principles, focuses on curation rather than accumulation. It encourages:
Curiosity & Exploration – Encouraging self-organized, cross-functional learning that sparks new interests beyond immediate job roles.
Collaborative Learning – Leveraging peer networks, mentorship, and reverse mentoring to create knowledge collectively.
Embracing "Fail Fast" Learning – Viewing failure as a natural part of growth, where short-term mistakes are celebrated as learning opportunities.
Personalized Learning Pathways – Designing flexible learning experiences that align with individual career aspirations, rather than enforcing one-size-fits-all training.
A Practical Guide with 3 Cs of Unlearning
If unlearning is so critical, how can we actually do it?
Three behaviors see; to be essential for successful unlearning:
Curiosity – Challenging existing perspectives and exploring contradictions.
Courage – Being vulnerable, stepping into uncertainty, and embracing change.
Discomfort – Accepting that growth happens outside the comfort zone.
This aligns with exformative learning, where the goal is not just to absorb information but to continuously deconstruct, reshape, and rebuild knowledge as circumstances evolve.
The Future of Learning: Unlearn, Relearn, Innovate
The organizations that thrive in the future will not be those that simply provide more learning resources, but those that embrace exformative learning—actively deconstructing outdated knowledge, creating space for discovery, and fostering cultures of continuous reinvention.
To navigate this evolving landscape, we must:
✅ Let go of rigid attachments to existing knowledge.
✅ Practice exformation by focusing on relevance over volume.
✅ Foster facilitative learning environments that empower curiosity and co-creation.
In the end, true learning isn’t just about knowing more—it’s about knowing what matters and being open to reimagining everything else.
So, what are you unlearning today?
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