To unlearn means to let go and make room for something new. While it may sound simple, Todd Roberts, CEO of Credit Union SA, sat down with Tim Lavis on the ThirtyNiners podcast to explain how this mentality has the power to reshape business leaders.
“Sometimes you’ve got to unlearn and then relearn. I think if we could all take the opportunity to really challenge our own internal biases and unconscious biases, and start thinking about taking information from different perspectives to rewire our way of thinking for contemporary thoughts.
“I know for a fact some of my thinking is dated, and I have to change because I’ve got a generational view that simply is not applicable anymore”.
The workplace for many businesses is a vastly different environment since the pandemic, and a number of businesses are now adopting ‘unlearning’ as an effective method of challenging existing business assumptions, biases, habits and/or attitudes to ultimately create a more modern and diverse space to do business.
Credit Union SA is a corporate partner of the ThirtyNiners group and Todd acts as a mentor for some of South Australia’s best up-and-coming business minds. The group may only be in its infancy, but Todd is impressed with how the members are already disrupting their industries but still open to continuing to learn.
“I can just see there are a group of disruptors here (ThirtyNiners Cohort). There’s absolutely no doubt about that, they’re taking traditional concepts, they’re looking at it through a different lens, and they’re asking the right questions about what can be done differently, and by the way, they’re going to be pretty successful while they do it”.
It’s not just the boundary-pushing business conversations that are a bi-product of the ThiryNiners formation, it’s the deep and meaningful relationships that are being developed, and that, out of everything, is really exciting for Todd to not only observe but experience on a personal level.
“I’ve already had really deep and meaningful conversations with probably five or six people that are now going to be assisting us in our business as well.
“They’re just fascinating individuals, completely different to me, but we’ve got a lot of alignment on some topics, but I know that I can be challenged by someone that is sub-40, which I’m not, and I just really feel good about those conversations”.
To learn more about the power of unlearning to be a better business leader, listen to Todd’s full conversation with Tim Lavis on the ThirtyNiners Podcast by the South Australian Business Chamber. Search for it wherever you hear your podcasts.
