A couple of weeks ago I told everyone here on LinkedIn that I had said goodbye to my team and that I would be taking on a new position at work. It’s now been 2 weeks and I thought it would be a good time to give an update. I won’t write a novel about what I do and my responsibilities, but I will focus this update on one thing: unlearning!
I spent 10 years holding various positions in the same company. But although my new role is within the same company once more, this is a complete change. In order to succeed in my new role, I have to unlearn a lot of what I know and completely change my mindset. This is not because the organisation I work for has changed, but my new role is within an initiative that is completely different. I basically went from working for a large corporate organisation to working for a start-up incubated in a large organisation. We are working and operating like a start-up and this means that I have to roll up my sleeves, that no task is beneath anyone, that I have to roll with the punches and I can no longer expect all activities to be governed by end-to-end processes and governance.
Although I am thrilled and excited, I have to be honest, change is hard. This is a complete change of mindset and I need to unlearn a lot of what I’ve learned over the last 10 years. This also means that I have to redefine myself in a new context, discover who I am in this new way of working. As a self-development junkie, I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I love this part of the journey. The chance to be uncomfortable and discover who I am in this new discomfort!
And for those of you who read or remember my posts about being an introvert or an impostor, you might wonder how those sides of my personality feel in this unlearning process… Well, I am happy to announce that both my introvert self and my impostor are scared and remind me everyday of their discomfort, but that I am greatly enjoying teaching them that change is good and that I am actually stronger than I think I am.
Unlearning is hard!
