What Are You Willing to Unlearn?

Last week I found myself at the top of a mountain in Japan, skis on, wind in my face, heart full.

I’ve been skiing for years. I’m a reasonable skier. I can get down most runs. But for a long time, my focus has been on keeping up - chasing my husband and daughters down the mountain, stretching myself to tackle steeper runs and deeper powder because they’ve encouraged (sometimes pushed!) me to do so.

Speed wasn’t the goal. Staying with them was.

And somewhere along the way, I realised I’d become very good at getting down the mountain… but not necessarily at skiing well.

But this trip, I realised something uncomfortable.

If I really want to improve, I need to change how I complete my turns.

And that means slowing down.

It means being intentional. Breaking old habits. Practising movements that feel unnatural and awkward. Repeating them again and again until they become instinctive.

It also means fighting the temptation to simply race down to keep up.

But speed without technique has a ceiling (and I am not really that fast!)

And this is exactly how we grow in leadership.

Most of us develop strategies that work. We work hard. We say yes. We prove our competence. We keep pushing. For years, those behaviours serve us well.

Until they don’t.

There comes a point where growth requires more than effort. It requires intention.

We have to unlearn habits that once made us successful. We have to adopt a beginner’s mindset again. We have to slow down long enough to notice what isn’t working - and practise new ways of leading, even when they feel uncomfortable.

That can bruise the ego.

It can feel like we’re regressing.

It can be deeply frustrating.

In my work as a leadership coach, I see this often. Talented, capable leaders who have achieved so much through drive and determination - and yet sense that the next level requires something different.

More reflection.

More humility.

More conscious choice.

Slowing down to go faster isn’t weakness. It’s wisdom.

It’s choosing long-term effectiveness over short-term momentum.

Whether on a ski slope or in the boardroom, improvement demands repetition, patience and the courage to let go of old patterns.

The next level of your leadership won’t come from more speed.

It will come from more intention.

What are you willing to unlearn to get there?

With love,

Sue