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Unlearn to Lead: Why Your Leadership Playbook Might Be Expired and What to Do About It with Karen Ferris

Team Lab

Release Date: 12/16/2025

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What if everything you learned about leadership is actually holding you back? And what if the secret to thriving through AI disruption and remote work chaos isn't adding new skills—it's unlearning the old ones?

In this episode, we sit down with Karen Ferris, organizational change expert, author of eight books including Be Remarkable: Learn to Unlearn, and a voice that cuts through the noise on what teams actually need from leaders today. Karen has spent her career watching organizations struggle with change—and she's seen what separates the ones that thrive from the ones that collapse under pressure.

Big Themes We Tackle:

What does it really mean to be a remarkable leader? Karen breaks down her REMARKABLE framework—Resilient, Empathetic, Mindful, Adaptive, Resourceful, Known, Accountable, Brave, Listening, and Empowering. But this isn't just another list of leadership buzzwords. 

At its core, this conversation is about having the courage and self-awareness to say: What served me yesterday is no longer relevant today.

Karen reveals why most leaders struggle to achieve ‘Remarkable’, because they are often missing the foundations of:

  • Listening to understand

  • Empowerment 

  • Vulnerability 

  • Psychological Safety 

We also dig into why organizations are drowning in change fatigue—and why it's usually not about too much change, but too much badly handled change. Don't skip this episode, where Karen shares her proven formula for becoming more successful at better handling change. 

Connect with Karen

  • Find Karen on LinkedIn

  • Visit her website: KarenFerris.com

  • Check out her books, including Be Remarkable: Learn to Unlearn

Resources Mentioned

  • Alvin Toffler's Future Shock - The origin of "learn to unlearn and relearn"

  • Daniel Pink's work on motivation - Autonomy, mastery, purpose

  • Amy Edmondson's research on psychological safety

  • Gallup's CliftonStrengths research - Trust, compassion, hope, stability as key factors

  • Nick Shackleton-Jones on TikTok - The real reason for return-to-office mandates

  • The Westpac vs. Carleen Chandler case - Groundbreaking Australian fair work decision on remote work