Unlearning sounds negative. Like you’re undoing progress, walking backwards, or admitting you got it wrong. But if I’m honest, unlearning has been a huge part of how I’ve shifted both my mindset and my career forward. It’s been about getting out of my own way.

I’ve worked in this industry for nine years. Early in my career, I had a pretty narrow view of what it meant to be good at my job and to be a good partner to a brand. Be decisive. Have the answer. Don’t hesitate. Deliver the work. In hindsight, that version of “good” was neat, in control… and incomplete.

Somewhere along the way, I absorbed some unspoken rules about what bringing value and doing meaningful work are meant to look like. We tend to equate professionalism with behaviours that are polished. We mistake confidence for capability and clarity for correctness. Over time – as my work got more complex and the stakes got higher – I realised this mindset was holding me back from doing my best work. Being this way didn’t feel like ‘me’. 

Culture is serious business, and shaping it in a meaningful way takes care, good judgment and a willingness to move through the grey and the noise. These are some things I had to unlearn to do better work and be a genuinely good partner to brands.

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1. That Everything Needs to Be Explained

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In work that moves culture, over-explanation can be the enemy of both collaboration and impact.

I used to think clarity meant spelling everything out - the insight, the message, the why - for everyone, at every step. The more I’ve worked in storytelling with brands, clients and creatives, the more I’ve learned that trust is a creative tool. Leaving space isn’t a risk – think of it more as an invitation.

Over-explaining can flatten an idea or complicate collaboration before it’s had a chance to breathe. It can shut down curiosity and nuance. The best messaging and storytelling is felt, not explained.

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2. That “Ticking Off the Objectives” Is the Goal

Objectives matter, but they’re never the story.

For a long time, I treated storytelling as something you layered on top once the strategy was locked. Now I see it as part of the foundation. If the story doesn’t work early - if it doesn’t respond to a real tension or truth - it won’t magically appear later in execution.

This isn’t about retrofitting meaning. It’s about truly understanding the challenge at hand and building something that moves it and trusting your instincts. The best work doesn’t just meet objectives; it earns attention.

3. That Experience Makes You Certain
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If anything, experience has made me more comfortable when I find myself sitting in the grey. The real skill is moving through the grey instead of rushing past it. 

Earlier in my career, uncertainty felt like failure. Now I see that it’s sometimes a necessary part of the process. Especially when you’re working at the intersection of brand, creativity and culture - where there isn’t always a single right answer.

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4. That Having the Answer Is More Important Than Asking the Right Question
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I equated helpfulness with decisiveness. I thought that if I had the answer, I was adding value.

Now I know the real value often lies in slowing things down and reframing the problem. Asking better questions. Pressure-testing assumptions. Creating space for different perspectives to surface.

Impromptu soundboarding with the team around you is invaluable. Not for validation - but for friction. The kind that sharpens thinking and opens up new directions you hadn’t considered.

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5. That Professionalism Looks One Way
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I used to think professionalism meant polish and control.

Now I see it differently. Professionalism looks like empathy. Like flexibility. Like challenging each other kindly. Like being human, especially when the work you’re doing can make a real difference in people’s lives. The strongest partnerships I’ve been a part of are built on trust.

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I don’t think unlearning ever really stops. If anything, the longer I do this work, the more I realise how much of it is about staying open - to nuance, discomfort and other people’s perspectives. Getting better at my job hasn’t come from having fewer questions. It’s come from asking better ones, trusting myself and the people around me, and letting go of what no longer fits. That, for me, has been the real progression.