Challenging the Comfort Zone
In 2019 I was fortunate enough to be chosen to participate in a landscape service day at Arlington Cemetery in Virginia. The organizers had the volunteers service several large grass sections using a riding, gas-powered spreader. It was an extremely efficient and fast-moving machine. Since I had never operated one of these, I was extremely nervous working between the thousands of hallowed headstones. It had been quite a while since I felt out of my comfort zone, but that day I did.
Moving out of your comfort zone is uncomfortable. Leaving it means feeling uncertain about the future, requires being open to change and having a willingness to learn. The temptation, the instinct, is to not stretch and grow when remaining where you feel so safe.
Leaders know that growing their organizations is always about challenging the comfort zone. Choosing to play it safe could mean putting a ceiling on the organization’s potential. Rarely does an organization outgrow its leader.
“Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.”
~Brian Tracy
I discovered that I became better at leading when I challenged myself and took opportunities to develop new skills. Not everyone around the leader wants to experience growth and development, so choose your up-and-coming leaders wisely, then plant the seeds of growth, water them and watch them produce.
As a leader think about the ways to challenge your up-and-coming employees out of their comfort zone. Have them read an article and discuss it with you. Take them to a conference, to a new location and get them to give you their top take-aways. Let them lead a department meeting. Cross-train them with another leader. In doing so, they gain new skills, build their confidence, and grow as a leader.
After working for years in the facilities and landscape business, I started seeing a big need to grow leaders from inside the organization. I started developing and implementing new strategies to grow people’s desire to flourish. These programs pushed me out of my comfort zone. I started sharing my content and others were getting results, and again, I was out of my comfort zone.
“As you move outside of your comfort zone, what was once the unknown and frightening becomes your new normal.”
~Robin S. Sharma
Fortunately, I did not cause any damage that day at Arlington. I moved through the discomfort. As a result, the time became significant to me as I grew in my confidence and recognized I was a part of something bigger than myself. I got to be a small part in preserving history all while learning a new skill.
As I start thinking about 2023, I ask myself, what project is going to push me out of my comfort zone and to that next level? It can be the simplest of things that pushes us out there. What will you and your team do?
Keep challenging your comfort zone!
Jeff
