Beyond Your Comfort Zone
How comfortable are you right now? Does it feel like more of the same each day? If so, there’s an opportunity available for each and every one of us, just by taking another step, a little further each day and moving beyond your comfort zone. When you do that, no matter how small the step is, you learn and adjust to a new set of circumstances. Over time this builds your capability as a leader where you can take others on a journey to success!
“Do one thing every day that scares you.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
BREAKING RECORDS
A March 2018 article about record breaking astronaut Peggy Whitson, highlights her “5 tips for success.” Late last year, the NASA astronaut set a new record for the most cumulative time spent in space — 665 cumulative days — by any U.S. astronaut, and any female astronaut in the world. She ranks eighth on the all-time space endurance list. Her most recent mission, Expedition 50/51, allowed Whitson to participate in four spacewalks, bringing her career total to 10. Her two previous missions to space comprised of two six-month tours of duty for Expedition 5 and Expedition 16 in 2002 and 2008, respectively, when she was a flight engineer on board the space station and shuttle. Now back on Earth, Whitson, 58, is enjoying a little rest and relaxation — and a mandatory post-flight six-month stay on the ground. As for what’s next, she jokes that she’s still trying to figure out what she’s going to do when she grows up. While she isn’t sure — or perhaps can’t share — what her next space mission will be, Whitson reflects on her meteoric career, and the lessons she’s learned about perseverance along the way:
- Be humble but determined
- Follow your gut
- Adaptability is key
- Do the grunt work with gratitude
- There are a lot of rejections on the way to the top
Her advice to young aspiring explorers? “Find that passion, what inspires and drives you and makes you want to go to work because the journey is part of the game,” she says. “Live just a little bit outside your comfort zone … challenge yourself and push yourself to do things you don’t think you can do because then you can live a life that is even more than you dreamed of.”
GLOBAL LEADERSHIP LESSONS
In my blog, “The Top 15,” I highlight what is very evident in my courage and leadership work where I regularly speak and work with successful people across the globe. Since 2007, I’ve spoken to over a 1,000 CEOs, executives, authors, politicians and even neuroscientists. When speaking to these individuals, I always notice common traits that they all have, which lead to their success. I’ve boiled all of these down into the top 15 things they have in common which are all about moving out of the comfort zone:
- They courageously know when to stay, step up, start up and when to leave
- They go above and beyond even if it takes courage
- They are willing to courageous fail so they can eventually succeed
- They have an action bias
- They set real and courageous goals that they can accomplish
- They truly take accountability for themselves and their actions
- They lead change instead of being affected by it
- They can communicate their story and what they stand for
- They ask the right questions to the people who can deliver the right answers
- They are life-long learners
- They know who they are and their place in the world
- Using setbacks as steppingstones
- They are more driven about the journey than the outcomes
- They create instead of just consume
- They don’t shy away from tough conversations
GROW in the LEARNING ZONE
Janet Makepeace in an October 2020 blog outlines, “Beyond Your Comfort Zone: Grow in the Learning Zone.” As aleader, running towards comfort in your career can be a roadblock to your success. Experience and knowledge that you bring with you on your leadership journey shapes your ability as you take on broader leadership roles. Becoming comfortable can stagnate your leadership growth, so being intentional about being uncomfortable could bring more growth and ultimately more success. During your leadership journey, you’ll come to crossroads where you need to decide what direction you want to go. Do you choose the road you know, or do you chose the unknown route? The unknown route, will for sure be up a hill or filled with curves. The decision should be made based on your desire to develop as a leader. If you stay in your “Comfort Zone,” that is fine and don’t expect great continued learning. In the comfort zone, you thrive and can perform your role with your eyes shut. If you chose the unknown road, you’d likely enter the “Learning Zone.” In the learning zone, you won’t have all the answers and will be forced to explore new information and ways to perform in your role = growth! The zone you want to avoid is the “Panic Zone.” When you are here, you could feel helpless, anxious, or stuck. Preventing entry into the panic zone is essential to be able to perform. There are several things to help you manoeuvre when you chose the uncomfortable road into the learning zone:
- Bring a Growth Mindset. “A “growth mindset,” thrives on challenge and sees failure not as evidence of unintelligence but as a heartening springboard for growth and for stretching our existing abilities.” Carol Deweck, Stanford University, author of Mindset, The New Psychology of Success
- Work with a Coach. Working with a coach won’t give you advice and will provide you a partner to challenge you to discover unknown awareness and how adapting your actions can lead to better results. When you are learning, a coach will support, not direct, your journey
- Value your Team. You are leading a team that has most likely been there longer than you. Connecting with and learning from your team early on can help you springboard into understanding what you’ll need to be learning. If you ignore the value of your team, it could take significantly longer to get where you want to go
Like any other journey, be prepared when you take the road into the “Learning Zone.” This zone is where you will thrive in growth as a leader, so set yourself up for success by bringing the right mindset and partnering with those who can help you the most. (Senninger, 2000). Read more about getting out of your comfort zone, and challenging yourself.
NOW, STEP UP to your NEXT LEVEL of Leadership
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Stay Kind. Stay Courageous.
Sonia x
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