Author: Juanita Vorster
LONG LIVE THE COMFORT ZONE. It’s been getting a bad rap for years! Popular activities for team-building include exercises to help teams think outside the box, workshops that force us outside our comfort zones, seminars are designed to inspire attendees to embrace discomfort in the name of personal growth … the list goes on. As […]
LONG LIVE THE COMFORT ZONE. It’s been getting a bad rap for years!
Popular activities for team-building include exercises to help teams think outside the box, workshops that force us outside our comfort zones, seminars are designed to inspire attendees to embrace discomfort in the name of personal growth … the list goes on.
As with every story, there is more than one side to the tale of the Comfort Zone.
In the zone
When inside a comfort zone, the flight or fight response is significantly reduced, and therefore people can think and act with clear minds and passion in their hearts, because situations aren’t clouded with anxiety or fear.
Inside a comfort zone, a person can use all of their energy to be the best version of who they truly are, instead of a mediocre version of what theories and popular culture seems to demand.
The result of this best version of a confident, relaxed and authentic person is an environment where high performance comes very naturally.
Zone out
For purposes of growth and balance, it is necessary for everyone to move to a place of discomfort every now and then, with the focus on “every now and then”.
When exposure to experiences outside ones comfort zone occurs in an environment where time and risk can be managed, and expectations are proactively communicated, the experiences can lead to high learning, which is why pushing the boundaries of ones comfort zone is so popular.
The crux
Very simply, my point is this:
Bringing learnings from outside of the comfort zone together with high performance inside of the comfort zone makes for authentic personal and professional growth.
No workshops, no seminars, no exercises necessary.
The practicalities
Imagine if all workplaces had the privilege of ensuring during the recruitment stage to select team members with a perfectly balanced team of strength profiles that accommodate the weaknesses of others. A team that moves comfortably in and between a variety of comfortable skill sets, sensitivity levels, and life experiences.
Imagine if leaders had the skills to guide their teams on the weaving journey between high performance and new experiences.
Imagine if we all had the confidence to feel comfortable with feeling comfortable, and not fear the discomfort that goes hand in hand with growth.
With the MASSIVE changes that struck business in recent years, it is incredibly important that business leaders learn to be comfortable – and teach their people to be comfortable – with moving in and out of comfort zones. It is one of the most important skills needed to WIN! in the new game of business.
Contact Us at WeSpeak Global and follow us on Twitter
The articles, video and images embedded on these pages are from various speakers and talent.
These remain the property of its owner and are not affiliated with or endorsed by WeSpeak Global.
I realised everything you do is marketing after I recently stayed at a five-star hotel and found a major marketing problem lurking in the wardrobe in my room. Upon check-in I was welcomed enthusiastically, and my membership status recognised with a room upgrade. I was even presented with a welcome gift to thank me […]
Building brands takes time. Be patient. Branding is an overused, misused and even abused management term. People think brand is a quick design fix for many management ills. It’s not. Building a brand takes time to root and enact change. The reason being, brands can influence our emotion and behaviour and that doesn’t happen overnight. […]
Having left a secure executive position with IBM for the insecurity of starting my own business, I sometimes struggled Working From Home before expanding into ‘real’ commercial office space to accommodate staff and here are my Tips for Working From Home-or in your Own Business. Now, like many others, I find myself back working from […]
11 days ago was the last time I have been outside and even had the privilege to go for a car ride which gave me the promise of perspective. I had just returned home from the hospital, hopped up on all kinds of meds my body has never felt before, never been through surgery in […]
Last month, something happened to me at an event that hasn’t happened in well over a decade and How to Overcome the Fear of Public Speaking. I wish it were something cool like audience members throwing money and candy at me as they cheered “Bravo!” and “Encore!” But that’s never happened, and probably never will. […]
Problems, obstacles or roadblocks of some kind inevitably pop up on the way to our goals. I was recently reminded of a story about a dog and rabbit that exemplifies that oftentimes, problems may not be exactly what they seem to be on the surface. It takes courage to look deeper, even though it might […]
Is email is killing your company your primary method for communicating with your colleagues? Then you have picked up a dangerous habit that is killing your company. Here’s why. 1. Email exacerbates knowledge hoarding What is your companies most important asset? Knowledge! It might not be booked to the balance sheet but your value is […]
My South Africa was not supposed to be a hit. Ingrid Jones contacted me late on a Sunday night to explain the concept and to urge me to do a ‘quick one’ for an inflight magazine. I did the piece in less than an hour and went to sleep. Next thing I heard was that […]
Our Mission
© All rights reserved 2025. Created using VOXEL THEME
