Edition 26: Staying In The Learning Zone

A good workout, an important presentation, a competitive game, a day of chores, or even writing a compelling article requires individuals to “get into the zone.” The zone can be different for everyone, but it is essentially a positive state where one can achieve peak performance. You are completely focused and connected to the task at hand.

Many have referred to “the zone” as achieving a state of FLOW. No matter what you call it, you can feel it when you are there. Time passes quickly. You enjoy what you are doing. Your mind and body feel elevated and able to accomplish anything.?

But the problem is getting there. Entering that elusive ZONE.

Finding Confidence in the Learning Zone

As we studied COACHABILITY in leaders, we were surprised at how many leaders become less coachable with age and promotion.?

There is strong resistance among senior leaders to enter the learning zone.?

This could be because they focus more on giving feedback, not receiving it. But, to understand WHY someone is unwilling or unable to enter the learning zone, we needed to dig a little deeper.?

Author Kevin Wilde, whom we worked closely with in these studies, featured a study of 300 leaders that compared coachability and confidence in his bestselling book?Coachability: The Leadership Superpower.?

He found that leaders with less confidence were LESS likely to be seen as coachable. These leaders were in the “I Can’t Zone,” where feedback is seen as a threat and should be avoided. They were afraid to ASK for it.?

On the other side of the learning zone sat a different type of leader whose confidence led them into the “I Don’t Care Zone,” where feedback is dismissed as irrelevant.

“The magic of the coachability curve is in the middle,” said Wilde, “enough confidence to learn more and enough humility to want to.”

Sally Grimes, CEO of Cliff Bars, echoed senior leaders' struggles. She said,?“Early on in my career, I had the feeling that I had to be the smartest person in the room coming out of business school, which led to some mistakes...Humility is not the opposite of confidence. It’s the freedom to learn.”

Learning Zone Tip 1: Check your confidence.?

Seeking after The Learning Zone

We found that what set highly coachable leaders apart was their scores on one particular survey item in their 360-degree assessment:

Does this person SEEK and RESPOND to feedback?

Coachable leaders continually SEEK after feedback. They have mastered this habit, and because of the positive way they RESPOND to that feedback, the door opens for them to get more.?

You won’t get far into a LEARNING zone if the people around you are afraid to tell you what you need to hear. When they look at you, do they see a cheery welcome sign on the door inviting them in or a chained-up padlock fence that says, “Keep Out”??

There are meaningful COACHABLE moments that can happen daily if you are willing to be in a place to ask for and receive them.?

You’re not alone if you avoid feedback. Most people do because they don’t enjoy being criticized, and the feedback that requires you to change can leave you feeling quite vulnerable. We work with leaders to train them to be better at GIVING feedback in positive ways. But what these leaders may not fully understand is that they also have to train themselves to RECEIVE feedback, and that is where COACHABILITY comes in.??

Examine how you feel about positive and corrective feedback.

·??????Why do you fear it?

·??????Is it the fear of heated arguments or impossible demands??

·??????Have there been past experiences that have made it difficult to ask for feedback?

·??????What feedback experiences have benefited you???

Consider the steps you need to take to leave a feedback-adverse environment and enter the learning zone.?

Learning Zone Tip 2: Deal with the feedback demons.

The Learning Zone Emerges from Cultivating Curiosity?

Curiosity emerges when leaders stop feeling the need to defend what they have done and how they acted. Instead, they move toward trying to understand what led others to form a negative impression. Most of the time, leaders' intentions are positive, but the reactions of others can be negative.?

Curiosity leads to breakthroughs, but we often stifle it. Harvard Professor Francesca Gino studied curiosity in over 3,000 employees from various industries. She reported that?just one-quarter of the employees reported feeling curious on the job regularly.

Gino said, “Curiosity encourages members of a group to put themselves in one another’s shoes and take an interest in one another’s ideas rather than focus only on their own perspective. That causes them to work together more effectively and smoothly: Conflicts are less heated, and groups achieve better results.”

Be curious about the WHY in coachable moments. Taking the time to understand your reaction also be very enlightening. Renew your sense of wonder and take advantage of those coachable moments.?

Learning Zone Tip 3: Cultivate Your Curiosity

The road to becoming a more coachable leader starts with your mindset. Your willingness to enter the LEARNING ZONE. In the past, we might have assumed that, eventually, leaders could graduate from this ZONE and that their mental time and efforts should be focused on COACHING others. However, Zenger Folkman has found that the most effective leaders are BOTH COACH and COACHABLE.

So get into the zone.?

Your friendly neighborhood psychometrician,

Joe Folkman

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WEBINAR—The LEARNING Zone: Cultivating Confidence, Humility, and Curiosity

July 26, 2023, 11:00am PT, 12:00pm MT, 1:00pm CT, 2:00pm ET

Getting into “The ZONE” can be quite challenging when it comes to learning. With some leaders being held back by confidence and others by apathy, the key to valuing self-improvement lies in channeling your curiosity.?

Join Zenger Folkman for a brief Coachability Power Session focused on:

? Helping leaders develop the right mindset for valuing self-improvement,

? Challenging them to check their confidence and seek feedback,

? And inspiring them to cultivate curiosity in a variety of ways.?

Register Now!

Zenger Folkman is excited to announce the launch of our NEW development experience, COACHBILITY.?

Coachability increases the payoff from all development initiatives by helping participants to:

• be aware of their?resistance
• develop?positive responses to feedback?from others
• create valuable?new habits.?

Learn more!