Get out of your comfort zone!

When are you at your best as a leader? There are multiple types of leadership scenarios in any given environment. There’s direct leadership, coaching; small team leadership; being an individual contributor (yes) or serving as an influencer to name a few. My experience has been that when leading as a direct leader in an organization, I tend to feel as though I’m in my own personal comfort zone.  But we all know that being in your comfort zone is not when you grow. One of my all time favorite quotes is: “ A ship in harbor is safe, but that’s not what it's built for.” How do you operate as a leader when you are outside of your comfort zone? How, as a leader, do you ensure you are growing and learning from your leadership experiences?  How do you break out of a rut and gain new and deeper knowledge?

Although I have always been comfortable in hierarchical, military styled environments, my dream, for my own development, is to be more coach and influencer rather than the person being given the ultimate reigns of leadership.  The latter is much more interesting because your ability to influence others depends greatly on how you show up as a leader even when you are not designated as the lead. Of course, the U.S. Marines had a huge influence on my belief of leading from where you stand, but I have also seen other examples outside of the military that have resonated with me.  Noted leadership author John Maxwell has a book called the 360 Degree leader which dives into this topic nicely.

Since retiring from government service I’ve been in my own period of transformation.  If I’m being honest, I’m still in my cocoon and am hoping I emerge as a new version of myself, optimized for success. In fact, I would say that the style of leadership I have grown accustomed to requires a tremendous amount of adaptation when applied outside of a military or government environment.  I think I grew too comfortable in the hierarchical aspects of direct leadership over the course of a multi-decade career.  

If growth is the goal, you have to ensure you are taking firm control of the reins of your own leadership development.  Personally, I am beyond the age of halo wearing guardians looking out for me and lining up the next great opportunity.  I had this during the early parts of my career in government.  There were leaders who saw something and pushed me into different lanes ensuring my growth and development.  Now, I have to advocate for myself and even as a senior leader it can be a challenge. 

Growth in leadership requires deep experience and the variety of those experiences may be just as important. As leaders, I think we grow comfortable in the models of management we experience, especially those we experience early in our careers, and have a tendency to lean in on those opportunities that reaffirm what we believe to be normal. Seek the counsel of your advisors when thinking about changing things up, they will often provide insights in areas where you have limited experience

Here are some additional recommendations for those looking to break out of their comfort zone:

• Don’t be afraid to take on roles others may consider challenging
• Seek opportunities to lead that are not a mere extension or replication of your current role
• If given the latitude, create a role for yourself that is unique, challenging and different from your previous roles
• If you are not already, try to become a person of reflection - take time to digest your leadership experiences and reflect on how things went well, but also where you might have engaged or led differently
• Feedback is a gift.  Seek feedback from your own leaders as some of it will hopefully resonate with you, if well intentioned.
• Get out of your comfort zone!

Some of the best leaders I’ve ever seen seem to have a combination of skills which are more like a finessed recipe rather than a strict combination of capabilities or attributes.  The ability to adjust your commonly relied upon characteristics becomes amplified and critical to your ability to achieve successful outcomes in the modern day business environment.. 

Look to The Leadership Student Newsletter in the coming months on the vital characteristic of empathy in leading or my next missive on the age-old question of whether or not leaders are born or made.

#leadership #leadershipstudent #leadershipmatters #growthmindsets

MK Palmore is the host of The Leadership Student Podcast, a retired FBI Special Agent and veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps.