Traversing Comfort Zones & how to be less anxious about it

A post from my Linkedin Network that shared the image below prompted me to pause and introspect on my very own zonal journey over the span of 6 months.?

The Comfort Zone Model (derivative)

I was having extreme jitters earlier in the Fiscal Year after moving from a Marketing manager/ content spec/executioner to a newer, more specialized role. This transfer required me to learn new technology and reframe the way I think and operate. While training and support were provided over the course of 4 months, I felt like standing on unstable ground. I was deeply stuck in my FEAR ZONE. Numerous what-ifs made me doubt my capabilities, wonder about my career's future, and worry about what's next.?

I sought the counsel of my former direct manager and SithLord Mathew K. , and I still have notes from that June 30, 2022 call. These, I keep in mind whilst learning new skills and tackling a new set of challenges as I enter the outer crust of the diagram, and start traversing the "Panic Zone"... this time, with more ease.

For those who are going through the same journey across their learning and comfort zones, here are a few cherished learnings and reflections I’d like to pass on. These are some of the steps I kept in mind while we were implementing a shiny new Martech tool.

Tips to overcome Comfort Zone movement anxiety:

Take it one step at a time

Training for implementation projects can be daunting, especially when it spans months. Rather than taking in the syllabus as a whole and feeling anxious after reading through pages of to-dos, break off the learning and project plan into smaller steps and focus fully on the week's items.

Having an honest conversation with your implementation partner about your learning styles is key to bridging any gaps in skills and understanding. During the very start of our training period, I asked our trainer, "Is it OK if we flip the topics so that we can group similar conversations together?", “May I mirror what you’re doing in my system?”, “Can I run my list of questions through you every after a session?” Having these documented in one space also helps any follow-up discussions.

With this, I'd like to thank Monica Zayyany for being extra patient with me and my lists.

Visualize the end goal

As our Project Partner gave us the weekly updates and to-do’s, I started drafting a game plan that highlights how a campaign will run with each new learning. Having a visual reference of how I'm currently doing processes VS how they can be augmented with the tool I'm implementing helped me appreciate where I can add value.

During the third week of our learning sessions, I already created an internal directory that would help me see the connection of each campaign, sequence, document, list, email, and everything else, and how they are interrelated. This would help me and eventually, my team members determine what to build first when setting up and running a campaign. As I started learning more intricacies, I documented a complete campaign build how-to and a full guide in a living document which we can refer to once we go live.

Have the initiative to prototype

Even if we were far from implementation's completion, I started creating mini test scenarios that I can run independently and check up on with my Project Partner.?

I was excited when we learned about forms and engagement sequences and was keen to put them into practice. I considered implementing this across our major pages as a small side project to get the hang and feel of it. By going through this side exercise, I was able to 1) set up executable forms that already fetch relevant information and link the prospect to our data source, 2) create custom lists that collate subscriber information so that they would receive only the information they require, 3) and eventually, improve the process to build a preferences center that makes it easier to manage subscriptions. Making these smaller exercises even during the learning stage made me more familiar with the interface and interrelations of campaign objects.?

While this is not the first time I ran an internal project, this is the first time I’m handling a new, complicated Martech tool that would run and lift our marketing effort. This makes it more exciting - not just for me, but for everyone else!

Keep your stakeholders informed even if they’re not asking for it.

With this excitement comes greater responsibilities aside from tool mastery. Teammates would come asking, “Can this tool do ABC?” “When are you using it to run campaigns?” “Any results yet?” “Can you do XYZ for me?” Having intimate knowledge of what the tool can, and cannot do, without relying too much on your Project Partner and taking from your allocated Consulting Hours is a must! I would admit to over-communicating during the first few weeks. It has toned down since.?

Keep learning and improving

Automation and data reporting offers numerous opportunities for improvement!

Where you can, don’t be afraid to speak up, give feedback and recommend tactics, big or small, that can help your partners get their message across.

A key task I delivered every single day included creating a prospect endorsement for each responder I get. While I have already templated the reminder, I still must go to each prospect, create the instruction, and tag the prospect owner. This takes roughly a couple of minutes. A couple of minutes, for 20 or so prospects a day takes a good hour. By exploring the features and functions of our tool and discovering other Completion Actions I can include in automation, I made this segment fully automated. Saves me an hour a day, which gives me more time to do more value-add work such as run an audit, check the responder’s quality, and follow up when necessary.

At the risk of making this article too long, I'll add in my own tip from my personal ethos:

Ask for help when you NEED it

There's a common sentiment and mindset whenever teams work with Project Partners. Reading Project Partners' perspectives, and asking what their real expectations are from the get-go helped me pick up how to be an ideal customer for them.

A common mistake of customers would be assuming that the Customer - Partner relationship means the Partner will be doing the heavy lifting during the implementation session. While this is a valid option some may offer, this takes away from precious implementation and consulting time, which leaves fewer hours dedicated to knowledge transfers. I made it a point to do it myself once I've learned how to navigate around the task. Do I need our partner to set up a form sequence? No. I can do it myself, slowly, while learning it, then just use our time to consult if I did it right. By having this mindset, I was able to maximize our training hours and use the remaining ones to tackle more complex requirements.

Benefits of learning how to DIY during an implementation process:

1. Having more time to practice and familiarize yourself with the solution
2. Save on training and consulting costs - your Partner is an expert - ask them expert questions on complex scenarios, and figure out the basic ones on your own
3. Gain mastery before going live to avoid any hiccups
4. Have the confidence that you can deliver through regular application. The more confidence you have, the less anxious you will be
5. And finally, my favorite: you are allowed to make mistakes you can learn from during the training sessions. Having this opportunity early on will make you decrease its recurrence once you go live

Today marks the 6th month since I began this transition. We're now using the Martech tool regularly to manage our campaigns, big and small, and looking to expand its use cases beyond Marketing. I am, once again, entering a new PANIC ZONE: How do I pass on and simplify this information? How do I roll this out with very few instances of friction? Now that more people will be involved, how can I make this less stressful for everyone else- myself included?

Maybe I'll write back in 6 months!

#ProjectManagement #LearningAndDevelopment #reflections