Get out of your comfort zone
Barry Whelan of Excel Recruitment offers some advice on propelling your career forward and getting out of that rut you might be in
Print16 June 2010
You have undoubtedly read or heard the following advice or mantras:
· Think outside the box
· Be a self-starter
· Dress for the corner office
· Go to the boss with solutions, not problems
And
·Get out of your comfort zone
This advice makes lots of sense, but what are the practicalities around implementing it and how would you apply this to your overall career plan?
When you’re planning your career or preparing for a performance review, you want specifics. What does ‘getting out of your comfort zone’ entail? What does it mean to be a ‘self starter’ or to ‘think outside the box’?
Over familiar
Traditionally, the ‘comfort zone’ is reached when an employee becomes over familiar and comfortable with their role and job. This means that the employee is without any challenges to keep them interested in their role or indeed to challenge their thinking. Employees in their ‘comfort zone’ tend to be very competent at their everyday role, but poor at contributing outside of this. And while competence in a role is very much needed, unchallenged employees tend to disengage from the big picture and become departmentalised.
There was a time when companies were responsible for pushing employees out of their comfort zones through development programmes, now it’s up to each of us to get outside our comfort zones if we are interested in moving our careers forward. In order to do this you need to identify your current areas of weakness and potential areas for development that will allow you to advance.
Of course, that brings us back to the question of what breaking out of your comfort zone means to you and to your employers.
Let’s be honest, if a company is looking to move an employee out of their comfort zone then they are really looking for that employee to change. When bosses and employees sit down to discuss breaking out of the comfort zone, they often fail to get specific enough and the employee isn’t left with solid guidelines. The employee should ask for direction and not just guess. Saying things like "sometimes just being a little more proactive and creative would be great” are too unspecific to create any sort of solid action.
What you can do?
Because getting outside of your comfort zone at work is beneficial to you and to your career, I want to give you some concrete examples.
Here are some tips you can act on to push yourself out of your comfort zone and into a better professional situation:
- Working with your boss: Accept new projects that expand your skill sets, including your leadership and project management skills.
- Getting out of your comfort zone could mean having lunch with new people: Have lunch (or even coffee) with a new person once a week for a full year. Relationships are built, career goals are shared and the career engine is fuelled.
- Asking for help is not a career weakness: By having a conversation with your boss and letting him or her know that you could be interested in some new opportunities, you could be making your own path- one that takes you out of that routine.
- Take the time to assess your limitations: Many people have anxiety about public speaking, for example. Find ways to practice and improve this important skill. Offer to prepare the weekly update for staff meetings or become involved in organisations such as Toastmasters to hone those skills.
- Learn how to speak up and hold conversations to unlock your potential for growth in the workplace: Separate people from the problem. Try to see others as reasonable, rational and decent human beings- even if they hold a view that you strongly oppose.
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