Recognizing Our Discomfort Zone

Each of us possesses natural strengths that allow us to excel at certain activities and enhance the contributions we make to the teams within our organization. These talents set us apart and make us unique. We are at our best when we can use our strengths on a regular basis during the workday.

Conversely we also encounter activities and tasks that don’t feel natural and may cause a great deal of stress. Our discomfort zone, as this area is known, may be small or large depending on how strong our preferences are in the areas where we have natural strengths. Some of us can flex more easily from one activity to another and understand the differing priorities of people whose strengths are dissimilar from ours.

Leaders need to know when they can expect to be challenged by an activity or task that doesn’t match their strengths. For some, this list is relatively narrow while others may experience a broad variety of circumstances that cause stress. My list is heavily influenced by the need to interact. Let me briefly explain.

I generally struggle when asked to make decisions solely based on intuition or feelings. Networking and taking risks are also more stressful activities. I prefer to downplay the role of emotion in favor of a logical approach to problem solving. My feedback is often more task-focused so this may give the impression that I lack empathy for the recipient. These challenges, when they appear in my daily work, can quickly tax my energy and stretch my effectiveness.

Your list will likely be quite different than mine. For this reason it is important that each of us understands the strengths of our teammates so we can collaborate with them to reduce the other’s stress level. If I love organizing and analyzing while my associate enjoys socializing and networking I could plan for the sales call while my colleague makes the cold calls to schedule the appointments. This means I must be willing to ask for help and admit my own shortcomings.

Leaders in engaged, highly effective teams understand each other’s strengths and preferences. They know how to leverage the talents in their group and they also willingly share their areas of discomfort by asking for help with those activities. By collaborating they can enjoy their work while reducing stress and appreciating the contributions of their colleagues. Acknowledging your personal discomfort zone could be the catalyst needed to propel your team to greater success.