Our minds go to a lot of trouble to keep us safely shored up in our comfort zones. Within these safe zones we carry out our normal routine, content in the knowledge that we have the skills and learned behaviours required to manage the situations we regularly face, whether at work, at home, or with colleagues.
And so the years pass by in a feeling of relative security, as our brains try to shield us from stressful experiences or nasty surprises. As such, our personal comfort zone does an excellent job of protecting us from danger, impulsive decision-making and potential embarrassment.
But the flipside is that our comfort zone also protects us from growth.
Why a Little Bit of Anxiety Pushes Us to Greater Heights
Research shows that performance rises significantly when we step a little out of our comfort zones. That is, when we achieve what’s referred to as “optimal anxiety”¹. This slightly uncomfortable state of mind exerts moderate pressure and pushes us to rise to a challenge, although if the stress is too great, then the anxiety overwhelms us and performance plummets.
The key is to set achievable goals that are currently just out of reach, and also to return to your comfort zone periodically to rest and recharge.
Successful leaders know they have to step out of their comfort zones at times in order to achieve optimum performance and keep building their skills and self-confidence as leaders. Those who step out of their comfort zone soon realise that the new skill or behaviour rapidly becomes part of their existing comfort zone. And so the comfort zone expands to take in more challenges, more interesting skills and a greater self-belief that positively informs each new task that comes their way.
The Benefits of Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone
Enhanced Workplace Productivity
You become much more productive at work. When you’re under a little bit of pressure, you don’t waste time scrolling through social media or do your job on auto-pilot. Your brain fires up to deal with the challenge at hand, and the work you produce consequently tends to be of higher quality.
Improved Stress Management Capabilities
You become better at handling stress. Because our comfort zone actively steers us away from stressful situations, when a difficult situation does arise we’re often ill-equipped to deal with it.
Pushing yourself to try new things and accept challenges familiarises you with positive stress and proves that you can withstand it. So the next time your boss raises their voice at you or a seemingly unachievable deadline lands on your desk, you feel better equipped to deal with the challenge.
Expanded Creative Thinking
Your mind will open to new ideas and ways of doing things. Expanding your comfort zone to new experiences and skills often opens your eyes in interesting ways. You might suddenly have a breakthrough on how to tackle a persistent problem at work, or realise that one of the systems you’ve been using is just holding your team back.
Stepping outside your comfort zone boosts your creativity and confidence, giving you a new perspective on existing challenges.
Cascading Benefits Across Life Areas
You’ll often find that stepping outside your comfort zone in one area of your life tends to make you feel capable of extending your comfort zone in other directions and areas too. Success in expanding your comfort zone in one area often creates momentum in others.
Team Transformation Through Modelling
Stepping out of your comfort zone can transform your whole team. As a leader you set the tone, and you might be surprised to see your team emulate your new enthusiasm for learning new skills and behaviours.
If you’re setting your team challenges so they can reach optimal anxiety levels, be aware that each person tends to have different levels of stress tolerance. You need to tailor your approach to each individual accordingly.
How to Expand Your Comfort Zone
Expanding your comfort zone as a leader might involve asking for that overdue salary increase or enrolling in a new training programme to improve your skills. Perhaps you need to deal with that challenging team member in a completely different way, or face your fear of public speaking. Any action you currently feel uncomfortable performing qualifies as an opportunity.
The growth opportunity doesn’t have to relate to work. Consider trying online networking, learning a new sport where you risk making a fool of yourself, or engaging in activities where you feel inexperienced.
Starting Small for Sustainable Growth
It might even be a few little things, such as taking a different route to work, or promising yourself you’ll try two new approaches each month. It can even be visiting a different coffee shop.
You can start as small as you like, but the key is this: if an activity makes you both a bit excited and a bit scared at the same time, then that’s a great challenge to go for to really expand your comfort zone in a meaningful way and reap the benefits.
The size matters less than the principle. Begin with manageable challenges that generate both excitement and mild apprehension.
The Discovery Process
Sometimes it’s necessary to find out what you’re actually capable of when you step outside the familiar. You’ll probably be surprised at the positive changes that expanding your comfort zone will have on you personally (and perhaps even your team).
The positive changes that come from regularly stepping beyond familiar boundaries often surprise both the individual leader and their team. Each new skill or behaviour that initially felt challenging soon becomes part of your expanded comfort zone, creating a cycle of continuous development.
Frequently Asked Questions About Leadership Growth Mindset
Building Confidence Through Expanded Boundaries
Expanding your comfort zone isn’t just about personal development. It’s about creating a culture where continuous improvement becomes the norm. When leaders demonstrate courage in facing challenges, they inspire their teams to embrace similar opportunities for growth.
Successful leaders understand that comfort zones expand naturally when we consistently take calculated risks and learn from each experience. The skills and confidence gained through this process create a positive cycle that benefits not just individual performance, but entire organisations.
Each new skill or behaviour that initially felt challenging soon becomes part of your expanded comfort zone. And so the comfort zone grows to take in more challenges, more interesting skills and a greater self-belief that positively informs each new task that comes your way.
By embracing optimal anxiety and stepping systematically beyond familiar boundaries, leaders build the resilience, creativity and adaptability that modern organisations desperately need. The benefits extend across multiple areas of life, creating momentum that transforms both personal and professional performance.