How companies and managers can foster change and get out of the 'comfort zone'
What mistakes to avoid and what concrete strategies managers can adopt to stimulate courage and innovation
For some years now, one of the most frequently used expressions in the working world has been 'comfort zone'. This is a psychological condition that allows us to keep ourselves safe from feelings of fear and anxiety because we perceive that we have everything under control. We are in the comfort zone whenever we know very well what to do, we do it very naturally, without effort and without any kind of pressure, in an environment where we feel welcomed, perfectly at ease and where nobody asks or expects anything from us.
In corporate life, the comfort zone is usually described as an evil to be fought. One complains that one's colleague does nothing beyond his comfort zone and therefore does not take initiative and does not take risks and responsibilities. One complains about the management that does not innovate because it prefers to stay in its comfort zone. One complains about the customer who does not embrace new products because he prefers the comfort zone of old solutions.
Neurologists and psychologists tell us that we are the world champions of adaptation, that we are programmed to seek a comfort zone in any context. Seeking challenge, seeking stress, seeking the unknown is a rare, costly, one could almost say 'contronatural' inclination. Yet we have all experienced in our personal and professional lives that the 'leaps', the great steps of growth, always come through a journey beyond the comfort zone.
The battle of companies against the comfort zone"
This awareness leads companies to engage in constant battles against the 'comfort zone', which, however, often result in a great waste of energy, misunderstandings and widespread frustration. Let us see what the main mistakes of this 'crusade' are:
1) Blaming those who tend to squat blissfully in their comfort zone, highlighting this limitation as an insuperable character flaw and continually pointing out that the day's homework is not enough. This approach paradoxically has the opposite effect: you judge me, you make me feel disappointing, you further deplete that sense of self-esteem and self-efficacy that should allow me to 'dare'.
