Leadership Today - Practical Tips For Leaders
Business:Management
Research demonstrates that becoming comfortable with discomfort is the key to progress.
TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to episode 147 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we bring research to life in your leadership. This week we explore research demonstrating that becoming comfortable with discomfort is the key to progress.
Learning new things requires us to step out of our comfort zone. If we’re feeling comfortable, we’re not learning.
But it’s also natural to want to avoid discomfort. That can steer us away from new learning experiences.
New research shows that how we interpret discomfort impacts our ability to continue learning. The research by Woolley and Fishbach involved participants undertaking an improvisation class. Half of the group were given instructions for the activity and told the aim of the activity was to feel awkward and uncomfortable. The other half were also given instructions, but not instructed around feeling awkward and uncomfortable.
The researchers found that the group encouraged to feel awkward and uncomfortable spent more time actively improvising and took greater risks. They undertook more practice which gave them a greater opportunity to enhance their skills.
When we’re looking to grow and develop, we should anticipate and embrace feelings of awkwardness and discomfort. Instead of seeing these feelings as reasons to stop, we should instead see them as signs of progress and development. Changing our mindset around discomfort can help us to progress and develop.
REFERENCE
Woolley K, Fishbach A. Motivating Personal Growth by Seeking Discomfort. Psychological Science. 2022;33(4):510-523. doi:10.1177/09567976211044685
Episode 202 - How To Gain Input From Others
Episode 201 - How To Set Better Goals
Episode 200 - How To Overcome Procrastination
Episode 199 - How To Deal With Underperformance
Episode 198 - How To Ask For A Pay Rise
Episode 197 - How To Take a Holiday
Erica Keswin - Retention Revolution
Episode 196 - How To Build Trust
Episode 195 - How To Take a Broader Perspective
Episode 194 - How To Memorise A Presentation
Episode 193 - How to Deal With Cynicism
Bonus Episode - Ralph Kilmann - Conflict Management
How To Make Better Decisions
Episode 191 - How To Be More Assertive at Work
Episode 190 - How To Prepare for a Job Interview
Episode 189 - How To Deal With Pre-Presentation Nerves
Episode 188 - How To Work More Effectively With Your Manager
Episode 187 - How To Accept Feedback With Grace
Episode 186 - Why Identity Beats Personal Brand
Episode 185 - Compulsory Fun
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Commercial Edge: Unleash the Power of People
The emPOWERed Half Hour
HCI Leadership Revolution
Human Capital Leadership
The Power of Music Thinking
BusinessWISE
Business Wars