Five Ways To Step Out Of Your Comfort Zone As An Executive

Brett Hansen is the CGO of Semarchy, a data software company that enables organizations to leverage their data to create business value.

Today’s business executives can travel down two paths. The first path is worn, comfortable and made of familiar decisions and strategies. The second path is uncertain, risky and more challenging to travel down than the first. While the second choice is less appealing at first glance, it is rich with opportunities to continue one’s self-growth journey.

Stepping out of your comfort zone is crucial to succeeding in any industry. Company leaders who embrace change can better adapt to challenges and see the bigger picture when scaling their organizations. It takes resilience, a proactive mindset and a willingness to continue learning to achieve results. Although the corporate leadership training market value is set to grow by $18.59 billion by 2026, it is clear that becoming a courageous leader takes more than a hefty training budget.

While it can be scary, taking risks and learning the ins and outs of your ever-changing industry is worthwhile. Here are five actionable tips to help you step outside your comfort zone this year.

1. Always acquire new skills.

Never stop acquiring new skills in your professional career. Gaining a diverse skill set makes you a confident and capable leader in uncharted territories. Many successful companies implement learning and development (L&D) initiatives, empowering leaders and employees to continue expanding their horizons. A LinkedIn report shows these strategies to be successful, with 74% of respondents saying L&D has become more cross-functional in improving executive leadership, employee engagement and talent management, among other departments.

Across my six years with a multinational technology corporation, I held roles that focused on the customer’s journey. I took these new skills to my next job, where I took my understanding of business-to-business (B2B) tech customers and applied that knowledge to my work in product planning, management and marketing. I gained a new perspective on how these departments impact companywide processes. I brought all these skills to the table as the chief growth officer—a role that works to ensure consistent internal growth and scaling—at my current company.

If you are in the marketing department, try broadening your sales or product knowledge, or vice versa. Whether you are taking a business class or allowing experience to be your teacher, it is crucial to have an “always learning” mindset.

2. Solve problems through a holistic approach.

Executives who want to step out of their comfort zone must solve problems from a holistic point of view. This means helping each department collaborate to contribute to the bigger picture. For example, a broader perspective on business operations is necessary when making scalable decisions. Gaining a comprehensive data set across teams can give leaders the essential answers to strategize solutions.

Working together with your employees and communicating with them well will strengthen your problem-solving methods. In fact, Gartner Inc. reports that in a survey of 517 managers, a lack of information or materials needed to communicate effectively was among the top challenges cited. Remember that to create a comprehensive growth strategy, you need to take a step back to gain a holistic view of your organization.

3. Acknowledge and accept failure.

Failure is a part of life. Rather than defining it as a setback, accept it as a learning opportunity. Evaluate the decisions you made and reanalyze your data for the future.

As a leader, you must create a workplace culture that acknowledges and accepts failure. Take steps to talk to your employees about failure. Be transparent about the situation while emphasizing what everyone can gain from it. Creating an honest dialogue will help eliminate the phobia surrounding failure and allow you to tackle future situations with courage.

4. Listen to and accept feedback.

It can be challenging to listen to and accept criticism from your peers and customers. But understanding your shortcomings is pivotal to improving performance—and that is true at the company and product level as well as at a personal level. Seek honest feedback from leaders, peers, employees and customers. Ask them simple questions about their thoughts on your product and how the customer experience can improve. If you focus on the tangible value of constructive criticism, you will be able to look at your business objectively and make stronger business decisions.

As an executive, it is essential to remember that your work is not about you; it is about benefitting the customer and your organization.

5. Don’t shy away from lofty goals.

Don’t be afraid to set lofty goals this year. Set the bar high and create a road map of smaller, actionable milestones to help you achieve the lofty goals. Stepping out of your comfort zone means thinking only in terms of success—no matter the outcome, every step you take will lead you to the next career phase.

To achieve success, you must prioritize your self-growth. This means taking Robert Frost’s proverbial “road not taken” to push your own limits and ensure that you are always growing—in knowledge, courage and humility.

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