Working outside our comfort zone
The Yerkes-Dodson law demonstrates that performance increases with moderate challenge up to an optimal point, beyond which it declines. This foundational research established that working just outside what we consider to be comfortable produces peak performance.
When I work with teams and individuals and talk about the nature of engagement and its relationship with performance, I always stress two points.
Firstly, it’s incumbent on the organisation to provide its employees - regardless of what they do - with a sufficient level of challenge and/or development. Not only does this generate emotional capital between leaders and employees, but also it demonstrates the organisation’s commitment to improve those that they employ.
In my 10 years of working with organisations I've never met anyone, regardless of age or experience, who doesn’t want their organisation to invest in their development. Either through opportunities to do something different, structured learning or coaching.
Secondly, it’s incumbent on the individual to want to improve at what they do. This not only means remaining focused on what they’ve been tasked with doing, but also investing their own time and energy (sometimes outside what may be considered as ‘normal’ working hours) to develop their skills.
In this short video David Beckham describes how Eric Cantona routinely stayed after training to perfect his technique; deliberate practice that distinguishes elite from good players.
Of course, the organisation culture has to support not only learning, but also any time that we choose to develop ourselves. Sometimes organisations will fund outside learning, other times members of staff will devote extra time to help those who wish to better themselves (the Manchester United coaches will have supported the players who stayed later).
Researchers Kiknadze and Leary found that individuals who valued pushing themselves out of their comfort zone demonstrated greater confidence in their ability to perform tasks that fell outside their comfort zone, and showed reduced anxiety.
Researchers Woolley and Fishbach also found this to be true.
Research from Josh Bersin underlined this analysis. When his team asked 2400 employees what inspired them and made them happy and work harder, the top three factors were:
The work itself - within the comfort zone
The opportunity to grow and learn - outside the comfort zone
The company culture - the environment that supports learning and growth
This sounds straightforward, yet organisations consistently get the balance wrong.
Often I’ll hear leaders talking about people being outside their comfort zone for extended periods, in order to achieve sustained results. However, the research shows that when we experience this discomfort for too long, it has the opposite effect and starts to become demotivating.
We want work to feel taxing, but not too taxing, for too long. Or as Kiknadze/Leary say ‘to the point of distress’. When we feel forced to undertake tasks - often without guidance or support - that feel like too much of a stretch for our existing capabilities, not only does it lead to anxiety, stress and a loss of confidence, it also undermines our current performance.
The response from leaders is often to say that we are ‘struggling with the extra workload’ when the reality is that the discomfort is generating feelings that may lead to a fixed mindset, where we tell ourselves that we are incapable of doing the work.
The Yerkes-Dodson law demonstrates that when we operate a little outside our comfort zone, it does wonders for our mindset, motivation and commitment to work more closely with our teammates. But when we spend extended time there, it can impair how we feel about ourselves; and that’s a zone that none of us want to find ourselves in.
