The Learning Zone
Growth happens outside of your comfort zone.
We've all heard that phrase or something similar to it.
While it certainly holds true that you're not going to experience much growth staying in your comfort zone, it's also possible to push yourself so far out of your comfort zone that becomes counterproductive.
The key is to find a sustainable balance that challenges you while also keeping you motivated.
The visual below is a common framework for understanding the experiences that best facilitate that type of growth.
Today, we'll cover a few tips for guiding your employees in their development by facilitating a supportive "learning zone".
Name it
Intentionality goes a long way here. When discussing the development activity in question with your employee, you are going to communicate the components below and the reason you are taking this approach.
This can even start with introducing them to the learning zones model. A shared language can be helpful as they navigate their own development with your support. It's also going to be easier for the employee to check-in with you when you have deliberately opened the door to those conversations.
Give space
One of the benefits to pushing outside of your comfort zone is finding your own way through it. If you hover over your employees development, you are going to restrain their growth.
I recommend letting your employee know you are there if they want or need support, but that it is important that they have the space and autonomy to develop the skill independently. This is the best of both worlds. You are making your support a known option without pushing it upon them.
Explore the range
It's important to understand that the various zones represent more than just three categories. It's a full spectrum. While we want people to focus on activities in the "learning zone"…those activities will vary greatly from one to the next. Things just outside of your comfort zone will be easier than things that fall just short of the alarm zone.
Your employees don't need to stay on an absolute linear trajectory here. Encourage them to push themselves when appropriate and to back-off when they need a breather. Most importantly, let them decide when each is appropriate. This is their journey, after all.
Brief alarms
Nothing is ever black and white. There are times where dipping into the alarm zone can be beneficial. It can help provide perspective on how much they have to learn. It can also expose them to new skills and methods from what they've experienced thus far. The key for the learner is to make these extremes short so that they are not over-extending themselves.
Over time, your employees might learn some things from staying in the alarm zone. Even in those instances, they will have likely skipped over certain lessons or knowledge they would have otherwise gained. And that's only if they haven't discouraged themselves in the process.
Encourage them to push themselves but also let it be known that they can come to you if they have wandered into the "alarm zone" and are feeling completely stressed and overwhelmed.
Normalize Mistakes
The whole point of getting outside of your comfort zone is to learn from mistakes. If we, as leaders, wanted to eliminate all mistakes we would never want anyone to leave their comfort zones. Unfortunately, many leaders want it both ways. They want their team to push themselves but expect no mistakes in the process. That's just unreasonable.
Part of the communication to your employee should include that you expect mistakes to happen as part of the process and that they'll have the grace from you to work through them.
This Week's Action Items:
Be intentional in how you communicate development activities to your team.
Let your employees know that you are there if needed, but that they have the freedom and autonomy to make it their own.
Encourage your employees to experiment with a range of different learning activities that will test their skills in new ways. It doesn't have to all be linear.
Let your team know they can come to you if they find themselves burnt out from pushing themselves too far for too long.
Let them know mistakes are part of the process. Frame them as learning opportunities to try it another way next time.
