Did you know that you can greatly develop your skill for problem solving by pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone? Let me ask you a couple of questions. How comfortable are you when:
- You’re sure of your next steps?
- You know exactly how to solve a problem?
- You feel complete confidence in knowing exactly what to do?
The answer is probably: very comfortable!
Unfortunately, there’s a problem with this. The truth is you’re not actually learning and building new skills when you are completely certain about things. Getting out from your comfort zone can be an uneasy feeling. However, this is a key to developing your and your team’s skill for problem solving. It also happens to be the space where you are learning and growing the most according to a study by Yale News.
In this post, I’ll explain the different mental spaces, or “zones,” people can be in while performing their work and how to keep them in the zone that encourages learning.
This diagram below illustrates three different zones that you, your team, or clients can be in while performing their work. These three zones are defined as: the shutdown zone (red), the learning zone (yellow), and the comfort zone (green).
In my consulting and coaching roles, I’ve used this model countless times with team members and clients who are learning a new skill or solving a problem, to assess their emotional state and engagement levels. This model has been successful because it provides an easier language to communicate feelings while learning. For example, I’ve had team members and clients say:
- “Help, I’m overwhelmed and shutting down!” (red)
- “I’m feeling challenged, but it feels okay.” (yellow)
- “This is easy and I think I can be pushed more.” (green)
It is your role as a leader role to assess emotional states and keep the people you lead into the learning zone. It’s also an important skill and an art for leaders to know how to continually challenge their team, especially high performing teams, so they don’t get bored!
Let’s dive deeper into what these zones are, the characteristics of being in each zone, and how to guide the people you lead into the learning zone.
Learning Zone
The learning zone, also known as the “golden zone,” is where you want your team members and clients to be when they are trying to grow and develop. Additionally, it’s where you want them to be when solving a problem, especially a complex one. This zone is all about experiencing a healthy amount of uncertainty and ambiguity which will prime your brain to be in a learning mindset. This is the secret to becoming a better problem solver.
This zone can be a challenge to guide clients and team members into but it is well worth it because they will be learning and becoming stronger problem solvers. People in the learning zone exhibit characteristics such as:
- Not being exactly sure of next steps needed for success, but knowing that success is achievable
- Motivation to learn by doing
- Making some mistakes, but learning from them and trying new things
- Motivation to continue learning and developing because progress is being made, even if it’s slow
- They feel inspired to experiment with different ways of solving the problem
You want to continually strive to keep the people you are leading in this zone. However, situations can arise where your team or clients quickly shift into either the shutdown zone or comfort zone. This shift can be caused by a sudden and drastic increase in complexity on projects or in the skills they are learning, or inversely, not feeling challenged enough. Let’s talk about what happens when people are feeling overwhelmed.
Shutdown Zone
I’m positive almost everyone reading this post has been in the shutdown zone, or at least observed other people in it. It’s important to recognize when your team and clients are in this zone, because it can cause some extreme feelings of frustration and a loss of trust.
Being in the shutdown zone feels like you are overwhelmed, need help urgently, feel panic or anxiety, losing motivation quickly, swirling, or have no idea what the next step looks like. When you find your team or clients in the shutdown zone, do the following to help move them back into the learning zone:
- Encourage them to stop and take a breath
- Remind them of the goal they are trying to reach
- Empathize with them and acknowledge the feelings of frustration
- Ask them to identify one small step they can take to get back on the right path
- Provide as much clarity and guidance as you can to get them back on the right path
- Give them permission to take a break and come back to the work later
It’s very important to recognize the signs of the shutdown zone and lead individuals back to the learning zone as quickly as possible. When people are in the shutdown zone for too long, it can lead to disengagement and break trust. It can also hinder the motivation and ability to solve problems.
Comfort Zone
The comfort zone is just that, being in a state of comfort! It’s a space that we all have the natural inclination to gravitate towards. Unfortunately, growth and learning do not happen in this zone. This can also be a sign that that an individuals ability to solve a complex problem is increasing. Being in the comfort zone can look like:
- Having complete certainty of what to do next with minimal ambiguity
- Being familiar with a process
- Disengaged because they are not being challenged
- Feeling bored
- Knowing the exact steps to solve a problem
Although it isn’t a bad thing to sometimes have your team in the comfort zone, just be aware that high performers may start to disengage with the work. When you find your team and clients in this zone, do the following to help move them back into the learning zone:
- Use Socratic questioning and humble inquiry to help them think about issues deeper
- Ask them to solve a problem or project that they think would develop their skills
- Ask them to set personal development goals and coach them through it
- Coach them to experiment and learn by doing
- Encourage them to get out of from their comfort zone
Next Steps
It’s important to create a culture that normalizes being in the learning zone. Your high performing team and clients will appreciate the healthy pressure you are putting on them to further develop themselves, learn, and grow their skill for solving problems. Additionally, this approach will strengthen your leadership capability because you will be helping other people to become their best selves. The next time you interact with your team, I challenge you to:
- Assess which zone they are in
- Normalize the learning zones language with them
- Practice the tactics listed above to keep them in the learning zone