Getting comfortable with the uncomfortable

Getting comfortable with the uncomfortable

Healthcare, as well as IT, has been in an always-changing state for a long time – making my life (as the head of IT in a health system) always interesting and never settled. 

I would argue that these days the world is changing rapidly, not just niche parts of business but the entire world. This brave new world alters quickly, evolves rapidly, and businesses are disrupted all the time. 

So, what happens when you don’t change?

Consider the warning of Sears. 

Sears was founded in the late 1800s and initially sold watches via mail-order catalogs. Over time they became the leader in catalogs that sold almost anything you can imagine. Sears would later grow into giant stores that carried specific merchandise and would step away from the catalog of everything that made the brand. Eventually, ironically, Sears would be put on its knees by Amazon (a giant online catalog where you can buy almost anything you can imagine).

So, what happened? How did Sears get taken out…by a newer, cooler Sears?

Opinion: they got comfortable with what they were doing and became blind. They stopped forcing themselves to be uncomfortable, they stopped seeing the world through the consumer’s eyes, and they fell into the rut of running the business based on experience (also known as assumptions).

It happens all the time (*cough*blockbuster*cough*). 

You see it happen to people as well – they reach a certain status in their career and start relying on experience (assumptions) and become blind to the wants and needs of their customers (every business has them – often both internal and external). 

So, how do you get uncomfortable enough to keep seeing through fresh eyes?

To answer that, let’s get to the root of why people don’t like feeling uncomfortable.

Think about learning to ride your bike and hearing the training wheels are going to come off. Remember your fears? What will happen if you fall!?

Being uncomfortable can cause fear and anxiety. 

Now think about the first time you rode without them and stayed upright. Remember that excitement of flying free with nothing keeping you balanced?

You felt great (look Mom/Dad/Other – I did it!).

Being uncomfortable can make you feel good. 

So why do we stop embracing being uncomfortable?

We are all, on some level, social creatures seeking to be liked. People are prone to repetitive actions learned over years and designed to gain acceptance. If we differ from those patterns, we risk feeling insecure. 

In short, we learn to avoid risks to be well-liked.

So how do you get comfortable with being uncomfortable? How do you avoid blindness caused by experience?

  1. First, get started and stop waiting for perfection. If you never start, you’ll never finish. Become change-oriented.
  2. Allow yourself to feel the negative – don’t brush off your concerns but don’t start with worst-case thinking either. The worst-case scenario rarely happens and is often not that bad anyway.
  3. Take small steps to leave your comfort zone. Speak up, ask questions, stick out your neck a little bit at a time and, eventually, you’ll find yourself further out than you’ve ever been.
  4. When faced with a choice between the easy road (experience/assumptions) and the hard road, consider the hard road and the value of what you’ll learn (if there’s a reward that makes it worth it, of course).
  5. Embrace contrary people. They’ll say things others who are seeking to be liked will omit. Often, they make the team better at avoiding blindness. Just don’t let them drive the culture.
  6. Finally, talk to people. Learn what others see. Don’t ignore this or the path to blindness will be short.

Like all leaders, I’ve had to learn this stuff and made mistakes getting there.  Give yourself grace. The journey to being a good leader is a path that never ends. 

Safe travels!