Tag: Comfort zone

Has #GC2012 Taken You to the Edge of Your Comfort Zone? (@TheKLC: 5 of 10)

Posted on by Andrew Conard

This past fall and winter, I had the opportunity to take part in the Leadership and Faith: Transforming Communities program through the Kansas Leadership Center with the Missions team at Resurrection West. I want to share my reflections and learnings from that time in light of the General Conference 2012 of The United Methodist Church.

If General Conference 2012 has taken you to the edge of your comfort zone, you are in the right place to make progress on the issues about which you care deeply. Too far inside your comfort zone and it may be difficult to make more progress than has already been accomplished. Too far outside your comfort zone and you may be unable to effectively take action.

The edge of your comfort zone is the place where you start to feel incompetent.

This is the place where progress is most likely to occur.

Related articles

@HarvardBiz and the UMC: The Right Mindset for Success

Posted on by Andrew Conard
Mindset (book)
Image via Wikipedia

One of my favorite podcasts is the HBR IdeaCast. Episode 283, The Right Mindset for Success, focuses on the distinctions between a fixed and growth mindset. One of the most helpful portions was about supervision and management. This list, from Carol Dweck, describes the methods and message that a manager or leader could give to new employees that would put them into a growth mindset:

  • We value passion, dedication, growth and learning; not genius.
  • We do not expect that you have arrived here fully formed. We expect that you have arrived here ready to learn.
  • We expect you to stretch beyond your comfort zone and take reasonable risks. We do not expect you to do the same thing you are good at over and over and stay in your comfort zone.
  • We value and reward process, taking on big but reasonable challenges, dogged pursuit of challenges and teamwork.
  • Even without success we reward that you have engaged in the process in a wholehearted and smart way.

I have much to learn from these methods in the way that I supervise staff and volunteers. These methods would be helpful for:

  • Pastors with staff and volunteers
  • Board of Ordained Ministry with candidates
  • Bishops and District Superintendents with appointed clergy.