During a phone conversation with a colleague about our cardio routines, I shared how I often rest my hands on the treadmill rails when the intensity increases. My colleague quickly called me out with a simple, “Hands-off!” What started as an inside joke became a regular accountability reminder between us.
In a later conversation, we realized that this “hands-off” philosophy applies to more than just workouts. It’s about not taking the easy way out, especially when things get tough. Whether physically or mentally, we often rely on comfortable habits that keep us from fully challenging ourselves. Actual growth happens when we embrace discomfort and let go of those metaphorical rails.
This mindset is just as important in leadership. It’s easy to default to familiar methods of problem-solving, leading, or handling conflict. But growth comes when we challenge ourselves and our teams to step out of our comfort zones. This is at the heart of a growth mindset—the belief that we can always develop our abilities by taking risks and trying new approaches.
The best leaders push themselves and encourage others to do the same, fostering resilience and a culture of continuous improvement. Like in the gym, if you’re not feeling the challenge, you’re not growing. Real transformation happens when we embrace discomfort.
Three actionable steps for leaders:
1. Push Yourself First: Identify an area in your leadership where you’ve been taking the easy route. Challenge yourself to approach it differently.
2. Encourage Your Team to Step Up: Assign stretch projects or encourage team members to take ownership of problems. Let them know failure’s okay and growth comes from trying.
3. Embrace Discomfort: Identify a difficult conversation or decision you’ve been avoiding and address it directly. Step into discomfort to model the ” hands-off ” approach.
In leadership, as on the treadmill, growth happens when we take our hands off the safety rails and push beyond what’s comfortable. Adopting this mindset helps us become stronger leaders and inspires our teams to grow alongside us.
