Chamber of Discomfort: Harnessing this powerful asset
Sooner or later, those serious about transformation must encounter the Chamber of Discomfort. While this space can be unnerving, visiting is imperative for those wanting enhanced leadership, well-being and wealth potential. Following on from Flame of Activated Hope: Ignite Your Leadership, and based on insight and inspiration from Chellie's book The Catalyst’s Way, we further explore this powerful asset, another essential skill that every effective catalyst and leader must harness.
Discomfort can manifest in various ways. Perhaps it appears when navigating differences in culture, history, perspectives, ideas, ideologies, and judgements. Or it could present itself in how we think and feel about ourselves and our past, upbringing, families, and ancestors, or, maybe with the financial climate, diversity within teams or reviewing business performance. In the rapidly developing business landscape, bringing awareness to discomfort can open a doorway to profound insight and plant the seeds for opportunity, growth, renewed perspective and transformation, which could reveal itself through more effective, even breakthrough, decision-making, or more resilient teams.
Ask yourself: Is the future we envisioned when we activated hope worth some discomfort? Yes, the answer is always an unequivocal and resounding yes.
Benefits of stepping outside of your comfort zone include:
Finding the place where groundbreaking ideas take root and thrive
Improving organisational communication, conflict resolution, resilience, agility and diversity
Growing sustainable success, improving short- and long-term performance, well-being and wealth
Inspiring the motivation and momentum for moving forward and driving valuable change
Leading through relational discomfort
Embracing the uncomfortable can shed previously unseen light on relationship dynamics, collaborations, perceptions and emotions. Discomfort, in terms of relational work, can have many facets, from being culturally instituted, socially constructed, or ignited by critical events. Kate Hilton, faculty member at George Washington University elaborates, “Relational work is [also] about creating discomfort", and this could be with time, practising new skills, fears around how others might perceive us, how we might apply this in our culture or setting, and strategic failures, "So many different forms of discomfort come up for people; it’s incredible.”
Relational discomfort can provoke many emotions, like anger, frustration, or sadness. Some people thrive on this discomfort (with themselves or making it so for others), others withdraw, and some stay silent due to fear, anxiety, not wanting to say the wrong thing, feeling unsafe, or harbouring deep-seated feelings of cynicism, blame, or loathing. Leaders must guide people through the discomfort. Rather than imposing solutions, ask reflective and open questions. Listening to the stories of others and hearing others on your team or in your organisation relate or agree can endow a sense of unity. For leadership, the delicate art lies in navigating this, and the hallmark of strong leadership is understanding that often, discomfort is an impetus for change and growth.
Nine essential strategies for navigating discomfort
Safety-first. Ensure your organisation has a culture that fosters a safe environment where team members can express discomfort without fear.
Practise divine disgruntlement or strategic discomfort. Many artists are familiar with this discomfort and dive straight into its abyss. As Dr Cyan Brown, board member at Atlantic Institute says, consciously move beyond comfort but do not go so far that it becomes threatening and people close down.
Be prepared to bounce off each other. Dominic Campbell, artistic director and senior fellow at Global Brain Health Institute (Dublin) finds that “People arrive into spaces like billiard balls. They arrive in very different ways.” He sees that spaces need to be welcoming but also appreciates that they must allow complexity to exist. Manoeuvring through and guiding people with diverse ideas can be unnerving, but resist the urge to fight this and let it be present as a creative energy.
Face it. Facing forward is the only way. Leadership demands the courage to confront challenges head-on.
Stay in relation or stay connected. It can be tempting to withdraw under protest, and while we should always leave unsafe spaces, sometimes we leave situations to avoid uncomfortable feelings. Bear in mind that this difference can be extremely subtle.
Stay connected to a stable centre. Ground yourself, your leadership and your team in a foundation of values. You could recall the values flaming your activated hope or look at ones like reciprocity, respect, and recognition. The centre and these values will allow for more profound levels of engagement, act as a guide through the discomfort and keep us connected to possibilities rather than responding from locked-and-loaded or reactive positions.
Have the eyes of an outsider. Opportunity begins outside of our comfort zones. Keep your perspective fresh and evolving. To inspire agile and out-the-box thinking, seek insights from diverse external sources, experiences and industries.
Master your listening skills. Sitting with discomfort begins with listening, and silence is your secret weapon. While the ability of leaders to express themselves well is absolutely an advantage, listening to yourself, your instincts, your environment, and your team is priceless. Actively listening to your team can foster unity and promote a culture of openness. Attentively watching out for unspoken nuances and nonverbal cues can provide invaluable insights for decision-making and navigating team dynamics. The most effective leaders are master listeners.
Embrace the power of silence. Discomfort presents itself for exploration within the textures of silence, and listening allows the awareness to transform this. Silence is not merely an empty space but one full of insights ready to be probed and examined. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
To sum up…
Think of the Chamber of Discomfort as your catalyst for fostering resilience, innovation and sustainable success. Be an alchemist who transforms energy by implementing the nine strategies and sharpening those listening skills. By harnessing discomfort, you can create more opportunities to transform your leadership, wealth and well-being potential.
