Have you ever discovered that you’re no longer comfortable in your “comfort zone”?

It happens more often than you might guess.

And it can happen to teams, as well as individuals.

What worked before doesn’t work anymore, and ultimately, it can be a blessing.

The “uncomfortable in your ‘comfort zone’’’ realization can happen slowly, subtly…or suddenly.

As once-comfort becomes discomfort, the desire to change grows, too.

Then, when the disparity between what you have and what you want becomes high enough, you’ll move and change and grow. 

The process is not always easy, however (change rarely is).

When you stretch and grow by choice, though – rather than being forced into it by circumstances - you’re likely to feel greater control about the process, pace, timing, outcome, and many other aspects of the experience.

Here’s some of what you’re likely to feel when you disrupt the status quo:

1. Exhilarated

You’re likely to feel more fully alive, for starters.

That’s because you have to be more attentive, more engaged, faster to notice and act on signals from your environment when you’re in new situations where you’re not quite sure of yourself.

2. Exhausted

You’re in potentially very different surroundings, receiving feedback that you don’t quite know what to make of yet.

You don’t always react in these circumstances in ways you understand or expect.

It can be exhausting to take all the change in, without the comfort of familiar structures, decision processes, and other means to sort, sift, prioritize, learn and do, all at the same time.

Sometimes at about this point, your old comfort zone looks tempting.

Resist to urge to retreat, however. There are better times ahead.

3. Exposed

It’s sometimes frightening not to be able to go back to what you used to do, almost on automatic pilot, perhaps.

Depending on how much you’re stretching the boundaries of your comfort zone, the degree, or speed of change can even feel dangerous.

You feel raw, exposed, vulnerable, off-balance.

It’s part of the growing process.

And you will get through it, yes.

4. Energized

Ultimately, the increased energy that comes with new range, new possibilities and achievement is much of what keeps you going through the uncertainty of change and transition.

Keep moving ahead.

It’s well-worth the risk and effort to grow beyond the once-comfortable zone that now no longer satisfies or fits.

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Let’s say you’re running a company or team, and suddenly you need to add new employees.

Before you do, remember what it’s like to be new.

Everything is unfamiliar, uncertain, and yet, you’re trying your best to lose the “new guy” label by doing good work, and making a good impression.

A colleague shared the story the the other day that her son, a college student, had recently started a part-time job as a food server.

He’s learning MANY things.

And many are not what management hoped he’d learn.

For example, these are lessons he’s taken away from his first few weeks on the job:

1. Don’t get to know your peers too well because they won’t be here long.

2. Don’t tell customers the truth.

3. Lie on the timecard…and never, EVER say your worked overtime, even if it’s necessary to get your work done.

4. Don’t believe it when management says they want to hear what you think and need to do your work better and more easily.

As you know from your own experience, unofficial rules sometimes spread through a group more quickly and completely than do official ones.

Think back on your own experience of being new to a company, team or job.

- What were the official rules you were taught?

- What were the unofficial rules you learned?

- What were the differences between them? Why?

- How long did it take before you felt you were doing your best work?

- What helped you most to be able to learn and do the job well?

- If the job turned out not to be right for you, what was your first clue?

- How can you use your experience as a “newbie” to help you bring someone onboard quickly and well?

Try these ideas as you prepare to bring your next new employee or team member onboard:

1. Help them to feel connected to the company.

Share the vision, values, and plan of action…and where they fit in.

Let them know how their best work contributes to success for customers, the team and company…and their own success there.

2. Help them to feel connected to you.

New employees are often looking for solid ground, and a sense of connection to something, and someone.

If they don’t get that from you, their manager or team leader, they’ll find it somewhere else.

And remember those unofficial rules we discussed earlier in this article?

The likelihood that new employees will be guided by lessons you don’t want them to learn and use is far lower if they feel they can come to and count on you when they need to, as do other members of the group.

3. Help them to feel connected to each other.

For most people, part of the satisfaction of any job turns out to be people they enjoy working with.

Teams can be a force multiplier, positively or negatively.

Create a good experience for employees. Set them up to succeed, and to believe that they can.

(People very quickly size up a new environment as one where, “I can be successful here,” or “There’s no way I can ‘win’ here.” They adjust accordingly).

Happier employees create an environment where good work can and will get done.

They also create an environment where customers are more likely to be happy, too…and to return.

4. Help them to feel connected to information they will need.

Show new employees how to find, access and use information and training they’ll need to do their jobs well, and to grow at the company, if desired.

5. Help them to stay connected to themselves.

New employees are trying to find a way to fit into the company and team quickly.

Yet, even as they’re trying to change, they need to stay connected to the best in themselves.

Your company and team will be stronger if each employee…including you…brings, and shares their best at work.

If you found this post valuable, share it with friends and colleagues who can use this information, too. You’ll also like the free weekly newsletter I publish. Sign up for the newsletter here.

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