Andrew shared with me two experiences of stepping out of his comfort zone. In an inception like move one was contributing to my blog! 

The common theme I noticed in Andrews experiences is that he plans. I personally find planning a great way to get out of my comfort zone too. Something about controlling what you can I think. 

Anyway, back to Andrew’s stories. 

His first example was taking the opportunity to act in a higher position at work. He took the opportunity as it was great for his career development, and has now done it on numerous occasions. After initial excitement about the chance to show that he could do the role, Andrew ‘’soon changed to feeling anxious and nervous about not having the skills to do the role adequately and the sense and fear of failure kicked in. I was thinking ‘I can’t do this. I am not capable; do I have what it takes?’” 

Andrew’s next steps were to “seek support and set out a plan so I wouldn’t fail’’. This included speaking with mentors, reading as much as he could and trusting his existing skills and knowledge. 

And the result?  Success! 

‘’The outcome in the end was I found this experience to be challenging but at the same time I learnt so much from the experience both personally and professionally. For me stepping out of my comfort zone does not come naturally but when I reflect back on experiences that required me to do so they are generally always beneficial.’’ 

I see similarities to Nolle’s ‘Valley of Despair’ in Andrews story.  

And then to our story about the story.  

‘’Being a naturally introverted person it is certainly out of my comfort zone to put myself out there and express myself in a public forum about my insecurities and or weaknesses. But when I read the post for this I thought why not…… I volunteered to partake in the blog because I am not a strong writer and felt it would help with self-reflection and my development as a leader in Telstra.’’ 

Once Andrew had volunteered I sent him an email with my interview questions, which triggered ‘’oh no what am I going to write about and how is it going to be perceived?’’ thoughts. 

Once again Andrew started with a plan. Some pencilled ideas, a plan on how he was going to attack the challenge and just started. ‘’ Sometimes just getting making a start is all it takes, then the ideas start to flow. I think this goes for anything in life getting started is the hardest thing whether that’s at work on a new project, fitness program or a New Year resolution.’’ 

I will let Andrew have the last words, they capture his experience (and I think those of many others) well: 

”When I look back on both of these experiences I feel a sense relief (that I survived) and satisfaction at being able to complete something that required me to “Step Outside My Comfort Zone”. 

”It is not always a positive experience when you step out of your comfort zone but I think there are always valuable learnings taken from all these experience whether it is positive or negative. I think there will be many more occasions in the future where I step out of my comfort zone, it probably occurs every day at work with a something as simple as a difficult conversation with a colleague or customer. 

”If someone is hesitating at stepping outside their comfort zone (something big or small) I would say jump at it and enjoy the challenge. You will certainly look back on it and think wow did I actually do that.” 

Thanks Andrew. 

A bit about Andrew: 

* I am Andrew Morgan a Field Technician in Nth NSW Tamworth Team 

* I have been in Telstra since 2014 starting as a trainee. 

* Since joining Telstra I have been fortunate to do relief work as the NBN ROS 

* I am currently participating in the Step into Leadership Program 

* I recently completed an Adv Dip Business Leadership and Management 

* I have a keen interest in Change Management 

* Lastly, I follow the AFL and I barrack for the Mighty Hawks!!