Want to Perform Better? Get Uncomfortable

Originally posted on the Inc. website by Francesca Louise Fenzi & Penelope Trunk, excerpts below:

Do one thing every day that scares you; that was Eleanor Roosevelt’s advice. The idea being that the more you venture outside your comfort zone, the more you will learn and grow from the unexpected. Here are three great reasons to make your collaborators people who scare you (at least a little bit).

Great minds don’t think alike.

You hear this all the time, right? Partner with people who supplement your skills and perspective. Hiring or collaborating with people who think like you will only guarantee that you have more of the ideas and thoughts that you were naturally inclined to generate. Instead of hiring more people who are good at what you are good at, Trunk writes, consider hiring those with a completely new skill set and perspective. “This means that if you’re good with people, you need to work with someone who is terrible with people. If you’re good with numbers, you should work with someone who is terrible with numbers,” she writes.

Homogeneity is the opposite of innovation.

In addition to surrounding yourself with employees and collaborators who compliment your skills, writes Trunk, you have to give them the freedom and tools to do what they’re meant to: Rock the boat.

People fear what they don’t understand.

Don’t shy away from risky hires, Trunk advises. This doesn’t mean hiring someone totally unqualified for the position, just giving stereotypically scary groups–like Millennials–the benefit of the doubt. Or hiring talented people from surprising backgrounds.

Click HERE to read the entire article from the Inc. website.