Do You Practice Making Yourself Uncomfortable? And Are You Leading Your Team to Do the Same?
Leadership isn’t about being in control. It’s about being in motion—pushing forward, stepping into uncertainty, and deliberately choosing the hard path when it leads to growth. That path? It’s always uncomfortable.
But here’s the question most leaders avoid: Do you practice making yourself uncomfortable?
Don't wait for discomfort. Not react to adversity. But actively seek out challenges. Create it. Step into it.
This is the secret of real growth. The same way your muscles don’t grow without tension, your leadership doesn’t grow without discomfort.
And here’s the hard truth: comfort feels good—but it kills progress.
Growth Requires Discomfort
Think about your own life. When did you grow the most?
It probably wasn’t when things were smooth, predictable, and easy. It was when you were tested. When you were in over your head. When you felt like backing off, but didn’t.
Discomfort creates:
Clarity: When things get hard, your priorities sharpen.
Discipline: You learn to show up consistently, not just when it feels good.
Resilience: You build the ability to keep moving, even when conditions aren’t ideal.
Confidence: Nothing builds confidence like surviving something you didn’t think you could handle.
These are all critical leadership traits—and none of them are born in comfort.
Practicing Discomfort as a Leader
Great leaders train for discomfort. They treat it like a muscle to build. Here are just a few ways to put that into practice:
Physical Challenges: Rucking, running, cold exposure, early morning training—physical adversity teaches mental toughness and sharpens focus.
Radical Feedback: Ask your team what you can do better. Ask your peers. Ask the people who aren’t afraid to be honest with you.
Public Speaking: Put yourself in front of a room with a mic and something real to say. Even better—speak on a topic you're still learning yourself.
Taking Ownership in Crisis: Don’t delegate hard problems. Take point. Step in. Lead from the front.
Saying “I Don’t Know” Out Loud: Admit what you don’t know and then commit to finding the answer.
Doing the Work No One Sees: Stay late. Help on the floor. Take the grunt work when needed. Your team is watching. So is your ego.
Discomfort doesn't mean recklessness. It means calculated exposure to challenge, adversity, and stretch—just beyond your current limits.
Making Your Team Uncomfortable (Intentionally)
A good leader gets uncomfortable.
A great leader makes their team uncomfortable—on purpose.
Not out of cruelty. Out of care. You know what they’re capable of, even if they don’t. You see their next level, and you create the conditions for them to rise to it.
This doesn’t mean chaos or unrealistic demands. It means challenge with support.
Here’s how:
Stretch Assignments: Give someone a project they’re not quite ready for, then step back and observe.
Direct Feedback: Be honest about where they’re underperforming—don’t sugarcoat it.
Public Responsibility: Ask team members to lead meetings, pitch ideas, or represent the group.
Silent Observation: Let them struggle for a bit. Don’t jump in too early. Growth often happens in the tension between failure and support.
Debrief After Action: After the uncomfortable moment, talk about it. What did they learn? What would they do differently? What did you observe?
This is real leadership. You’re not just getting the job done—you’re building people. And people don’t grow in the shallow end.
Final Thought: Are You Still Growing?
Discomfort is a mirror. It shows you what you avoid. What you resist. What still controls you.
And it’s a forge. It makes you sharp. Focused. Unbreakable.
If you want to lead people through hard things, you have to walk through fire first. And you have to be willing to light that fire under others—then sit back, watch the sparks fly, and coach them through the aftermath.
So ask yourself:
When’s the last time you were truly uncomfortable?
When’s the last time your team was?
What challenge are you actively walking toward right now?
If the answers make you squirm—you’re probably right where you need to be.
Get uncomfortable. That’s where leadership begins.
-Tony
