A research-backed guide to leading with confidence and resilience in an age of anxiety. Leading is inevitably frustrating and emotionally demanding, yet leaders get little training in how to deal with painful emotions. Since the global pandemic, stresses on leaders have only grown. To lead effectively in an age of anxiety, leaders must build the capacity to act in spite of unpleasant emotions, and bring a learning mindset to challenges that can otherwise feel overwhelming. Leading Outside Your Comfort Zone draws on a wide body of research to show how well-being and resilience emerges from this struggle; leaders grow by adopting a learning mindset in the face of unpleasant emotions. The book explains how to: - Confidently face new challenges - Accelerate progress toward goals - Improve productivity during discouraging, "unfruitful" periods - Overcome frustration with difficult personalities and organizational politics - Build confidence and a mindset of stress-less productivity - Build resilience throughout the organization Leadership expert D. Christopher Kayes integrates insights from diverse disciplines, including management and organization studies, psychology, sports and military psychology, neuroscience, and education, and presents original research involving over 1,000 leaders. The book focuses on five tools that help leaders develop positive emotional engagement, creative problem-solving, learning identity, flexibility, and social support.
D. Christopher Kayes is Professor and Chair of the Department of Management at The George Washington University School of Business. He is the author or co-author and editor of five books: Judgment and Leadership: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Concepts, Practice and Development, Contemporary Organizational Behavior: From Ideas to Action; Organizational Resilience: How Learning Sustains Organizations in Crisis, Disaster, and Breakdown; The Learning Advantage: Six Practices of Learning-Directed Leadership; and Destructive Goal Pursuit: The Mt. Everest Disaster.
Preface Introduction: Rising to the Outsized Demands of Leadership SECTION 1: FOUNDATIONS OF LEADING 1. Moving Outside Your Comfort Zone as a Source of Growth and Well-Being: Overcoming the Anxiety-Ridden Demands of Leadership 2. What Research Says About the Practice of Personal Resilience: Leading for Resilience, Growth, and Well-Being 3. Achieving Optimal Improvement Through Learning and Performing: Moving Beyond the Unrealistic Expectations That Undermine Leading 4. Turning Adverse Events into Opportunities for Growth: Accepting Adverse Factors Beyond Your Control SECTION 2: FUNDAMENTAL PROCESSES SECTION 2: FUNDAMENTAL PROCESSES 5. Cultivating Novel Experiences: The Experiences That Count for Developing as a Leader 6. Accepting Unpleasant Emotions: Growth from Frustration and Other Painful Emotions 7. Implementing Learning Strategies: Five Strategies for Resilience and Growth 8. Motivating Yourself to Learn: The Psychology of Learning, Motivation, and Resilience SECTION 3: APPLICATIONS SECTION 3: APPLICATIONS 9. Keeping Focused: Overcoming Distractions or Why Staying Focused Is So Difficult 10. Leading Teams: Leading Through the Emotional Turmoil of Groups 11. Leading Organizations: Resilience, Growth, and Well-Being at Scale 12. Tiered Goal-Setting: Overcoming the Limits of Goal-Setting Through Tiered Goals Conclusion: Pathways to Leading Beyond Your Comfort Zone: A Simple Formula for Leading: Move, Sleep, Learn Epilogue Notes on Methods Notes Index
"In an era of global uncertainty, Kayes provides leaders tools and skills to move outside their comfort zones while learning resilience. This book provides a pathway to support leaders and their teams in demanding environments." -Gavin M. Schwarz, UNSW Sydney Business School "Based on his experience as a scholar, educator, and consultant, Kayes explains how leaders develop well-being and the ability to learn continuously-through adversity. This book will help leaders make decisions and act in the face of complexity, ambiguity, change, and uncertainty to drive team and organizational performance." -Matthew Eriksen, Raymond T. Butkus Professorship in Management, Providence College "Weaves research findings and case studies with a useful guide for leaders, professionals, educators, and anyone wanting to strengthen their resilience and well-being." -Ellen B. Van Oosten, Professor of Organizational Behavior, Director of the Coaching Research Lab at Case, and co-author of Helping People Change "Kayes squarely hits the most critical aspect of leading: you cannot lead others effectively until you can lead yourself. Veteran leaders realize that safe spaces rarely exist, being triggered is often discretionary, and leadership itself can be stressful. This book is for leaders who have the courage to grow and to rethink their approaches to living, learning, and leading." -J. Goosby Smith, Vice President for Community Belonging and Chief Diversity Officer, Pepperdine University
