Author Alasdair White
The origin of the phrase ‘comfort zone’ is very hard to track down and everyone has a personal definition and understanding of the term. The earliest usage in relation to performance is in the title of Judith Bardwick’s 1991 work ‘Danger in the Comfort Zone: From Boardroom to Mailroom – How to Break the Entitlement Habit that’s Killing American Business’ but, although the book explores performance and behaviour, the author does not even use the term ‘comfort zone’, let alone define it.
Expressions such as ‘being in one’s comfort zone’ or ‘I’m comfortable with that’ exemplify the extent to which the concept has become accepted … in the English language. Psychologists and behaviourists have their own meaning of the term but when it comes to performance, it is relatively straightforward to construct a definition that encapsulates the principle elements:
The comfort zone is a behavioural state within which a person operates in an anxiety-neutral condition, using a limited set of behaviours to deliver a steady level of performance, usually without a sense of risk.
This implies that, providing there is no change in the ‘anxiety’ or the skills applied, the level of performance will remain constant. Equally, if there is a change in the ‘anxiety’ or the skills applied then a change in the level of performance will result – either upwards or downwards.
For more on this, go to From Comfort Zone to Performance Management
Posted in Performance Management