The Discomfort Zone

This book is about coaching using what the author calls \”The Discomfort Zone\” and a process summarized in \”DREAM\”: Determine, Reflect, Explore, Acknowledge, and Make. I simply couldn\’t complete the book, and ended up skimming and reading the end of chapter summaries and takeaway points. The reason is that the author started to repeat herself over and over again, and the examples given are noting but surprisingly naive. I hate these kind of books where the claim is \”I have discovered something new and better than anyone else… let me tell you about it!\” only to see the ideas are deeply rooted in similar literature. This one was about coaching, and the key behind coaching is asking the right questions. Use the simple GROW model (Goals, Reality, Options/Obstacles, and Way forward) instead of this twisted model of \”The Discomfort Zone\”.

The concepts of the book are interesting and thought provoking, however, there is one very major constraining factor in my opinion. For mechanisms described to have any chance of success they are predicated upon the existence of a \”bi-directional Trust-Relationship\” between both parties involved. The described approaches (such as speaking from the Gut) would appear to be certain to yield career suicide when you report to a Boss not a leader who\’s a Win-Lose negotiator constantly looking for leverage. I guess this is intended to be a top down approach as in I am the person in the position of authority and you have a problem that has come to my attention and now I need to decide what to do with you.

Easy and clear reading New to coaching , was a great clarifying book for me. Something to come back to and read it again when I am more experience

The initial concept proposed in the book is excellent. By embracing the discomfort zone, you and your relationships can grow – I think that was the overall thesis of the book. However, once addressed, the book becomes a mess. The author tries to touch every topic self help topic from basic interpersonal skills to habit changing to finding your passion, and she does it in a rehashed, generic way (trying to blanket it under the concept of the discomfort zone). I think a shorter book that delved deeper into the concept of how discomfort promotes growth would be much more useful. As stands, I could only recommend the first 30 pages.

I had Marcia on my podcast, The Entrepreneurs Library, to give us a deep dive of The Discomfort Zone. With Marcia\’s experience she gives amazing insight on handling the most awkward management moments. If you would like to hear a review from the author herself check out episode 84 on […]

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