Leadership usually means making sure things are steady and people feel safe and supported. That’s important. But great leaders know that just keeping things calm isn’t enough to help people grow. Instead, they gently push their team to try harder and do things they didn’t think they could do, without making them feel too stressed or upset.

At first, doing something your team doesn’t want might seem strange or risky. After all, a leader is supposed to help and protect the team. But to help people grow and come up with new ideas, you need more than just keeping things easy and comfortable. Sometimes, you need to create challenges and a little bit of pressure to make real change happen.

What Is Controlled Discomfort?

Controlled discomfort is a little pressure that helps people learn, grow stronger, and adjust to new things. It’s like how coal turns into a diamond under pressure. Without challenges, people stop improving. They stop learning, lose interest, and never reach their full potential.

As a leader, your job is to create a place where challenges help people grow instead of making them feel stressed out or defeated.

So, how can you do this in real life? Here are some simple ways to use challenges to help your team get better:

1. Assign "Stretch" Tasks

One easy and helpful way to use controlled discomfort is by giving your team “stretch” tasks, jobs that are a little harder than what they’re used to. These tasks should challenge them just enough to help them grow, but not so much that they feel stressed or like they will fail.

Give your team new tasks outside their daily work. A sales employee helping with hiring learns fresh skills and sees a different side of the company. It may feel awkward at first, but that’s where learning starts.

Stretch tasks help people learn by trying new things. They make people feel more confident and get them ready for bigger jobs in the future. These tasks also show that you believe in them, which can make them feel motivated.

2. Encourage Decision-Making in Uncertainty

Growth comes when people decide for themselves, even when it’s hard or confusing. Leaders may want to help right away, but stepping back gives others the chance to learn and grow through their own choices.

Give your team help and advice, but don’t always tell them exactly what to do. For example, during a tough situation, my team came up with an idea I hadn’t thought of. Instead of stopping them, I let them try it. This showed I trusted them, and it made them feel more confident and better at solving problems.

Letting your team make decisions when things are unclear helps them learn how to handle tricky situations and think carefully. These skills are super important when things are changing quickly at work.

3. Create Healthy Tension by Setting High Standards

Great leaders aren’t afraid to set big goals. When the bar is high, teams feel a little pressure to do their best. This kind of good pressure pushes people to solve problems instead of looking for the easiest way out.

I try not to step in unless it’s needed. I let my team talk things out, try new ideas, and even make mistakes. This helps them take responsibility and get better at solving problems on their own.

When you don’t fix every problem for your team, you help them learn how to handle hard situations on their own. This gets them ready for bigger challenges in the future.

4. Get Uncomfortable Yourself

If a leader never faces challenges, the team probably won’t either. Leaders show the way when you try hard and share your struggles, you make it okay for everyone to take risks and grow.

When you talk honestly about your problems and what you’re still learning, you show that it’s okay to be imperfect. This helps others feel brave to try new things. When the leader faces challenges, the whole team feels safer to take risks.

For example, trying to speak in front of a crowd when it’s not easy for you, or learning how to use new technology, shows that growing means facing challenges, and that’s okay.

Why Adapt to Discomfort as a Leader?

Diamonds are made when there is a lot of pressure. Staying in your comfort zone feels safe, but it usually doesn’t lead to great results. Teams that only stay comfortable can be weak and afraid to take risks. But teams that grow by facing challenges become strong, flexible, and true leaders.

Controlled discomfort helps your team become strong. It teaches them how to deal with problems, learn from mistakes, and come up with new ideas even when things are unclear. This way of thinking helps people and teams keep getting better.

When leaders help their teams face challenges safely, it makes everyone stronger and better. It’s not about making people stressed or upset, but about helping them learn and grow.

Great leaders set big goals and trust their team to rise to the challenge. People grow through pressure, just like diamonds. The question is: what can you do to help your team face tough moments and discover their full strength?