Week 46 | Strength Zone vs. Comfort Zone
Comfort feels safe—but it never produces growth. The best leaders know where their strengths thrive and where growth begins. John Maxwell once said, “Stay in your strength zone, but continually move out of your comfort zone.” Growth begins where comfort ends.
Where Growth Begins
Leadership is a constant balance between what you do best and what challenges you most.
John Maxwell once said, “Stay in your strength zone, but continually move out of your comfort zone.” That one principle has shaped how I think about growth and how I coach others to lead.
Your strength zone is where your natural talents create the most value. It’s the space where you feel energized, focused, and capable—the work comes naturally, and the results often follow.
But your comfort zone is something different. It’s where those same talents stop growing. Comfort feels safe, but it never produces growth. It protects what was instead of preparing what could be.
The best leaders know how to stay in one and step out of the other.
The Trap of Comfort
It’s easy to drift into maintenance mode—especially when things are working. Teams are stable, systems are smooth, and results are steady. But comfort can quietly dull innovation and initiative.
The truth is: leaders who settle for comfort eventually lose purpose. Leaders who develop their strengths discover greater purpose.
Your comfort zone protects you.
Your strength zone propels you.
The Purpose of Strength
Scripture reminds us,
“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
— 1 Corinthians 12:7 (ESV)
Our strengths—both natural and spiritual—were never meant to stay static. They were given to serve. The more you use them, the more they mature and multiply.
If you spend your career only fixing weaknesses, you might achieve competence. But if you invest in the strengths within you, you’ll grow in influence, excellence, and fulfillment.
Growth happens when we stretch what we already do well into new territory.
The Growth Challenge
This week, ask yourself:
Where have I gotten too comfortable?
What step could stretch my strengths again?
Leadership isn’t about staying where it’s safe—it’s about stepping into the stretch that shapes you.
Because growth begins where comfort ends.
Thermostat Leadership: Steady Under Pressure
Leadership isn’t about avoiding pressure—it’s about leading through it with composure and faith. This reflection explores what it means to be a thermostat leader—steady, steadfast, and grounded in peace.
When Pressure Tests Your Leadership
Pressure has a way of revealing what’s really inside us.
Over the past few months, I’ve been leading through one of the most complex and high-stakes projects of my career. Plans shifted. Timelines moved. The outcome looked nothing like what we expected. And yet, in the middle of it all, I saw something powerful taking shape—grit, perseverance, and true leadership rising to the surface.
Those seasons have a way of humbling you. They strip away comfort, test your character, and force you to ask: What kind of leader am I under pressure?
Thermometers vs. Thermostats
Every leader faces a choice in moments like that.
We can be thermometers, simply reflecting the atmosphere around us, or thermostats, intentionally setting it.
A thermometer rises and falls with the environment.
A thermostat regulates the environment with consistency and composure.
The best leaders don’t react to the climate—they reset it.
They bring calm into chaos and confidence into uncertainty.
As author Brian Tracy once said:
“The true test of leadership is how well you function in a crisis.”
Pressure Doesn’t Just Reveal Character — It Refines It
I’ve learned that the true measure of leadership isn’t control—it’s composure.
Anyone can lead when things go right. But when the unexpected happens, leaders are called to steady others by first being steady within themselves.
Pressure doesn’t just reveal character—it refines it.
It shapes endurance. It deepens empathy. It reminds us that leadership is less about holding everything together and more about staying grounded in what matters most.
A Steadfast Spirit
James 1:12 puts it this way:
“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”
— James 1:12 (ESV)
James wasn’t writing about workplace stress or project deadlines—he was speaking about trials that test our faith. Yet the same steadfast spirit that anchors us in faith can also steady us in leadership.
When our confidence is grounded in God, not outcomes, we can lead with peace even when everything around us feels uncertain.
Lead with Composure
When pressure builds, I’ve learned to pause and ask myself:
Am I mirroring the chaos around me, or modeling the peace within me?
Leadership isn’t about control; it’s about composure.
When we choose to lead from that quiet center—rooted in faith, anchored in peace—we create stability for everyone around us.
Our teams don’t need us to have all the answers; they need us to carry peace into the room.
Set the Temperature
Leadership has never been about avoiding the heat; it’s about standing in it with the kind of faith and steadiness that changes the atmosphere.
Be the thermostat this week.
Set the tone.
Lead with clarity, faith, and steadfast presence.
Because when peace rules in you, it spreads through those you lead.
#StartStrongLeadWell
What’s Your Story? Leading Through Listening
Every person you lead has a story shaping how they work and why they care. This reflection explores how asking one simple question—“What’s your story?”—builds trust, deepens connection, and aligns hearts toward a shared purpose.
One of the most powerful questions a leader can ask is simple yet profound:
“What’s your story?”
Over the years, I’ve learned that question has the power to change relationships, reshape teams, and reveal the heart behind the work we do.
When we take time to listen, we do more than gather information—we build bridges. Every story we hear becomes a bridge we can lead across.
The Power of a Question
When I served as a pastor, I became known for asking that one question. Most of those conversations happened over coffee—just two people sitting down, one cup and one story at a time.
I discovered that when people share their stories, they open the door to their hearts. They share their dreams, fears, values, and faith. And often, what begins as small talk turns into sacred ground.
Jesus said it best:
“Out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
— Luke 6:45 (ESV)
If we listen long enough, we begin to hear what fills a person’s heart. Their words reveal what matters most to them—their priorities, their pain, and their purpose.
Good leaders learn to listen that way—not just with their ears, but with discernment.
From the Church to the Marketplace
What I learned in ministry still shapes how I lead today.
Every person on your team has a story shaping how they work and why they care.
If you listen long enough, you’ll always find common ground—a shared value, a familiar struggle, or a common dream. It might take some digging, but it’s always worth the effort.
Listening turns workplaces into communities and coworkers into collaborators.
The Divine Intersection
I call this the Divine Intersection—the place where your story intersects with mine, and together they align with a greater mission and vision.
When stories connect, trust grows. Connection deepens. Collaboration strengthens.
Purpose becomes shared.
That’s the moment leadership becomes more than strategy—it becomes ministry.
Lead People, Not Tasks
Leadership at its best isn’t about directing tasks; it’s about developing people.
And people are shaped by their stories.
The moment you ask, “What’s your story?” you stop leading tasks and start leading hearts.
So, here’s the challenge for this week:
Who’s one person on your team whose story you need to hear?
Because every time we listen with intention, we lead with compassion.
And that’s where trust—and transformation—begin.
#StartStrongLeadWell