The Benefit of Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone

By: Laurie Gethin, Director, Education, Food Marketing Institute

Whether it’s making a career change, pitching a new idea, or implementing a new program, there are times in our careers where we take a leap of faith. As professionals, we seem to learn the most at the crossroads of success and failure, and discover the strength of our determination and resilience.

You may have heard the saying, “Great things never came from comfort zones.” I think it’s safe to say that this year FMI, our Future Leaders Committee (and I, as the lead program planner) broke from tradition, stepped outside our comfort zones, and redesigned FMI’s Future Leaders event to better equip today’s rising leaders with the tools they need to take on new responsibilities and challenges in our ever-changing industry. The Future Leaders eXperience takes a learning-laboratory approach to the program, in order to develop and deepen the leadership and management skills needed to broaden your career. To push you outside your comfort zone, attendees will work in cross-functional, cross-company teams that will challenge your perspective and approach to problem-solving.

I hope you join us for the Future Leaders eXperience on June 11–13, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois.

My colleague Rick Stein, vice president, fresh, Food Marketing Institute, discusses the value of stepping outside your comfort zone in your career.