Push Your Future Leaders Out Of Their Comfort Zone

Help them grow

One of the most effective ways to develop future leaders of your company is to let them pursue initiatives in areas that are new to them. Let them push outside of their comfort zone to see what they can do. I learned this through my own personal experience.

As a young 33-year-old business manager at chemical and engineered materials company PQ Corporation, I received approval from the CEO to file an anti-dumping suit against Rhone Poulenc, a large French chemical company. Rhone Poulenc was importing anhydrous sodium metasilicate (ASM) into the U.S. market and selling it below the home market price in France, a violation of U.S. anti-dumping laws. They were unfairly capturing market share from my company and other U.S. producers of ASM. This product is used in a variety of metal cleaning products and other industrial applications.
 

With the guidance of the general counsel at PQ, we hired an international trade attorney with a track record of winning cases in front of the International Trade Commission in Washington, D.C., the court that hears anti-dumping cases. Our attorney said to my product manager and me, “The court will more favorably view two business guys presenting the company’s case against Rhone Poulenc than if the company’s attorney did so. Therefore, with guidance from me, it is you who will prepare and present the case.” To say this way of proceeding took us both outside of our comfort zones is an understatement!

My product manager and I each spent hundreds of hours collecting and preparing ASM market and competitive data for the staff of the ITC so they would have a full understanding of the case. Whenever we found that information we sent was erroneous, we immediately sent in corrections, even if it was deleterious to our case. Throughout the entire process, we gained the trust of the ITC staff by being ethical in our dealings with them. This gave us a high level of credibility.

I recall traveling to Washington with our attorney for a preliminary hearing two months prior to appearing in front of the ITC commissioners. I asked him what he was going to present. He said that I was the one who would do most of the talking in response to his questions. He said he didn’t tell me ahead of time so I wouldn’t over prepare.

This approach certainly contrasted to a principle that has guided me – a lesson taught by my Drexel University freshman year ROTC instructor, Captain Boyle. He taught his cadets the six Ps: Prior planning prevents piss-poor performance. I was very uncomfortable going into the preliminary hearing with no prepared testimony, but fortunately, months of work on the case prepared me for this hearing.

The hearing in front of the ITC Commissioners took place in a large court room not unlike that of the Supreme Court – a very intimidating venue! 

A critical moment came when the Rhone Poulenc attorney misrepresented a meeting that their client had with us, accusing us of improper marketplace behavior. I whispered to our attorney that we had notes of that meeting. He asked me to pull them out of a box full of backup material we brought with us. I found the meeting notes and as our attorney read them, a smile crossed his face. 

After the Rhone Poulenc attorney concluded his comments, our attorney rose and said, “Madam Chairman, my client has meeting notes that contradict the characterization of that meeting.” When the chair asked the Rhone Poulenc attorney if he had minutes of the meeting, he said no. Our attorney then read our meeting minutes into the record. In that embarrassing moment, I knew we had won the case. Rhone Poulenc had harmed their credibility.

A few weeks later, my product manager and I returned to Washington to hear the announcement of the ITC decision. When the 5-0 decision was announced in favor of PQ, I felt we had just won a gold medal at the Olympics!

As I rose to the position of CEO of PQ, I often reflected back on that experience and how it helped me prepare for my future senior leadership roles. 

I currently counsel leaders at different levels within organizations. I am often asked how they can help the people reporting to them develop. I tell them that based on my own experience, give them assignments that get them out of their comfort zone, tell them what your expectations are, and cut them loose to do their thing. There is no better way for an individual to develop.

Author Bio

Stan Silverman is the Founder and CEO of Silverman Leadership. He is the author of Be Different! The Key to Business and Career Success, as well as a speaker, advisor and nationally syndicated columnist on leadership, entrepreneurship and corporate governance. Visit www.SilvermanLeadership.com Follow @StanSilverman Connect Stan Silverman