Deliberately Awkward
“Damn I wish I wrote that.”
I borrow this from Canadian musician and DJ, Kim Mitchell. Kim uses this phrase to pay admiration and respect to a fellow artists’ work; a lyric, guitar riff or production.
I am going to use it to denote my admiration and respect to thought leaders who share an idea that is SO good… I wish I wrote that.
“Deliberately Awkward.”
Damn I wish I wrote that.
Being “deliberately awkward” is a term I am borrowing from Adam Grant in his book, Hidden Potential.
Being deliberately awkward is about pursuing discomfort in effort to learn and grow. Deliberately seeking opportunities and situations that are beyond your comfort zone and viewing this discomfort as a sign of progress.
Now, in all fairness, I wake up awkward and go from there, IYKmeYK, however being “deliberately awkward” requires intentionality. Intentionally putting yourself in situations where you are not already competent, where you are not the expert, and recognizing that you will probably make mistakes.
When you are trying something new, attempting something you are not yet skilled at, you are learning. We need to be brave enough to make mistakes and have the courage to embrace the uncertainty that goes with that.
Growth happens when we learn and learning happens outside of comfort and sometimes, on the edge of fear. As a leader you can encourage growth in your team by creating safe spaces where progress over completion is rewarded. Where people are praised for making an effort and mistakes are welcome as a sign of learning and utilized to help everyone get better.
In my work I often use improv to create safe space with low stakes for people to “try” and experience deliberate awkwardness. Using the principles and the experiential games of improv we can practice skills like building trust, listening, teamwork and collaboration, leading, following, communication, decision making and problem solving, emotional regulation, cognitive flexibility, adaptability and creativity, conflict resolution, negotiation, presenting and speaking, and we can experience how we feel when faced with change and uncertainty. And it’s fun. When learning is fun we are more likely to stick with it, practice it and grow.
Remember, you don’t have to be comfortable to practice. Be deliberately awkward, you got this!
