FROM THE CULTURE is a podcast that explores the inner workings of organizational culture that enable companies to thrive, teams to win, and brands to succeed. If culture eats strategy for breakfast, then this is the most important conversation in business that you aren\u2019t having.<\/p>\n
Listen<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n Comfort, as the radio broadcaster Stan Dale once declared, is a \u201cplush-lined coffin\u201d that prevents individuals from stretching themselves, which subsequently mitigates the possibilities of their collective collaboration. With all the best intentions, I\u2019m certain, many leaders attempt to foster a psychologically safe environment by ensuring their employees feel comfortable in the office. As such, they prioritize niceness and harmony over candor and conflict, unknowingly eroding the necessary conditions that help us do hard things and, ultimately, lead to innovations within an organization. Difficult things aren\u2019t always comfortable, but that\u2019s where growth and advancement happen. Therefore, our aim should not be to promote comfort from hard things, but rather, to create a space where people feel safe enough to try.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n I see this in the classroom every day. Some of the brightest minds across the globe enroll in the MBA program at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, to increase their business acumen and venture out into the world as the \u201cleaders and best.\u201d When these students enter the classroom, they expect to be challenged with new ideas and provocations because they know, intuitively, that this is where the learning happens. If they\u2019re presented with something they already know, something easy, they don\u2019t learn much at all. Therefore, in an effort to foster an environment where learning is optimized, the classroom can\u2019t be comfortable (i.e. easy); it must be challenging enough to stretch them but safe enough for them to stretch.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The psychologist Lev Vygostky, best known for his pioneering work on cognitive development, refers to this sweet spot of difficulty as the Zone of Proximal Development. This zone represents tasks that sit just outside of a student\u2019s skill level and challenges them to stretch further with the assistance of a teacher who possesses greater knowledge or ability. It\u2019s not easy, but it\u2019s not impossible. It\u2019s achievable but you have to jump to do it. If people don\u2019t feel safe, they typically won\u2019t jump. Therefore, it is the job of the instructional leader to facilitate a classroom environment where students feel protected enough to fail. Why? Because in these safe spaces, growth happens and the classroom improves.<\/p>\n So, students ask \u201cdumb questions\u201d without fear of embarrassment. They say what could potentially be the wrong answer because they know if they miss the mark, they won\u2019t be punished for it. They do it not because it\u2019s easy, but because it\u2019s not dangerous. The same thing goes in our organizations. If we want people to take big swings, to jump off the rock of comfort into the lake of big ideas, then we must reduce the risk, not the challenge. The differences lead to wildly different outcomes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n We invited Sherlen Archibald, co-founder of idea agency We The Roses, onto the FROM THE CULTURE podcast to explore how his organization uses natural settings to foster safe environments that stretch teams to uncover new ideas and creative explorations. Check out the full episode here<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n FROM THE CULTURE is a podcast that explores the inner workings of organizational culture that enable companies to thrive, teams to win, and brands to succeed. If culture eats strategy for breakfast, then this is the most important conversation in business that you aren\u2019t having.<\/p>\n![\"MV](\"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2026\/01\/studio_square_thumbnail.jpg\")
<\/picture>\n