Should leaders comfort their employees or challenge them?

As a leader, is your goal to create a comfortable environment or one that will challenge your employees?

According to author and thought leader Liz Wiseman, the answer is a combination of both. She says leaders must find a delicate balance between appreciating employees and pushing them, which she calls safety and stretch.

Creating a psychologically safe environment can foster positivity and openness. But when leaders focus too much on safety, they don’t push their employees to do anything more than what they’ve always done. People may get complacent or bored because they aren’t facing challenges or learning.

On the other hand, leaders who focus on stretch can push their employees out of their comfort zones and help people learn, grow, and try new things. However, when leaders focus too much on stretch, they create an uncomfortable work environment where people are on edge and worried about making mistakes or having to do something that pushes them too far.

How can leaders balance safety and stretch? Consider these five tips.

Lean into hard conversations

Companies and leaders often shy away from hard conversations or difficult topics in the name of creating a cohesive work environment. However, ignoring important issues doesn’t make employees feel connected to the company. Wiseman suggests leaders should guide these uncomfortable conversations. "If we bring enough of an open mind and a willingness to learn to our work, then even when we hear things we disagree with, we can still learn,” she says.

Set clear expectations

Stretch leaders set high expectations, while safety leaders might not set expectations at all. Find the balance by being clear about your expectations from the beginning. This clarity gives employees time to ask clarifying questions and lets them know exactly what is expected of them so they can adjust their approach accordingly.

Hold people (and yourself) accountable

Expectations pair nicely with accountability. When employees understand what they need to do, they also have goals and performance indicators in mind. Hold employees accountable to those expectations. Without accountability, people won’t improve. That accountability also extends to yourself and setting the tone by following up on your goals and owning your mistakes.

Practice transparency

Leaders must be transparent about their plans and progress, especially as they invite employees to be their true selves and share their opinions. Employees might not always agree with leaders, but when leaders share the transparent reason behind certain decisions or strategies, they can get people on board more easily. That transparency creates progress while also providing the safety of understanding the context of a decision.

Provide feedback

Give employees feedback and constructive criticism about their performance regularly. This doesn’t mean being too hard on them and only finding flaws or glossing over the mistakes to be too positive. Usable feedback happens in the moment and is action-based. It gives employees ideas of how to improve in the future without tearing them down.

Leaders must balance safety and stretch every day, from how they build culture and structure teams to how they run meetings and share updates. By finding that delicate balance, leaders can create forward-focused companies that are great places to work.