Comfort Is Killing Your Performance Three simple shifts to stop defaulting to ease — and start operating at your highest level.

I am, amongst other things, an in-house coach at several large multinational firms. My access means I see a candid cross-section of leaders and entrepreneurs within and working with these organisations. A few weeks ago, a senior leader walked out of a lift and immediately began telling anyone within earshot how sore he felt after an intense gym session. He spoke proudly about the pain, the fatigue, and the promise of future gains. He even joked that if he didn't wake up sore the next day, he would know he hadn't worked hard enough. Within the hour, I watched that same man quietly avoid two important feedback conversations, one for himself and one for a direct report. Later, he rounded a corner, saw a caustic argument between two team members, and chose to back away unseen. When I approached him about these decisions, he admitted with disarming honesty that even thinking about those conversations made him deeply uncomfortable.

It is a familiar pattern in my work as an organisational psychologist across organisations ranging from start-ups to large global brands. Many leaders tolerate elective physical discomfort but avoid the interpersonal discomfort that actually shapes a team's performance. This is not a story about one man. It is a story about a consistent behavioural tension in business: the instinct to stay comfortable even when comfort is sabotaging success.

Humans are naturally predisposed to avoid discomfort. Entrepreneurs, however, cannot afford that instinct. Personal and business growth requires emotional, cognitive, and interpersonal discomfort.

The discomfort of letting go of roles and tasks that once defined you. The discomfort of revising a decision you were certain about. The discomfort of stepping into conflict rather than hoping it fades quietly. The discomfort of acknowledging that someone else knows more than you, regardless of your title. Yet many leaders treat discomfort as a sign that something is wrong, rather than what it usually is: evidence that they are meeting the real demands of leadership.

This shift happens quietly. In the early stages, founders expect difficulty. Long hours, messy experiments, and fast failures are almost badges of honour. However, after initial success, the mindset often quickly shifts. People begin to assume they have "made it" or are "on their way" and that things should feel easier now. This is when comfort becomes a trap. Entrepreneurs treat discomfort as an unwelcome interruption instead of recognising it as a consistent companion to progress.

Where discomfort is avoided, adaptability becomes the first casualty. In my latest book, I describe what is required in response to change as principled fluidity, the capacity to shift your approach without surrendering your values or surrendering to your natural desire for ease. Principled fluidity is not a personality trait. It is the disciplined willingness to revise your approach, broaden your perspective, and stretch your identity when the environment or your ambition demands it. It often feels like asking for pain, and it asks leaders to acknowledge their limits, confront evidence that contradicts their beliefs, and accept that past success does not guarantee future competence.

The leader who told me about his gym routine believed he was disciplined because he embraced physical strain. In reality, discipline is measured most clearly by the discomfort we would rather avoid. The conversations he dodged that morning shaped performance far more than the workout story he shared so freely. His avoidance allowed small problems to grow and signalled to his team that he was unwilling to intervene when things mattered.

This pattern plays out repeatedly in entrepreneurial environments. Consider the following example from a recently supported scale-up business. A founder who prides herself on relentless drive becomes increasingly frustrated that her team is not meeting the pace she sets. Rather than examining the shifting demands of her role, she doubles down on familiar behaviours. She maintains control over decisions she should now delegate. She resists hiring people with expertise that surpasses her own. She insists problems can be solved quickly rather than through deeper analysis. Her comfort lies in activity. Her discomfort lies in confronting the damage her identity as "the omniscient main character" is doing as the company evolves.

The consequences are predictable: Decision-making becomes slower, and talent becomes disengaged because they are not trusted to lead. Conflict avoidance causes resentment to build. Creativity narrows because people focus on what the founder will accept rather than what the business needs. None of these outcomes stem from a lack of intelligence or commitment. They stem from discomfort-avoidant habits overwhelming behaviours that would otherwise drive organisational performance, even as these habits become invisible to the people exhibiting them.

The good news is that the pattern is reversible if leaders are willing to examine their instincts with care. Below are three practical commitments that help entrepreneurs build the adaptability required to lead beyond the early stages. Each requires discipline and consistency, but not perfection.

Mindset shift
Ask yourself the following question whenever comfort calls and you resist a difficult conversation, reject an informed decision, or ignore a more honest self-appraisal. "Do you want to win or do you want to be (or feel) right?" This question interrupts the instinct for comfort and highlights the cost of avoiding the friction that progress requires. It makes the consequences of seeking comfort over performance an obvious choice, not just an ephemeral habit.

Reframe discomfort
Entrepreneurs often treat discomfort as a signal that something is wrong. Reframe it as feedback that you are working in the territory where growth is most likely to be found. If you feel 'soreness' in your leadership or decision-making contexts, it may simply mean you are entering a phase where your leadership or decision-making muscles are strengthening in response to new demands.

A weekly behavioural commitment
Once a week, identify one moment of discomfort you avoided. It might be a conversation, a decision, or a task you should have delegated or completed despite not wanting to. Name it, write it down, and either do it within the next 24 hours or explain to yourself precisely why you will not. This stops comfort avoidance from becoming habitual and forces active accountability.

Success, whether leading or as part of a team, requires you to decide wisely where business challenges and decisions juxtapose personal comfort and organisational performance. Adaptability will be achieved through effortful, principled fluidity that is easier to claim than to practise. The real gains in leadership rarely come from the discomfort we enjoy. They come from the discomfort we would rather avoid.