Maiden Manzanal-Frank Of GlobalStakes Consulting On How to Go Beyond Your Comfort Zone to Grow Both Personally and Professionally
An Interview With Maria Angelova
Don’t compare your accomplishments and even your issues to others. You alone would know if what you’re doing is a stretch activity or not. Better yet, keep a tally of what things you can improve and grow from there rather than think that you need to do everything all at once. Ensure that your success metrics comes from a place of continuous learning and improvement.
It feels most comfortable to stick with what we are familiar with. But anyone who has achieved great success will tell you that true growth comes from pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. What are some ways that influential people have pushed themselves out of their comfort zone to grow both personally and professionally? As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Maiden Manzanal-Frank.
Maiden Manzanal-Frank is a global impact advisor, consultant, instructor, leadership coach to mid-level peace, conflict transformation and development professionals from around the world. She specializes in strategy, change management, leadership, and global impact growth needs of leaders and executives of purpose-driven organizations and movements in Canada and internationally. She is an author of the book: Provocateurs not Philanthropists: Turning Good Intentions into Global Impact which is now available at all major online retailers.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we start, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?
I grew up in the Philippines. Most of my early career was devoted to international aid and development working with some of the most marginalized communities in the Philippines and in Asia. I moved to Canada in 2010, first in British Columbia and now presently residing in Alberta with my family. I would say that my first encounter with moving out of the comfort zone was during my early formative years. We lived in an impoverished community and what we had back then was just the ability to go to school and eat three squares a meal every day. This early adversity not only informed my outlook in life and pushed me to become a better person by valuing education and other opportunities seriously than most of my peers with better financial standing. Instead of making excuses for the initial lot I had in life, I together with my siblings were not deterred by this situation. We discovered that the greater asset in life is what we have inside of ourselves. Our faith, our confidence in our abilities, and our perspective that with determination, smart work, and perseverance, we will eventually create our own opportunities than what we have been born with.
Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
It is the same perspective that I wrote my book Provocateurs not Philanthropists: Turning Good Intentions into Global Impact (Changemakers Books, 2022). I knew that it would cause a little bit of stir from the sectors that are deeply entrenched with the ‘way things are done here’ and are not open enough to making improvements, changes, and innovations especially in the development spaces both locally here in Canada and internationally. My book debunks some of the myths, misconceptions, and archaic reasoning behind fundraising, impact, philanthropy, and results. Based on my book, a Provocateur is challenging the status quo, pushing the envelope for more impact and results, and questioning anything that is considered a truism and established practice that might be no longer appropriate and even relevant to the needs of the times. This kind of provocation is for me, part of getting out of the comfort zone.
Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. Let’s start with a basic definition so that all of us are on the same page. What does “getting outside of your comfort zone” mean?
At the leader level, getting out of the comfort zone is pushing oneself to grow, mature, and evolve as conditions warrant. To continue comfortably in a certain position, be it success or average mediocrity, creates a state of stagnation that will eventually cause oneself to feel invincible or established. This invincibility can lead to making mistakes and feeling like there is nothing yet to learn or evolve oneself from. One way to deal with that is to constantly look for areas of continuous growth by prioritizing activities aligned with your current goals. And if you couldn’t keep up with its demand, consider this work in a longer time horizon. Being guilty of not doing anything on growth is just counterproductive.
Here is the central question of our discussion. What are your “three ways to push past your comfort zone, to grow both personally and professionally”?
- Build scaffolding through small actions.
You don’t have to go through the biggest, highest, and most difficult exercises to get out of your comfort zone. You don’t have to rip your life apart either. Find something that you can start with in small ways. Take what you can use right now that will increase your ability to manage your life, work, and interests with more effectiveness.
2. Define your own metrics and success.
Don’t compare your accomplishments and even your issues to others. You alone would know if what you’re doing is a stretch activity or not. Better yet, keep a tally of what things you can improve and grow from there rather than think that you need to do everything all at once. Ensure that your success metrics comes from a place of continuous learning and improvement.
3. Celebrate and reward prematurely.
I don’t know about you but for me I reward myself for a job accomplished, even in small ways, appreciating the efforts I made in progress. Note that you don’t have to wait for the home run hit. You can incentivize every action that generates more confidence and builds your self-esteem. It brings more positive feelings and encourages you to move forward. This is the same with organization, reward early, pay more compliments, and give plenty of encouragements.
From your experience or perspective, what are some of the common barriers that keep someone from pushing out of their comfort zone?
Aside from the fear of failure, pushing out of the comfort zone is an investment in oneself which involves mental dexterity, moral courage, and risk-taking mindset. Hence, a lot would forgo this opportunity if they don’t see a tangible benefit in short term. But some would not even venture to do anything unless they are fully immersed into this process. Demonstrating short wins is critical and will be morale-boosting. In organizations, the role of modelling and creating reinforcing systems and processes are a must so that new changes are sustained over time.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
My book has a lot of comfort-busting ideas which I call the Ten Principles. My work continues in this area by building a community of Provocateurs- doers, catalysts, game-changers in purpose-driven spaces that are desiring a community where capacity-building, collaboration, and co-inspiration. What I am doing eventually is to bring these catalytic individuals together to contribute to solving the grand challenges of our time. For more information about this community, please go to The Provocateurs Network (maidenmfrank.com)
How can our readers follow you online?
Readers and fellow travelers in this journey can follow me by subscribing to my monthly e-newsletter by way of an email to engage@globalstakesconsulting.com or website at www.maidenmfrank.com.
Thank you for these really excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success.
About The Interviewer: Maria Angelova, MBA is a disruptor, author, motivational speaker, body-mind expert, Pilates teacher and founder and CEO of Rebellious Intl. As a disruptor, Maria is on a mission to change the face of the wellness industry by shifting the self-care mindset for consumers and providers alike. As a mind-body coach, Maria’s superpower is alignment which helps clients create a strong body and a calm mind so they can live a life of freedom, happiness and fulfillment. Prior to founding Rebellious Intl, Maria was a Finance Director and a professional with 17+ years of progressive corporate experience in the Telecommunications, Finance, and Insurance industries. Born in Bulgaria, Maria moved to the United States in 1992. She graduated summa cum laude from both Georgia State University (MBA, Finance) and the University of Georgia (BBA, Finance). Maria’s favorite job is being a mom. Maria enjoys learning, coaching, creating authentic connections, working out, Latin dancing, traveling, and spending time with her tribe. To contact Maria, email her at angelova@rebellious-intl.com. To schedule a free consultation, click here.
