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The Cubicle Survival Guide - Ronald McDonald Day VOL VIII

Posted by Justen Collins on January 18, 2013

As the New Year dawned recently, I decided against making any resolutions and instead opted for a different approach. Rather than set any specific goal or commitment for myself, I chose to simply make 2013 a year where I venture more often out of my comfort zones. We are such creatures of habit – especially those of us in a typical office world of work – that we can settle into regimented routines to a somewhat dangerous point. The cycle of “eat, work, try to spend some time with the family, then sleep” can start to steamroll and the years can go by in flashes.
In the span of a couple weeks, I have done my best to “shock” my system and throw several new wrinkles at my personal routines. My wife and I have completely overhauled our family’s dietary practices and introduced something called “Meatless Mondays” into the mix. Those who know me best know that this is a significant lifestyle change without question! If I can spend twenty-four hours each week as a vegetarian, believe me, anything is possible.
Even in an area where I have developed what I consider a “good” habit – going to the gym regularly – I could see myself stuck in a routine to some extent. In an effort to kill our comfort zones at the gym, my workout partner (and former tag team wrestling partner for my longtime friends) and I changed things up. We added a heavy “leg day” to our schedule and started going to an aerobics class called “Body Combat.” Imagine the two of us as the only males in a room full of women doing cardio kickboxing routines and looking way more coordinated than us in the process. The classes have done a number on my comfort zone – not to mention my aging joints.
At the end of it all, though, pushing outside your comfort zone is something that causes anxiety in the process but feels rewarding afterward. I sincerely encourage you to find ways to do it in your own lifestyle routines. Stepping outside your own individual comfort zone, though, is too simple and too obvious to be this week’s tip. Our Cubicle Survival Guide tip of the week is to find ways to help your coworkers challenge their own comfort zones. I must warn you, though, that this is one of more advanced tips that we have shared thus far. You will need to have built a solid base of trust with these individuals before they will allow you to motivate them in this manner.
Allow me to describe one of the oddest – and yet effective – ways in which I have utilized this particular strategy. I was working on an administrative office team that had more women than men almost ten years ago now. Through my judicious use of the Cubicle Survival Guide, I had developed good trust-based relationships with each of my teammates and could offer them both inspirational praise and occasional sarcastic criticism without awkwardness. One of the ladies on our team was extremely fashionable, and was always dressed to the nines at the office. Over time, I realized that I could never ever remember her wearing the same outfit to work more than once. When I asked her, she sheepishly confirmed that she had indeed never worn the same exact outfit configuration to our office in the two-plus years she had been there. The rest of our team was stunned by this news, and we all got a good laugh out of it that afternoon.
I realized that this was a woman stuck in a comfort zone of revolving fashion. I decided to try to come up with some way to challenge her into not only wearing the same outfit to work more than once but wearing the exact same clothes to work two days in a row…without washing them in between. This was the unusual train of thought that led to the creation of “Ronald McDonald Day” in our office.
I am sure most of you remember the lovable hamburger-hocking clown and his endless commercials through the years. Several of those ads featured Ronald McDonald opening his closet to reveal it packed with dozens of identical clown suits. No matter what day it was, you knew what Ronald was going to be wearing. I officially issued the Ronald McDonald Day challenge to my teammates. The rules were simple: whatever articles of clothing you are wearing to the office today are the same ones that you have to wear back to work tomorrow (undergarments excluded, of course). Washing the clothes overnight was not allowed and the honor system was in place to enforce that.
A ridiculous challenge that rational adults should obviously have rejected was immediately accepted by everyone on our team solely because they wanted to see how our team “fashionista” handled it. It took some cajoling, for sure, but – with the help of good-natured peer pressure – she finally accepted the challenge along with us. A seemingly dumb (and arguably unsanitary) brainchild of mine united our team in a joint adventure and lifted spirits.
The morning of “Ronald McDonald Day” in our office was a lot of fun. Sure, we were still at work and actively doing our jobs, but each person’s arrival for the day was greeted like a Hollywood red carpet appearance with everyone turning out to confirm that they had lived up to their end of the bargain. Each person recounted their personal reluctance or the disbelief of their spouses that they faced while getting dressed that morning. We were all there and dressed in our clothes from the day before, except our high fashion team member who was the last to arrive. The anticipation built until she finally walked in. True to her word – and her style – she had returned to work in the same clothes but had arranged them into a completely new outfit. The outer shirt from the day before was being worn as a belt. The pants had been rolled up and converted in Capris. She had abided by the rules and still managed a fashion statement in the process.
I am probably using a long story to illustrate a short point, but something as goofy as inspiring my coworkers to wear the same clothes two days in a row truly made an impact in our office. We all gained an added level of respect and understanding for the woman whose comfort zone we were wildly defying. Our team bonded a great deal in a single day, and “Ronald McDonald Day” was discussed and recounted for years and years. By being the driving force behind the challenge, I demonstrated leadership in a way that goes seemingly unrecognized at the time, but that resonates with people in the future. The next time I suggested a group activity or organized an event, I got quick buy-in from my team members who subconsciously linked me with the enjoyment that they experienced that day.
If you can find a fun or engaging way to help a coworker push beyond their comfort zone, you will reap the rewards along with them. While they get that feeling of accomplishment and pride that comes with tackling something new, you will gain respect, trust, and leadership credibility by having been the driving force behind them. It can be something as simple as offering to buy lunch for a teammate who has never tried Thai food in their life and organizing a team outing to cheer them on in the process. If you see a person stuck in a rut, and you find an encouraging, fun, and collaborative way to nudge them out of it, you have found yourself a win-win situation. You can thank me later. Right now, I have to get back to stretching for my next aerobics class.