Why You Should Embrace Discomfort and Take Risks to Excel  

Security LeadHER keynote speaker, author and executive coach Henna Pryor highlighted ways to speak up, be courageous and foster personal and professional growth.

Last month, ASIS International and the Security Industry Association (SIA) closed out a successful second annual Security LeadHER conference, a unique event dedicated to advancing, connecting and empowering women in the security profession. The sold-out event took place June 24-25, 2024, in Phoenix, Arizona, bringing together more than 400 security professionals from seven countries.

Security LeadHER 2024 – a day-and-a-half program featuring industry-leading subject matter expert presenters – offered inspiring keynotes, educational sessions and networking opportunities on a variety of topics in leadership, career development, negotiation, allyship and more. One highlight was the Day 2 opening keynote from Henna Pryor, a two-time TEDx and global keynote speaker, workplace performance expert, author and executive coach, on the topic “Awkward and Upward! Your Surprising Secret Weapon for Taking More Risks at Work.” Pryor highlighted how – in our increasingly online world – we are losing the skills of relating to others, building trust and connection and enduring the critical friction and messiness we get from being in proximity to each other.

“The weakening of our social muscles is slowly destroying our ability to take smart risks at work – like collaborating with colleagues, initiating tough conversations, speaking up and sharing ideas,” Pryor said. “We want our ideas to be heard, but we don’t always speak them into the room.”

If you deliberately practice dealing with awkward situations, you can move past your fear, continue learning and find success. In an inspiring and dynamic presentation, Pryor shared tips for moving from wishful thinking to execution when it comes to embracing discomfort and taking risks in order to succeed.

Pryor recommends using the acronym “SUCK” when practicing working through awkward or uncomfortable situations in the workplace:

S: Look for the SMALL.

• Look for “awkward” in a small, safe space.
• Engage in “bad idea brainstorms” to foster creativity.
• Embrace and seek out “small talk.”

U: And just a bit UNCOMFORTABLE.

• Expressed social discomfort has benefits. Your lack of perfection puts other people at ease.
• When you’re uncomfortable, detach emotion from though by asking, “Is there really evidence to support that thought?”
• Befriend the butterflies – they are an opportunity for your social muscles to get stronger.

C: To cross the CRINGE CHASM…

• Identify the awkward moments with higher stakes (not threatening ones, just enough to bring a little heat).
• Celebrate your “training” instead of the outcome.
• Celebrate each time you use the jump muscle (for example, draw a star in your notebook each time you engage in a tough conversation, no matter how it went!).

K: KEEP PERSPECTIVE as you go!

• Remember, when you feel awkward, that you’re not at the center of other people’s worlds and that they aren’t thinking about what you do as much as you are.

 “New learning pathways, new neural pathways only have a chance to happen when we do something, get feedback, and do it again,” Pryor said. “It’s the only way that they grow. And the only way to build those pathways is getting down and dirty in the awkward.”

See more highlights from Security LeadHER here.

Security LeadHER 2025 will be held June 9-10 in Detroit, Michigan. For more information and updates on Security LeadHER, please visit https://securityleadher.org.