Have you ever pushed someone too hard and watched them crumble? Or kept them so comfortable they got bored and left?

I see this all the time. Managers either throw people into the deep end or keep them stuck doing the same thing forever. Both kill growth.

There’s a smarter way that I came across recently.

One Topic: Zone of Proximal Development

The Sweet Spot of Learning

Back in the 1920s, a Soviet psychologist named Lev Vygotsky figured something out that changed how we think about learning. He called it the Zone of Proximal Development.

Here’s the simple version: There are three zones where your people work.

Zone 1: The Comfort Zone

This is what they can already do without help. They’re confident. They’re fast. But they’re not learning anything new.

Keep someone here too long? They get bored. They disengage. Eventually, they leave.

Zone 2: The Growth Zone (ZPD)

This is where the magic happens. It’s work they can’t do alone yet, but can accomplish with the right support. It’s challenging but not overwhelming.

This is where you want your team to spend most of their time.

Zone 3: The Panic Zone

This is too much, too fast. Even with help, they can’t succeed. They feel overwhelmed. Their confidence crashes. They start avoiding the work entirely.

I’ve made this mistake as well. I thought giving someone a complex task would accelerate their growth. Instead, they struggled for weeks, stopped asking questions, and eventually considered quitting.

I pushed them straight into the panic zone.

How to Get It Right

The key is something called scaffolding. Think of it like the temporary support structure around a building under construction. You need it while building, but you remove it once the structure can stand on its own.

Here’s how I use it now:

Start with modeling – Show them how it’s done first. Don’t just hand over the task and hope for the best. Walk through your thinking process out loud.

Break it down – That system architecture project? I should have started with one small module, not the entire system. Complex work needs smaller steps.

Ask, don’t tell – Instead of giving answers, ask guiding questions. “What do you think the next step should be?” or “What would happen if we tried this approach?”

Reduce support gradually – As they get better, step back. Start with daily check-ins, move to weekly, then monthly. The goal is independence, not dependence.

For example, if your team struggles to make client presentations, don’t take over. Instead, sit with them for the first 2–3 presentations without saying anything. Then give feedback afterward. By the fifth presentation, they won’t need you there anymore.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

Organisations that use this approach see 30% better training outcomes. Employee retention improves by 40% when people get this kind of personalised development. Teams show measurable performance gains within just 12 weeks.

Why? Because people feel challenged but supported. They’re growing but not breaking.

Watch for These Mistakes

Pushing too hard, too fast – If someone’s avoiding the work or showing signs of stress, you’ve gone too far. Pull back. Build confidence with smaller wins first.

Not pushing enough – If they’re cruising through work without effort, it’s time to level up. Comfort kills growth.

Forgetting to let go – I’ve seen managers who keep micromanaging even after someone’s proven they can handle it. That creates dependency, not capability.

One-size-fits-all support – Everyone’s zone is different. What’s comfortable for one person might be panic-inducing for another.

Making It Work

Here’s what to do now:

Start every new project or responsibility by asking: “Can you do this alone, or do you need support?” That tells you which zone they’re in.

If they need support, be explicit about what you’ll provide and how you’ll gradually reduce it. No surprises.

Watch for signs. Are they confident but cautious? That’s good – they’re in the growth zone. Are they anxious and avoiding? That’s bad – you’ve pushed too far.

Celebrate progress, not just completion. When someone successfully handles something they couldn’t do last month, that’s worth recognising.

The Bottom Line

Your job as a leader isn’t to keep people comfortable. It’s not to throw them into impossible situations either.

Your job is to find that sweet spot—the zone where they’re stretched but supported, challenged but capable, growing but not breaking.

That’s where the real growth happens. That’s where teams become exceptional.

The question isn’t whether to push your people. It’s how far to push, and how much support to provide while you do.

Get that balance right, and you won’t just build skills. You’ll build confidence, capability, and loyalty.

And that’s worth way more than any training program.

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Read last week’s JustDraft about The Stockdale Paradox Balancing Optimism with Realism

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Two Quotes to Inspire

Growth happens in the space between ‘I can’t’ and ‘I can’ your job as a leader is to build the bridge between them.

The best leaders don’t measure success by how fast people climb, they measure it by how many people reach heights they never thought possible.

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One Passage From My Bookshelf

Great teams are not created by extraordinary talent or resources. They are created by small, repeated actions that build belonging, vulnerability, and purpose. In the most successful organizations, leaders spend enormous energy creating an environment where people feel safe enough to take risks and grow. These leaders understand that building skill is not about pushing people harder, it’s about creating the conditions where people push themselves. They establish what researchers call psychological safety: the belief that you can speak up, make mistakes, and ask for help without fear of punishment or humiliation. This safety doesn’t mean lowering standards. It means creating space where people can stumble while learning without feeling like failures. When people feel safe, they take more risks, learn faster, and achieve more than they ever thought possible. The most effective leaders don’t just manage performance, they architect environments where growth becomes inevitable. They recognize that the distance between current ability and potential is where all real development happens, and they dedicate themselves to bridging that gap for every person on their team. This is not soft leadership, it’s strategic leadership. Its understanding that sustained excellence comes from sustained growth, and sustained growth requires balancing challenge with support in precise measure.

📚 From The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle