148 / LEADING THROUGH CHALLENGES
Improving confidence
Being prepared
Confidence can come in a number
of different ways. It comes from
experience as your track record as a
leader improves. It comes from having
well-formed plans and anticipating
challenges, and it comes from the
knowledge that you have a strong
business built on productive
working relationships.
Confidence is a cornerstone of good leadership. Especially in times of
uncertainty, upheaval, or crisis, believing in yourself and making the
right decisions will give you credibility and integrity, which in turn will
enhance the organization’s reputation and build trust in all stakeholders.
BOOST YOURSELF
Regularly affirm your own
strengths as a leader by
privately listing your abilities
and achievements. This will give
you an instant confidence boost
and banish that internal critic
living in your head.
Tip
COMMUNICATING WITH CONFIDENCE
While there are no shortcuts to building confidence, there are ways that
you can project confidence to your team and to your stakeholders.
Consider giving your new vision a badge—a look or a logo to
symbolize the change you want to happen. By implication, those who
use the new language or adopt the new symbols share the leader’s
vision and have committed to the change.
Deliver your vision messages in sound bites no more than 30 seconds
long that sum up the benefits of the opportunities you wish to explore.
Use confident language to describe your vision. Listen and learn
from political leaders, who characteristically employ optimistic
language that suggests a future state—words such as “innovative,”
“special,” “original,” “latest,” “breakthrough,” “updated,” and
“leading-edge.” Used regularly, this kind of vocabulary spreads
through the organization.
US_148-149_Improving_confidence.indd 148 30/05/16 3:02 pm
IMPROVING CONFIDENCE / 149
Acknowledging ideas
Your inner confidence will grow when you
behave in a confident manner and gain
the trust of your team and colleagues.
An ability and a willingness to devolve
power and decision-making is one vital
characteristic that marks out a confident
leader, so take every opportunity to
involve others and empower them
to act on their ideas. Be open about what
is not working for you, your customers,
suppliers, or employees; your frankness
will be interpreted as an expression
of confidence because you approach
success and adversity with equal zeal.
Encourage people to discover and
understand situations for themselves
rather than spoon-feeding them issues
and answers—remember your power
increases as you give it away.
Being consistent
As a leader, your every word and action
is scrutinized by your team and could
be given far more significance than
you intended. Perceptions of you as a
confident leader can be undermined
by conscious or unconscious slips, so
try and think in a measured way about
the kind of signals you are sending out.
Consistency and calmness in adversity
are characteristics that most people
will perceive as confidence.
FACE YOUR FEARS
Confidence comes
from self-knowledge;
understanding your thoughts
and actions gives you the
ability to control them.
A good way to become more
self-assured is to face your
fears—do that presentation,
confront your difficult CEO,
and reply to that demanding
client—now!
Tip
CHECKLIST...
YES NO
Staying calm in adversity
1 Do I know what triggers an emotional overreaction in me? ..........
2 Can I spot the signs of stress in myself? .........................................
3 Am I able to delay my response for a few seconds before
I respond? ..........................................................................................
Organizations with strong
leaders achieve double
the profit rate and
growth as those without
strong leadership
US_148-149_Improving_confidence.indd 149 30/05/16 3:02 pm
..................Content has been hidden....................
You can't read the all page of ebook, please click here login for view all page.