The Critical Connection Between Confidence and Leadership

During the past twenty years, our research and hands-on experience with leaders has led us to feel strongly that there is one aspect of leadership that is so critical, that without it, real leadership cannot exist. That one critical component is confidence.

Confidence is the foundation of leadership. You can teach a leader to be an effective problem solver; become more decisive; a better communicator; how to coach, mentor and hold team members accountable; and many other fundamentals of leadership. Yet, without that leader first believing in himself or herself, true leadership will exist only in title. In essence, related to leadership confidence, the first sale must be to yourself. Meaning, that if you don’t believe that you have the personal confidence to lead, gaining followers will be tough, or impossible.

As Francisco Dao, a lifelong entrepreneur, says, “Self-confidence is the fundamental basis from which leadership grows. Trying to teach leadership without first building confidence is like building a house on a foundation of sand. It may have a nice coat of paint, but it is ultimately shaky at best.”

People like to work with and admire leaders who are confident, yet humble. There is a natural tendency to trust people more when they appear confident. For most of us, dealing with a confident person helps assure us that the person is also competent. Generally, when a leader exhibits confidence, it makes it easier to trust that leader, and people want to work with leaders they trust.

When leaders exhibit confidence, they typically:

• Are happy: They feel positive about their ability to lead people and deal with daily challenges. The have a “can do” attitude about whatever comes their way. Their team members appreciate working with an upbeat leader who holds a positive vision.
• Have better relationships: They enter into positive, productive relationships. They feel good about themselves, treat others well and in turn, they are treated well by others.
• Are motivated and ambitious: They set goals and are motivated to accomplish them. They believe that the work they do is important and makes a difference in the company or even the world.
• Laugh more: They can see the humor, even in challenging situations, and have the ability to put things into perspective. They also laugh sooner and more often.
• Are open to risks: Or at least calculated risks. They confidently forge into the unknown and learn from their mistakes. They are not safely mired on the sidelines, but in the thick of the play.
• Recognize success: Not only do they look for opportunities to genuinely recognize the success of others, they are also able to openly receive compliments, never discounting the sender by saying, “I was just doing my job.”
• Accept feedback: They welcome feedback from others and put their ideas into action. Because of their receptivity, people keep coming to them with feedback and ideas for improvement, helping the leader continue to grow and develop.
• Think for themselves: They have a deep sense of their core values – what is right and wrong, and although open to feedback from others, confidently form their own opinion or pick their own course of action. They are easy to follow, because their words and actions are in alignment and consistent.

Remember, it is confidence that separates average leaders from great leaders. In reality, self-confidence is a more important asset than skill, knowledge, or even experience. Without confidence, you will find it difficult to make tough decisions, lead meetings with authority, get people to communicate with you candidly, and be open to feedback, particularly when it is of the constructive type. Without confidence, you will second-guess your decisions and find yourself becoming defensive, when challenged. Without confidence, you may find yourself sadly lacking in one very important component of leadership… followers.

Never underestimate the critical connection between confidence and leadership. When people feel your confidence and trust you, they more willingly invest their time, energy and loyalty to ensure that you and the team are successful. Do something on a daily basis to boost your leadership confidence.