In this week’s email, I’m sharing strategies 6 – 10 in my series on how to Master Confidence. As you move forward with your goals and plans for 2024, it’s one proven game-changer for your success as a senior leader. It’s the one thing that you MUST include in your plans this year because it underpins everything else you will do.
I’m confident saying this because, in my 25 years of coaching outstanding leaders, I’ve found that confidence is the linchpin – the meta-skill – that has unlocked unparalleled results time after time.
Mastering Confidence is so critical to your leadership success that I’m writing a book on it – to be published later this year. And, during January, I’m giving you a sneak peek into its key strategies so that you can get ahead of the game right away.
There are 10 strategies in total. Last Friday I shared the first 5 of these. If you missed them, click here.
Together, these strategies will ensure you master confidence so that you can elevate your leadership, your career and your results!
So, here goes with strategies 6 – 10.
No. 6 Recognise that the opposite of confidence is fear
People tend to think that the opposite of confidence is a lack of confidence. It isn’t! You see, a lack of is ‘nothing’ and nature abhors a vacuum. No, the opposite of confidence is fear – or a derivative of it, such as worry, anxiety, uncertainty… When any one of these starts to gnaw at us, it erodes our confidence. For this reason, to build your confidence you need to first understand and manage your fears.
No. 7 Set clear boundaries – and stick to them
Leaders operate in busy, complex worlds – too many demands on you and your team, and too few resources to deliver! It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and find that your confidence disappears. Confident leaders avoid this because they set and maintain clear boundaries, and ensure others do the same. Unclear boundaries or ever-changing boundaries will damage your confidence.
No. 8 Manage people who undermine you
You can accept that not everyone is going to be your biggest fan, but people can undermine you in a myriad of ways. Whether that’s a boss who’s happy to criticise but seldom rewards, an unforgiving market and competitors who seem to always be a few steps ahead, or peers who should support but like to point out flaws, there are plenty of people who will undermine your confidence. And oh, if only you could simply avoid them. Sadly, you can’t. So, to protect your confidence, you need to be able to manage them with skill and dexterity.
No. 9 Understand and manage your emotions
You may well have worked on your EQ for years, perhaps you’ve undertaken every leadership psychometric ever invented to build your self-awareness, but, if you’re like most leaders, this won’t really have helped you understand and manage your emotions when it matters. You see, it’s hard to turn theory into practice and all the self-awareness in the world won’t help if you can’t manage your reactions in the moment. Leaders who can are far more confident about handling any situation well. This is good for them personally, and builds confidence for others. But, if you find yourself having to say you’re sorry more often than you’d like, it’s a sign that your confidence isn’t as solid as it needs to be.
And 10 Work on your resilience to build your confidence – and vice versa
Never mind the chicken and the egg, which came first, resilience or confidence? Resilience and confidence are so intertwined that it’s difficult to tell them apart. The great news is that the same good habits, constructive mindset and skills practice will strengthen both your resilience and your confidence – so you multiply the benefits many times over. On the other hand, when your resilience crumbles, your confidence weakens too. The most effective leaders recognise this and work on their confidence and their resilience, together, as one holistic package.
Throughout January, I’ve given you a sneak peek into my upcoming book on Mastering Confidence.
The 10 strategies I’ve shared derive from 25 years of coaching successful leaders and ensuring they achieve outstanding results. I hope you’re putting them into practice too and seeing results already.
Above all, don’t leave your success to chance. Mastering confidence is the proven game-changer!