It’s the time in the British summer when sports fanatics are glued to their TVs. Wimbledon, the Tour de France and the British Open have all been taking up loads of screen time in our house recently – not to mention, of course, the Euros making their once in every four years’ appearance.
I’m in awe of these top sporting performers. Their hard work and skill shines through. But there’s something else that every one of them works on because it turns them into winners. I’m always struck by this one key ingredient that they all highlight as critical to being at the top of their game. That ingredient?
Confidence.
Confidence is the remaining C to explore in this email series on how to move from being stuck to unstuck with achieving any goal – personal or work-related – you wish to achieve. If you’re stuck right now, it just might be the ingredient you need to refine to get moving again. (The other ingredients from my 4Cs for Results framework are Competence, Communication and Culture).
Whether it’s on the sporting field or in the Boardroom, it’s clear to me that these four things – Competence, Confidence, Communication and Culture – enable any of us to shine and deliver outstanding results time after time.
If any one ingredient is missing, or under par, our performance and results will suffer.
In this email series, I’ve already explored Competence, Communication and Culture. So, with sporting greatness high on the agenda, now is the ideal time to explore the final C.
I have no doubt that Confidence sets the top performers apart. But don’t just take my word for it!
“I owe my success to my belief in myself and have found that confidence can be learned and developed.”
Venus Williams
“If you don’t have confidence, you’ll always find a way not to win.”
Carl Lewis
“Confidence is the most important single factor in this game…”
Jack Nicklaus
“Your success will be determined by your own confidence and fortitude”
Michelle Obama
I’d say that 90% of the work I do as an executive coach can be boiled down to helping leaders (re)gain confidence – not just in themselves, but in their teams, their boss, their peers, the systems and processes in their organisations. When confidence ebbs, communication fails, culture suffers and the most competent individuals begin to doubt themselves – or leave the business to seek more fertile ground.
When confidence is flowing, you’ll find people tackle the problems they need to tackle, overcome apparently impossible hurdles, and deliver levels of performance and results that others dream of.
But here’s the rub. As a leader, you are responsible for creating a culture that enables others to work with confidence. You are responsible for communicating in a way that builds confidence across every team and individual you lead. And you are responsible for ensuring others have the competence to work with confidence too. It really is that stark. It’s a big ask.
The secret to fulfilling this ask is to first work on your own confidence because it takes self-confidence to create an environment that enables the confidence of those you lead to grow too.
The great news? Self-confidence is not a gift that you’re either born with or not, that you either have or haven’t got. It’s something that you can work on and develop. In fact, to quote Venus Williams once again:
“My own self-confidence is something I work on every day, just like going to the gym or training on the court.’
You see, strengthening our self-confidence is about managing our mindset and habitual thought-patterns; it’s about reinforcing good habits in both these areas. It’s eminently achievable and a self-discipline that will repay your investment in it many times over.
I’ve shared the highest impact, proven frameworks and tools to do this in my free e-guide to Mastering Confidence.
Whether you’re stuck and wondering how to get unstuck, or you simply want to make sure you’re playing your very best game every day, check it out. Just click this link to get your very own copy delivered right into your inbox today.