Why is confidence important in a leader? Let me ask you a question. Would you get a heart surgery done by a doctor that walks around saying: "Well, I'm not sure. I might not be good enough, but, oh, I can try."? No, right? A leader who is not sure about their skills and their capability is NOT a winning combination. But how can leaders always be sure of themselves when the world is changing so fast? Watch the following video or keep reading for more...
This is where confidence comes in. Because if you have that confidence, you can face the change. Without it, you'll be more resistant to it. I love this cartoon:
![Screen Shot 2023-01-19 at 4.24.39 PM](https://thinkyourself.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-19-at-4.24.39-PM.png)
Everybody wants change, and they want things to be different, but people don't want to be the instigators of that change. They don't want to be the ones leading that change. A leader is the person that stands at the front of the pack and opens the doors for others, but it they're afraid of the new thing, we're all in trouble, right?
How many times have I heard a leader say: "Do what I say, don't do what I do." Sometimes I know they say this as a joke, but it is frequent that entrepreneurs who are supposed to be teaching, let's say leadership, are doubting their own leadership capability. Actually, research has shown that approximately 70% of people admit to experiencing imposter syndrome at work. This is not okay!
![Screen Shot 2023-01-19 at 4.31.10 PM](https://thinkyourself.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-19-at-4.31.10-PM-e1674166396479.png)
All this draining negative self-talk leads to all sorts of productivity-sucking effects like procrastination, for example. They make mistakes, it creates stress, and they're underperforming on some tasks. Low self-confidence can lead to really poor communication too. It makes for toxic work environments, low morale, and a high turnover rate. Team members and leaders need to make decisions based on their skills and their knowledge, not out of fear or because of the limiting beliefs created by their past negative experiences.
A lack self-confidence will keep you stuck when you face new things. Change scares us, and we quickly push the panic button when it happens. Let's say that there is a new thing. It's not even the thing that scares us. It's the word "new". And because it's new, our prefrontal cortex becomes overloaded and the panic button is pushed. It is normal. It does happen to everyone.
As we've seen in last week's blog, 85% of people suffer from a lack of self-confidence in at least one area of their life. Knowing that it happens to the best of us, then it is important to continually work on developing confidence strategies for when it happens. Knowing how to control your negative self-talk, how to use your brain to make it more adaptable to change is the key to leadership. Everyone wants to work with a leader who's confident.
![Human brain digital illustration. Electrical activity, flashes a](https://thinkyourself.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/AdobeStock_172813720-scaled-e1674166366136.jpeg)
And if you think about it, most of the time, the reason why people don't get along or leave their job is because of a lack of confidence. People don't leave the job because they don't like the work. They leave the boss that they don't respect, or the coworker they can't stand.
People want to be around confident people. Confidence is attractive and not only for leaders. When you teach your employees or your clients to be more confident and focused at work, they're happier, they're more innovative, and they're far more productive as well. They communicate effectively, they're more likely to step into leadership roles, and confident team members and leaders results in a better functioning whole.
So in case you missed it, what I'm saying is that confidence is the common characteristic to every great leader. Confidence is the foundation to leadership.
![Award winner black icon design. Champion sign. Leadership happy](https://thinkyourself.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/AdobeStock_394788403-scaled-e1674165940965.jpeg)
CONFIDENCE IS THE FOUNDATION TO LEADERSHIP.
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Check out some of my previous blog posts...