Developing Your Confidence

In my extensive research on leadership over the past decade, I have found that the more effective leaders in organizations tend to exhibit the 3 ‘C’s: Commitment, Confidence and Clarity.

Confidence seems to be a magnet for attracting people and followers. Confidence is attractive and addictive. When you are mesmerized by a dynamic speaker and his/her stories, then we are attracted to the speaker’s energy and enthusiasm – part of their confidence package. Your confidence is your motivation to do more, and possibly for others. Confidence and selfishness leads to interpretations of arrogance. How would you develop your confidence? Here are some suggestions:

1) Complete a challenge

2) Learn a new skill

3) Develop the next level of mastery with an existing skill

4) Travel as often as you can

5) Read and share your knowledge

6) Challenge ideas, not people

7) Apply what you have learnt

8) Win an award, or be recognized for your talent or skill

9) Lead a team (the bigger, the better)

10) Practise, rehearse and train regularly to keep your skills and fitness intact

11)Write, and then write more

12) Speak before strangers

I learnt how to juggle from my friend, Rudy Zung in 1986 when we were young, military officers. Thanks for the precious gift, Rudy! When I teach my students to juggle, it gives me a lot of pleasure watching them learn. Some of the learning is overt, sometimes covert. I use positive reinforcement (mainly encouragement) to engage them to go one step further. I assure them that they do not need to juggle, as it is not a competency that describes their job description and job scope. Yet, they cannot disagree that having juggled three balls within 20 minutes they have progressed to a higher level of confidence. It is not about mastery; rather, it is about doing, exploring, and discovering more about your potential and your willingness to attempt something new.

Do something new.