Have you noticed how some people—some leaders—are uber confident? Nothing seems to faze them and they always seem calm. They handle stressful situations with equanimity and never seem out of control. The question is: how do you step up your confidence to be like them?
Step Up Your Confidence
Believe it or not, it’s simpler than you think to step up your confidence. Imagine feeling confident, being perceived as confident, and consequently, inspiring loyalty and dedication from your colleagues. And, confidence is an essential attribute of those who are more “self-actualized,” meaning that you are more satisfied by your work while you are doing better work. You are less reactive and more resilient. Sound good?
The Confidence Sequence
To improve your confidence, you must focus on what’s called the Confidence Sequence in the Actualized Leader framework. The Confidence Sequence consists of three attributes, one each at the Cognition Level, Emotion Level, and Behavior Level. Considering the attributes in sequence is important because what you think leads to how you feel, which leads to how you behave.
Thus, to improve confidence, you generally need to start with the degree to which you are Objective; then consider the degree to which you feel Courageous; and finally, reflect on the degree to which you act with Candor. The attributes are further described below:
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Confidence Sequence |
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| Cognition | Emotion |
Behavior |
|
Objective The degree to which your judgment is based on the facts of a situation and is not influenced by personal feelings or preferences. |
Courage The degree to which you are willing to do something frightening and act in accordance with beliefs, judgments, and convictions. |
Candor The degree to which you are open, honest, frank, and sincere in your communications, especially when providing feedback. |
Remember, you have the freedom to choose your response, attitude, and approach to anyone or any situation. While it may be difficult to simply choose confidence, if you unpack what it takes to be confident, it can be quite simple. All you need to do is improve your Objectivity, Courage, and Candor. I’ve provided a few suggestions in the table below:
|
Confidence Sequence |
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| Cognition | Emotion |
Behavior |
|
Objective Practice describing situations factually and without judgment. Leave out the adjectives. Notice your assumptions; distinguish both implicit and explicit assumptions from what happened. |
Courage Consider the worst that might happen; is it so bad? What will happen if you don’t take action? Consider how you’d like to be remembered as a leader and which action furthers that vision. |
Candor Use neutral, factual language when giving what might be perceived as negative feedback; frame such feedback in your commitment to the person’s development. |
Interested in your confirming your leadership style, shadow, and the degree to which you are self-actualized? Take the Actualized Leader Profile short form at http://alpfree.com. For more information about the unabridged version of the Actualized Leadership Profile, which provides your score on the Nine Attributes of Actualized Leaders, including the Confidence Sequence, contact me. I’d be delighted to share it with you!