Confidence: The True Test of a Leader
If you read the daily newspapers or watch the network or local news, there is no doubt that you’ll walk away wondering if in fact the world is about to take a dive and come to an end any day now! The economy is tanking (again), there are more people looking for work and the government is not functioning at all.
The SKY IS FALLING, The SKY IS FALLING!
There are lots of business people and consumers alike who believe in this and live in fear. They manage their businesses thinking that the world will end tomorrow and so are paralyzed from planning and taking necessary bold decisions.
Confidence is the hallmark of success both in business and in life. Confident leaders do not preach, they do. They are decisive; they take action and inspire others around them. Confidence means taking the initiative and sometimes stepping out in faith, launching into the unknown simply to begin taking some kind of action. The world is full of educated derelicts who have immense amounts of acquired knowledge, yet, do not apply that knowledge in their own work. Isn’t that ironic?
When I work with my clients, I always get around to explaining to them a simple fact of life. Applying the knowledge that they already have is the key to everything. It is the basis of your budding confidence. Recently, President Michael Crow of Arizona State University made the same point. He was talking at a public function where he urged traditional academics to be roadrunners instead of ostriches. What he meant was that academics have a tendency to behave like ostriches and bury their heads in the sand without taking their acquired knowledge and with that, taking action and making confident decisions. Instead, he urged them to be roadrunners who move fast and with a plan, and as in the cartoon, outwit the coyote.
Confident leaders learn from past experiences. When faced with tough issues, they know how to make quick decisions and are willing to accept failures and move on. They know how to base their decisions on previous experiences and know that over 90% of quick, confident decisions will turn out to be right. Even if you don’t know the answer, I would encourage you to make a confident decision; adjust where necessary and continue to push forward instead of drifting along like a log in turbulent waters.
When faced with a tough challenge and you want to make a quick, confident decision, follow these tips:
- Ask yourself what happened.
- Why did it happen?
- What can I do so that it never happens again?
- Then take action and move on with another confident decision?
Make sure that you move with confidence instead of taking the problem or issue to a committee for review. Remember, you need to fail to win.
In his book FLIGHT PLAN, my mentor, Brian Tracy, compares a pilot and the process for flying from point A to point B with the success process of any business. The Flight Plan analogy is a method that will help you reach your end goal. Basically you must have a plan and you must be confident about the plan. It helps you fly into uncharted territory but also helps you steer clear of the turbulence, find clarity and purpose and become a confident leader.
The key to creating your flight plan is to build confidence by taking bold decisions and applying the knowledge you have. Do not wait.
If you need help building confidence through your personal or business plan, I can help, This is what I do and I’m open for business!
As always, BE GREAT!
Coach Dan