Leaders with confidence tend to build success in themselves and others where ever they go. This confidence is not fake it is real, authentic, and genuine. This is what attracts others to follow.

Here are five ways leaders build confidence:

“The way to develop self-confidence is to do the thing you fear and get a record of successful experiences behind you.” William Jennings Bryan

One – leaders realize fear will either limit them or grow them. They choose the latter. They look fear in the face and identify what it is saying, explore whether it might be true, define whether it may have any truth or insight given the situation, and than they move forward. Leaders are not afraid to say they have fear, they just don’t use it as a reason to stay stuck. This is the foundation of their true confidence.

“You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.” Eleanor Roosevelt

Two – leaders realize thinking what others may think is a fruitless and frustrating exercise. Successful leaders focus their attention on the best outcomes for all and work towards those goals. They build bridges and alliances with others to achieve a common objective. They develop themselves to work with all different types of people by building common ground, developing shared goals and collaborating for success. The ability to focus on collaboration vs what others are thinking creates positive forward movement and builds confidence in all.

“Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles, and less than perfect conditions. So what? Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident, and more and more successful.” Mark Victor Hansen

Three – leaders understand the wise words of Tony Harris, “I do, therefore I grow.” Thinking is important work and so to is doing. The key to forward momentum is to balance thinking and doing. All great ideas come from experience, putting ideas in motion, the willingness to try, and the insight that if you don’t do something than you are doing nothing. This boldness to do, creates confidence when thought becomes action.

“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.” e.e. cummings

Four – Confident people have the innate ability to start conversations with “I am curious, I wonder, or how could we?” This ability to be an explorer ignites others to engage and do the same. People gravitate to leaders who are willing to play in the field of ideas to unleash fresh thinking for all. Leaders who do this are not only confident in the exploration of the conversation and they can step away from the ideas to let others lead it to new and bold results.

“It’s a dead-end street if you sit around waiting for someone else to tell you you’re okay.” Michael Pitt

Five – Confident people have the ability to keep doing and trying new things. They do not look for permission from others to move in the positive direction of growth for themselves and others. They don’t get frozen in fear, they know the power of growth, leadership, life and fun is to keep in the stream of experience and moving themselves and others forward. Is is this zest for life that attracts others to be engaged with them. They don’t focus on what is wrong with a situation or why things are being done their way. They focus on how to move things forward in a way that would be creative and ennobling for others. This practice builds confidence in leaders to go into any situation with the understanding they can connect with others to find a better way.

Successful leaders know that true confidence requires the consistent attention to managing themselves well in many situations. By practicing the five areas above they are able to confidently enter into any arena because they can rest into the humanity of themselves.

Keep your confidence muscle strong,

Bobbie G.