Confidence is one of the most important skills that you can have and develop.

Without it, we often spend and waste a lot of our time and effort second guessing ourselves. We become less focused and easily distracted. A lack of confidence also hinders our ability to lead others. If we don’t have faith in ourselves, why should anyone else place any trust in what we say or do?

Confidence Increases Focus

When we are confident we project authority and security.  Our sense of self-value and self-worth are reflected in the way that we talk to others and how we physically carry ourselves. Being confident allows us to become more focused and makes our team members feel safe. They believe that we know what we are doing. They trust us to look after their best interests, and so they too can become more focused when performing their tasks.

Since confidence reassures our team, it frees them from the distraction and worry. They are more likely to give us their best efforts and increase their performance.

Confidence is a Skill that can be Learned and Improved

Confidence is just like any other leadership skill; it can be learned and developed. If you have members of your team that question your abilities or seem distracted, reluctant to share, cooperate and collaborate, chances are great that your team is simply mirroring your own actions and state of mind.

If you want to empower your team and free them to be able to perform their best work, you must have confidence both in your own abilities and theirs as well.

The following tips can help you to increase your confidence and the confidence of your team so that together you can perform your best work to create something great and long lasting!

Increase Confidence by Increasing Communication

One way that leaders can increase confidence is with effective communication.

Make certain that you are taking the time to connect with your people and building their trust and respect. Use your people skills to forge bonds and identify individual strengths and talents. Create relationships as you communicate with others where you can learn just what your people need from you to be able to do their jobs more efficiently and effectively.

As your relationships with your team members strengthen, they will place more confidence and trust in you. Increasing your communication also helps to create opportunities for both you and your team where you can help them to increase their own skills and grow so that you can also have more confidence. As your confidence in your team grows, you feel safe and free enough to allow them to take on more challenging tasks and projects, increasing the effectiveness and productivity of everyone.

Communicating in an open manner with your team also helps you to make better decisions because you have access to more information and ideas from the very people who are responsible for getting the work done in your organisation.

Use Mentoring to Foster Competence and Increase Confidence

It’s almost impossible for anyone to feel confident if they don’t feel as though they have a full understanding of what they are doing, or what is expected of them. Starting a mentorship program for your team, where you pair more established, veteran associates with those who are new to the job, or have recently stepped into a specific role, can help improve their competence, morale, and confidence.

Coaching, mentoring and even sponsorship can also help you to feel more confident as well as help you to further develop your other leadership skills and increase your effectiveness and performance.

Our Executive Coaching and Mentoring programs are customised to help you focus on your strengths, gain clarity, and greater focus. They act as a sounding board and guide to help you become a more potent and essential leader that is ready to take the next step and reach the next level in their career.

Use Confidence to Spur Innovation

Being able to come up with unique solutions is truly the lifeblood of any organisation.

An entity without innovation is literally dead in the water. You can encourage and empower your team to share their best ideas, thoughts, and suggestions with you by letting them know that it is okay to take risks, and to try new things.

Don’t just reward success, use confidence to make your team feel safe so that they aren’t afraid to risk it all and new ways of thinking and doing things. While it’s true that they might fail, small failures are usually the building blocks upon which success is created; so empower your team to take risks and celebrate the results!