Leadership Lesson: Lost Confidence

• You had a bad year last year.
• Your board shared some things that were hard to hear.
• You had to let employees go over the last six months.
• You had to scrap a long-term strategy for short-term survival.
• You’ve started to doubt your capabilities or even your capacity.
• Your courage is starting to wane.

Any of these can lead to a leader’s lost confidence. Just like the economy rises and falls on confidence, so does the success of a leader. The question is - how is your confidence today?

For me, I ask this every morning. I have been asking the following question that came from my time with Dr. Henry Cloud. The question is this:

Do you have the courage to meet the demands of reality?

If you do, then you can build your confidence enough to execute what is in front of you. If you do not have the courage then your confidence is shot and I suggest you get some time with some key advisers to help you process what is in front of you.

I would caution you on one thing. Confidence is not built off of circumstance. Confidence comes from the inside. If you are putting your confidence solely in circumstance then your confidence index will most likely stay low during this time in our economy. Yet, if your confidence is built upon who you are and what you are called to do then your confidence has a better chance of maintaining while you handle the circumstances of today.

Friends, get it back. Ask yourself if you have the courage and then spend the time to get your confidence to the appropriate levels.

Posted on March 03, 2009 in Leader Development