The importance of confidence

Have you ever been given a project to deliver and thought you can’t do it? That you don’t know enough, that the deadlines are too tight?

Ever felt like panicking?

Have you been on that team, and somehow still delivered, with absolute pride in what you’ve delivered, bar a few teething issues?

As a leader, to inspire your team, you need to exude confidence. Confidence in the outcomes, and in the team. You don’t deny problems or paper them over. Hiding is a sign of weakness. But the team needs confidence to deliver and they get that from you.

If you’re not confident, don’t fake it. Revise the outcomes to a scope you’re confident in. Narrow your horizon. Get answers to your doubts, and support to conquer them. When times are tough, it’s your job to set the right expectations that the team can believe in, and deliver on. It’s your job to find a clear path through the chaos. Or it’s your job to help them pick up the pieces and move on.

These are the tests of your leadership. If the team can weather the crisis, if it can keep it’s collective head whilst all about are losing theirs, then you have earned the right to be a leader.

Be confident. But be authentic.

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