Take these 2 steps to Master Confidence

​Confidence = Feeling good about yourself and your abilities. 

Lacking Confidence = A crappy feeling that makes you want to run away and hide.

Lacking confidence is the #1 thing women tell me that gets in their way of leading well and enjoying the leadership experience. Hesitancy, second-guessing or an outright fear, can shake a lady to the core. Moving back to a feeling of certainty can happen. It takes the movement in 1 or more of the 3 factors of confidence: knowledge, skills and attitude. Let's take a look at your confidence.

Factors that add up to confidence

• Knowledge 
  • Do you know how to do it? 
• Skill
  • Have you done it before?
• Attitude
  • Do you believe you can do it?

​Let’s take, for example, public speaking

Knowledge
Have you participated in any training, read a book or watched a video about what is important to know about effective speaking?

• For example, are you aware how important it is to enunciate your words clearly?
• Are you versed in the skill of adding strategic pauses in your message?
• Have you learned how to use your body gestures to convey your message?

This is all information. Reading it in a book doesn’t make you an excellent speaker. It does, however, point you in the right direction. You still need to apply the theory.

Skills
When have you practiced public speaking?

Is it something you regularly do at work and have the opportunity to develop your skills on a daily or weekly basis?

• Perhaps you have joined a community group such as your local Rotary Club or Chamber of Commerce to increase the time to practice.
• You may have enrolled in your local Toastmaster’s club.

The question is: Are you speaking in public minimally a few times a month? That is, are you practicing your public speaking skills so that you can improve on them?

Attitude
Do you believe you can be a decent public speaker?
Do you have faith in yourself? Listen to your inner dialogue. What is it saying to you?

• I dunno if I can.
• I don’t know how.
• I’ll never be good at this?

Shifting your mindset to a growth mindset, one that believes with time and effort you can develop skills, helps you to improve your odds. Getting control of your mind messages allows you to change your inner voice. You’ll want to change it to an encouraging one.

• I think I can.
  I am going to master this.
  I just have to keep trying, and I’ll get it. 

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Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right.” 
Henry Ford

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2 Steps to Mastering Your confidence

Step #1
Take a moment to consider where you lack confidence. Identify the particular area you struggling with:

• Dealing with conflict
• Understanding budgets
• Managing my time
• Taking on a new role
• Writing the report
• Leading a team

Step # 2
Review the 3 factors of confidence.
What can you do in each of these areas to help you to boost your confidence? 

• You might take some training on conflict resolution (knowledge) and ask a friend to role-play (skills) a conversation. You could then start shifting your inner dialogue (attitude) to trusting that you will improve with effort and practice.  You may take on online course (knowledge) on understanding Excel and do the practice worksheets (skills) to get a better handle on managing your budgets, or you may ask your company accountant (knowledge) if you could take 30 minutes of their time to help you understand one of the reports better. You could remind yourself (attitude) that you wouldn’t have moved up to the new position if others hadn’t seen something in you.

​Increasing your confidence starts with your attitude
When you align your attitude with your desire, you can shift the other two areas. It’s easier to be open to increasing your knowledge and skills when you believe that doing so will make a difference. Watch your thoughts. They are ultimately the key component of your confidence level. Help your mind, by learning and growing. The combination of all three will have you more optimistic about yourself and what you are capable of doing. You will take control of making yourself more confident.

QUESTION:
​What will you do today, to get an immediate boost of confidence in one area of your leadership?