Confidence Hack # 1 - Know You Can

​If you are like most leaders, you moved up the ranks coming into a supervisory or leadership position with little or no formal training. Perhaps that is why you feel like you are floundering through your days and bumbling through meetings, tasks, and expectations. It’s no wonder you struggle with confidence. 

It’s hard to feel confident when you don’t feel competent!

​Do you have the skills necessary

​Consider for a moment you ability to handle the following leadership skills:

• Deal with conflict on your team as opposed to arguing with your spouse 
• Managing and developing budgeting & use spreadsheets as opposed to juggling bank accounts
• The art of inspiring or motivating others as opposed to telling your kids what to do
• How to run an efficient meeting as opposed to attending the fundraising meeting for your child’s sports  club
• Networking at a community event as opposed to sitting around the living room with friends
• Business etiquette at a luncheon as opposed to chatting with others at a pig roast, the family BBQ’s or a church supper.

Are you getting the point?

While many of the skills you learn in life help you in leadership, they are not the same. You may need more formal training in some of the areas to feel comfortable as a leader. 

​To increase your competence as a leader, and thus your confidence, there are 3 steps

1) Identify skills you need to work on
Determining what you want to work on goes beyond what is on your performance appraisal. Honestly, your company is more worried about their needs than yours. What I am suggesting here, may be things you want to work on yourself rather than what is expected of you.

Think about the areas you feel shaky in.

• Where do you doubt yourself?
• What places are you hesitating to take action?
• Where are you fearful of failing?

Also, consider what skills make a good leader.
Which of those do you feel you need to work on? Here are a couple of good articles to check out that will give you some information about the skills necessary for effective leadership. 

• Top 10 Qualities That Make A Great Leader
• 7 Most Required Leadership Skills for 2015

TASK: Make a list of the skills you want to work on.

2) Get the training you need to increase your skills

Once you have identified the skills, look at where you can get training for that skill.

• Consider reading a book on the subject
• Take a course
• Register for an online program

You may need to think outside of the typical training opportunities. Your local college may have a course on spreadsheets, but if you want to work on learning to inspire, there may not be a college course for that. 

Consider reading books, attending webinars, finding a mentor or coach or taking training that will grow you from the inside. We know that confidence is what you think you can do, therefore, start looking at retraining how you think.

TASK: Move forward with one of your identified training options.

3) Practice, practice, practice
Once you know what you need to do, you then need to put your new skill into action. However, you need to realize that it will feel awkward and weird in the beginning. It will feel strange to do this thing in a new way. Whether you are learning how to add a column using formulas in a spreadsheet or shifting the way you do staff meetings by starting them with kudos, it will feel weird. The catch is, to become proficient at a skill you need to practice it.  By practicing the skill then you will you know you can handle it when that skill is being called upon.

TASK: Schedule time to practice your new skill.

​Competence is increasing your capacity to do something
The ongoing skill development and subsequent practice will move you to feeling experienced and capable. Feeling more competent is what boosts your confidence. When you know you can handle a particular task; you feel much better about getting at it. The tendency to hesitate or procrastinate decrease. Your doubt diminishes. Uncertainty is replaced with self-assuredness. It is a whole different feeling when you know that you can handle it. Increase your skills and you will feel your confidence rise. Make you sure you ​know you can!

Kathy is a leadership coach for women who want to strengthen their leadership & find balance in life. 
She mentors women as they rediscover their purpose, passion, and persistence for life while dealing with office politics, jerk bosses and the challenges of family life. Kathy gives her ladies the hope and inspiration they need along with a kick in the pants to make positive changes in their lives. ​​​​​​​

Discover more in Kathy’s book Mastering Confidence: Discover Your Leadership Potential by Awakening Your Inner Guidance System ​