People often ask me what are the things I would classify as a top leadership skill. I think one of the most important qualities of top leaders is confidence, yet it is something that doesn’t come up in the conversation much. Maybe it is just assumed that all leaders are confident, Or maybe when you are confident, you don’t realize it’s value. Either way, I have never met a successful person in a leadership role who wasn’t confident in their skills and abilities.
Confidence Makes Your Boss Happy
For most business owners, knowing that the people they hired are able to do the job that they were hired for is a priority. Nobody wants to hear someone say “I don’t know…” Why? Because I hired you to know.
As a leader, it is important to have a capable staff underneath you so that, even if you don’t know, you are confident that your staff can handle the responsibility.
In many places, I have seen people bring others on their team that are not as qualified as they should be. Not because they can’t find qualified people, but because they are worried that if they do bring in qualified people, those people will take their job. This shows a lack of confidence in ones owns ability. This turns into a compounding issue because when you bring in a weak crew because you are not confident in your self, you end up having no confidence in your crew either. This is where everything falls apart.
Be Confident in The People Who Work For You
It is important that you have a competent team working with you that you can have confidence in. It is also important for you to build their confidence. That isn’t to say that you shouldn’t verify their work, but you should let them do what you put them there to do.
I have seen to many people in leadership roles micromanage their teams. When I see this, I immediately think that the leader lacks confidence. Why is this person wasting their valuable time making sure their team is doing the job that they are suppose to be doing? Someone is obviously wrong for the job they are doing, is it the team, or the team leader? If your team isn’t up to the task you assigned to them, then get them training, or assign them something that they can do.
The Client Recognizes Confidence
When a team isn’t confident in what they are doing, when a team leader isn’t confident in their team, the client begins to wonder if they hired the wrong team.
A client brought you in to do a job. All they want to hear from you is that you have everything under control. All they want to see is your confidence.
Building Your Confidence
If you are looking to build your leadership skills, then build your confidence. And if you want to know the best way to build your confidence, it is to learn. Learn about your profession, learn about leadership skills, learn about management techniques, and learn the skills your team uses. You don’t have to be an expert at each thing individually, that is why you hired your team members. You just need to learn enough so you know what is going on. The more you learn, the more you know what is going on, and the more you are confident about what you and your team are doing.