Leadership Lessons: Confidence as a Tool to Improve Wellbeing

Wellbeing Journey

Individuals have evolved to approach life in a balanced way. Not only looking to career satisfaction as the measure of success but integrating both personal and professional aspects – a far cry from environments of the late 20th century. When our companies look to provide for this evolution, solutions often center around how to manage wellbeing – mindfulness, exercise, breathing, or a related “program” to resolve issues. But these solutions can sometimes miss the mark or are interpreted as trying to get more from individuals and are not sustainable.

“Wellness, there’s a word you don’t hear every day” was famously said by Dan Rather in the 1980’s. Fast forward to today where wellness related messages are all around. In fact, more than half of global employers are now using wellness promotion strategies to enhance their employee’s experience and improve retention (1).

So, what lessons can be learnt from Leaders around the world?

Confidence Improves Wellbeing:

Picture this: A new leader has a big presentation to introduce, connect, and inspire their team. They are nervous – a normal and healthy physiological response. However, instead of using this as a piece of data showing the presentation is important and they care, they listen to their inner voice which says, “you’re not ready for this” and spiral into a series of negative thoughts. These negative thoughts pester, and they forget what was planned, sabotaging the impact of their first impression, from which needs to be recovered.

Many Leaders have been here. It is normal. The challenge is to look at nervousness as a tool for our impact. We can be confident whilst having a twinge of nervousness. This enables a high level of performance.

Leaders around the world and research shows that wholeness as a leader often boils down to confidence within. Leaders who become confident [are comfortable with their anxiety and stress](https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/the-power-of-slow/202307/how-to-be-consciously-confident-to-offset-anxiety#:~:text=Some people do well under,temporary%2C and it fuels them.). They feel sure of themselves, as they step into growth, success, and fulfillment, and are satisfied with how successes are achieved.

Findings through global research, teaching, and experiences, show that confidence is not only an output, but a key ingredient for internal satisfaction and the ability to connect with others. Additionally, it improves feelings about the lifelong journey. When a leader lacks confidence, their lives and those around them are impacted in a negative way – reverberating inside and outside of the organisations they lead. Outputs from a lack of confidence include volatility, stress, frustration – potentially derailing careers and relationships.

Increased confidence has been shown to support wellbeing in a number of ways:

1.Resiliency

Coping with stress, setbacks, and adversity and being able to reframe when an inner voice is trying to derail. Confidence provides a forcefield that supports growth. People with higher confidence are likely to approach obstacles as challenges and seek input from others. This enables growth and the resulting resilience helps foster a sense of stability and strength.

2.Community

Humans are social beings. Confident individuals project a feeling of safety – providing warmth and authenticity, making them more likeable and approachable. Because of this, their relationships are more robust, and networks are stronger. These communities provide belonging and support – even when things do not go well, they can share, resolve, and move on.

3.Achievement

Confident leaders achieve greater results through others. If regular, these achievements fill the confidence bucket. Decades of global experience and expert research have shown that leaders with confidence perform better and inspire others to achieve more. Even when setbacks occur, they are able to manage their inner voice, keep a growth mindset (Dweck), and set their goals to the next level.

As you may be able to conclude, confidence begets more confidence. Spiraling you upwards to achieve your goals.

The Confidence Equation – A Leadership Lesson

While we all strive to be confident it is not as easy as Nike’s slogan, “Just Do It.” In our personal and professional interactions, we want to look, feel, and be confident. But even the most successful amongst us struggle with confidence.

Issues with confidence show up in a difficult conversation, a boardroom meeting, or that pesky imposter syndrome. In our personal lives, it could be an interaction that you replay in better ways, or as a parent, circling about how a teenager’s outbursts are due to something you said or did in their early youth, and not a result of a lack of executive functioning.

These derailers impact success – professionally and personally – and affect wellbeing. Without internally having a good feeling – not belonging, or a feeling that reality is somehow inconsistent –confidence will diminish. This impacts stress and anxiety levels and wellbeing overall.

An equation that leaders around the world have used to enhance confidence has been distilled into three parts.

1. Know yourself – Having personal insight – i.e. a high level of self-awareness
2. Trust yourself – Knowing when to listen to your inner voice, and when it is leading you astray.
3. Be yourself – Embracing your quirkiness instead of fitting someone else’s mold.

Enhance your Confidence and, therefore, your wellbeing:

So, what can you take away from the Leadership Lessons? The three pieces that follow provide building blocks enable you to take the reins and enhance your confidence.

1. Build awareness – know your superpowers. Reach out to people who know your capabilities – a manager, friend, co-worker, loved one. Do they say the same things you think about yourself? What positive impact do you have in your world?
2. Make friends with your inner voice. Is it overly critical or supportive? When have you heard someone, you trust share a similar observation? Get to know what your go-to thoughts are. And filter through the ones that are negative. What can you accept as normal, and trust as useful data?

The inner voice often skews negatively. This can cause a spiral of thoughts, leading to self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and a lack of confidence. How you see yourself will dictate how you interact with others.

1. The phrase, “fake it till you make it” is a common message in our professional worlds. This can lead to succeeding or failing fast, but also provide a feeling of being an imposter – of not belonging or being qualified to be here. Then, our tendency is to force being good enough.

Write a list of what makes you – quirks and all – you. What are you leaving behind to succeed in your personal or professional environments? How can you leverage your quirks, which are genuine!

With intention to become more confident – building awareness, understanding inner dialogue, and stepping into uniqueness – wellbeing will improve alongside. Take lessons from Leaders around the world. Focus on knowing, trusting and being yourself and enable greater sense of self-confidence to shine through and positively impact your life in a holistic way.

About the Author: Tall Poppies Leadership

Tall Poppies Leadership enhances long term development for Executives, Teams, Leaders, Female Leaders in a sustained, impactful, fun way. We transform leaders around the world, by igniting their confidence from within.