Personal Advice

7 Steps to Boost Your Confidence as a Leader

Many leaders want to exhibit confidence and self-esteem in their roles as leaders. In these videos I’ll share the advice I give to leaders and potential leaders about this topic and a few others.

by Marshall Goldsmith

For many leaders, especially those just starting out, exhibiting confidence and strength in their role as leader is something that they often tell me they would like to develop. They know, and rightly so, that self-confidence and self-esteem are important qualities of great leaders.

Following are seven simple suggestions that I give leaders and potential leaders who want to be collaborative and authentic and at the same time exhibit more self-confidence at work.
  1. Decide if you really want to be a leader. Many of the MBAs who report self-confidence issues are brilliant technicians. They often find the uncertainty and ambiguity of leading people very unsettling. They are looking for the "right answers" - similar to the ones in engineering school. In some cases, brilliant technical experts should continue to be brilliant technical experts - and not feel obligated to become managers.
  2. Make peace with ambiguity in decision making. There are usually no clear right answers when making complex business decisions. Even CEOs are guessing.
  3. Gather a reasonable amount of data, involve people, then follow your gut and do what you think is right.
  4. Accept the fact that you are going to fail on occasion. All humans do.
  5. Have fun! Life is short. Why should you expect your direct reports to demonstrate positive enthusiasm, if they don't see it in you?
  6. Once you make a decision, commit and go for it. Don't continually second guess yourself. If you have to change course, you have to change course. If you never commit, all you will ever do is change course.
  7. Demonstrate courage on the outside, even when you don't feel it on the inside. We are all afraid on occasion -- that is just part of being human. If you are going to lead people in tough times, you will need to show more courage than fear. When direct reports read worry and concern on the face of a leader, they begin to lose confidence in the leader's ability to lead.

In November 2015 Dr. Marshall Goldsmith was recognized as the #1 Leadership Thinker in the World and the top 5 Management Thinker at the Thinkers50 Award Ceremony in London. He was also selected as the #1 Executive Coach in the World by GlobalGurus.org, and one of the 10 Most Influential Management Thinkers in the World by Thinkers50 in both 2011 and 2013. In 2011 he was chosen as the World's Most Influential Leadership Thinker. Marshall was the highest rated executive coach on the Thinkers50 List in both 2011 and 2013. What Got You Here Won't Get You There was listed as a top ten business bestseller for 2013 by INC Magazine / 800 CEO Read (for the seventh consecutive year). Marshall's exciting new research on engagement is published in his newest book Triggers (Crown, 2015).

Please order Triggers at Amazon or Barnes & Noble!