Are You Cocky or Cool? 5 Tips for Managing with Confidence
If you’ve seen Clint Eastwood in any of his successful film
roles, you can identify his most powerful trait: confidence. Eastwood’s low-key
approach to bad-guy-busting overshadows the swagger and high heroics of other
Hollywood he-men – his confidence prevails every time.
What does it take to be a truly confident leader in today’s
business world?
5 Traits of Truly Confident Workplace Leaders:
- Discovers answers. Confident managers don’t bump other
opinions aside in the belief they’re always right. Good leaders take pride in
discovering the right answer, not who was right or wrong. They also are the
first to acknowledge they aren’t perfect!
- Takes responsibility. One mark of a confident leader is that
he or she doesn’t use someone’s mistakes to burnish their own reputation.
Buck-passing and finger-pointing never solved any problems. This kind of
bullying undermines authority and creates a toxic workplace. Dale Carnegie’s
Principle 12: If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.
- Re-directs the spotlight. The most-confident leaders
actively shift the spotlight of success onto the team or another individual.
Confident managers don’t need to be patted on the head. They know the superior
performance of their people reflects brightly on them.
- Seeks learning opportunities. Some leaders fear that asking
for help makes them appear inadequate. Not so for confident leaders. They see
it as an opportunity to learn something new -- and to admit they’re willing to
learn, without lingering over the small stuff.
- Listens more. Dale Carnegie encouraged people to be good listeners. Top managers know there’s more to be learned by listening to people and asking open-ended questions: What do you think we should do? Why do you think that? Is there a better idea or solution?
Posts
