Confidence is one of the most oft referenced qualities of successful leaders and high performing professionals. Yet, it's also one of the most elusive qualities to define. What is confidence and how does one get it? Are you born with it? Or can you develop confidence with enough time and effort? And why the heck is confidence so important in the workplace in the first place?

It's a confidence conundrum! But we're here to solve the case and provide some clarity around this whole confidence conversation.

Welcome to this week's episode of the Founder and the Force Multiplier Podcast, where we explore how founders and leaders work together with their right hand partners to turn ideas into action and build wildly successful businesses. Today we are going to talk about confidence, and we're gonna go through eight ways on how you can cultivate confidence at any stage of your career.

Confidence is one of the most oft-referenced qualities of successful leaders in high performing professionals. Yet it's also one of the most elusive qualities to define what is confidence and how does one get it? Are you born with it or can you develop confidence with enough time and effort? And why the heck is confidence so important in the workplace in the first place?

It's a confidence conundrum, but we're here to solve the case and provide some clarity around this whole confidence conversation. So what is confidence psychology today defines confidence as a belief in oneself, the conviction that one has the ability to meet life's challenges and succeed, and the willingness to act accordingly.

Being confident requires a realistic sense of one's capabilities and feeling secure in that knowledge. So a lack of self-confidence often comes from the fact that people put too much emphasis on what others think about them or need outside. Validation for confidence to grow. But true confidence comes from within.

You are in control of building your confidence and you don't need any special tools, degrees, or outside help to get there.I always say confidence doesn't mean you have all the answers or know everything. Confidence is being secure in knowing that you can find a solution to any challenge that comes your way.

That's actually a pretty freeing thought. Instead of worrying about all the unknowns, what you don't know, or the fact that you haven't done something before, all you have to focus on is your own personal growth, your resilience, your growth mindset, and your self leadership. Um, because if you master that one thing, you can master anything.

So are you born with confidence or can it be developed? Thankfully, you can develop confidence. Of course there are some individuals who are more, more prone to confidence, whether through nature or nurture. But that doesn't mean that there isn't hope for the rest of us. Confidence is not an innate fixed characteristic, which means it can be developed and improved over time.

So let's dive into that. So first off, why is confidence so important? Well, confidence, and executive presence is an important part of leadership and career growth. Confidence is, a key ingredient in executive presence. Executive presence in short, is your ability to inspire confidence in your leader, your colleagues, and your direct reports.

So you kind of need to have confidence in yourself before others will have confidence in you. For force multipliers. By inspiring confidence in your leader, you'll be asked to join the inner circle, be given more responsibility, and then get asked to take on higher profile projects. Right or wrong, it's difficult for a C E O or executive to give more responsibility to their EA or chief of staff if that individual is hesitant to take on new challenges or lacks belief in their own abilities.

Confidence is equally important for leaders. Again, it doesn't mean that they know everything and that they're make, they make flawless decisions, but it does mean that they know they can find a solution to whatever issue comes across their desk. If a leader wants to inspire their team and have others buy into their mission and vision, then confidence is a must.

So let's talk about that whole concept of fake it till you make it. Should you fake it till you make it? Well, it's a standard piece of advice given to most leaders and professionals, but I'd like to suggest that you ignore it. I understand the spirit of this advice is intended to encourage you to exude confidence and competency, but I would argue instead of just exuding it, how about you actually have it?

Faking confidence can lead to failure fast. We all know those people who act as if they know more than they do, which can lead to mistrust. We know those whose confidence looks a bit more like arrogance, which leads to a poor reputation. And we also know those people who can't admit when they've made a mistake or that they don't know the answer.

Which then leads to more mistrust from my personal experience over many years in the industry. I would rather you tell me or my executive that you don't know and get back to us with the correct answer with 24 hours than fake a response, and ultimately leave everyone frustrated and disappointed.

Honesty, coupled with a solution is going to get you a lot further in business and in your career. It's also going to help you build trust and better relationships with clients and colleagues along the way. Curiosity and transparency are two great qualities of a leader, and it's hard to have both of those if you are faking it.

So let's talk about those oh eight ways to cultivate confidence. Cultivating confidence is a practice. You don't develop confidence by reading about it in a book or listening to it on a podcast. You build confidence through action and experience, and that's how you develop true confidence. There are eight ways to cultivate more confidence at any stage in your career.

So number one, immerse yourself in your company and industry. Yes, I know I said that you can't know everything, but you can know a lot, particularly when you are focusing your training and education on a specific subject, whether that's your industry, your role, or company operations.

I. Attend company trainings and supplement that with your own research and education. There are endless amounts of free resources, articles, webinars, summits, podcasts that will teach you even more about business and leadership. Create a habit from day one where you are committed to learning and growing your knowledge, and you'll be a confident industry expert in no time.

Number two. Prepare and practice. It's one thing to have the knowledge, but a whole other thing to put it into action. A huge part of developing confidence is preparation. This could be listening to leadership podcasts before the next company meeting. It may mean practicing a presentation before you propose two new hires in the C-suite, or running through a compensation conversation with a mentor before meeting with your c e O, doing your research, knowing the facts, and then practicing what you're going to say.

And do will help you feel more prepared and being prepared will help boost your confidence. Number three, create an ideal daily schedule. Consistency is vital in creating confidence. Why? Because it gives you a structure and a foundation of success, habits that prime you for the day ahead and gives you one less thing to worry about when you're trying to learn all the ins and outs of your career or your organization.

If every day you are trying to figure out when and where you are going, what you're going to do, when you're meeting with your leadership team, when you're working on projects, when you're going to the gym, it gives you less time to be thinking about the things that will actually help you build your business in your career.

At the very least, work on having a morning routine. I recommend some combination of journaling, meditation, exercise, their breathing. Anything that's going to clear your head and help get you centered consistently will give you a leg up on your competition and give you the confidence you need to tackle whatever the day brings.

Number four, prime your mind and body, kind of similar to those daily consistent, habits. We want, to prime our mind and body. And a morning routine is a great first step that's going to help keep you grounded. However, there are other kind of on-call actions you can take to boost your confidence in any situation, no matter what time of day.

So, Here's some practical tips. Wear clothes that are comfortable and make you feel good. If you're anything like me, I always buy a new outfit, kind of more like 17 before a speaking engagement or a work event. And then ultimately I end up wearing something. I already have something I know I'm comfortable in and looks good.

When you're about to do something new or go into a more challenging situation, what you wear matters to you, not to anybody else. Be comfortable. It's one less thing to worry about than when you're already worried. In addition, here are a couple of other tips and tricks. Move your body or exercise daily.

Feel strong and capable in your body, leads to feeling strong and capable in other areas of your life. Stand tall. Or if you're on zoom, straighten your posture. Look others in the eyes. Smile. Being open and receptive to others purely based on your physical presence. It's a great way to start to feel confident in yourself and to create connection with others.

Number five, keep a success journal. Keeping a journal of your accomplishments. I kind of call it a Wins and notable Moments journal, but, uh, keeping that journal of your accomplishments, and Career successes is a great idea. Some might call it hubristic, but I say why not keep this information handy?

It may help to remind yourself from time to time of all of the things that you have accomplished, especially in the face of uncertainty or when you are lacking confidence. You can also save emails or notes from your colleagues, executive or other stakeholders thanking you for your contribution or praising you for your work.

a Winsor notable and Moments Journal will serve as a reminder that you have done it before and that you can do it again. Trust and believe in yourself even if you need a reminder once in a while. Six, be intentional about who you surround yourself with. We all know that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with.

This is incredibly important when we consider who we are. Getting advice and feedback from feedback is great, and it can absolutely help you hone your skills, thereby giving you even more confidence. However, be careful about who is giving you feedback and advice. Ask yourself, are these individuals confident, truly confident from within?

Are they successful according to your definition of success? Are they living the life? What you see on Instagram and also what you don't that you really want? How are their time management habits serving or hurting them? And what do their relationships look like? Unfortunately, you may be unintentionally hurting your confidence by surrounding yourself with people who are unsupportive or whose habits are hindering your growth.

I believe in the value of role models as long as you are choosing wisely. Seven, take risks, get uncomfortable, and be okay with feeling forward. No one is perfect. In fact, if you don't take risks from time to time and push yourself, you're never going to fully realize what you're capable of. And each time you take on a new project that you didn't quite think you were ready for, or have that tough conversation with your executive and realize that you were able to handle it.

You gain a little more confidence and then a little more confidence takes practice. Lean into the uncomfortable moments and know that you can figure anything out. Your leader and your team will appreciate your willingness to try and your ability to get things done. And eight, let go of the outcome. I am not going to sugarcoat it.

Letting go of the outcome is one of the hardest things to do. You have to learn to enter situations with a solid base of knowledge, preparation, and practice integrity and good intentions, and know that whatever happens next is ultimately out of your control. I. We can't own how other people respond and act.

We can only control how we show up in each moment. When you genuinely believe in this idea, it gives you the confidence to approach relationships and challenges with authenticity, purpose and open mind, and an open heart. And yes, with confidence, because no matter what the outcome is, you know, you can always find a way forward.

The best part about confidence is that you can develop it. It takes time and the willingness to engage in some of the challenging activities above, but it does pay off no matter where you are at in your career or leadership journey. Start now. Start today. You'll be the embodiment of confidence and no time.