This is #3 in the “C” series of posts on the qualities that make up real, authentic Leadership. The first is the quality of being Capable. Almost everyone has capability to be really good at something.
Then comes Credible. You may be capable, but it doesn’t mean you have credibility; however, you can’t be credible unless you are first capable.
Next in line is Confident and Comfortable.
Confidence is Sexy
Real confidence, quiet confidence, is the confidence that exudes from someone who obviously knows what he is talking about. And sometimes not even talking about, but just quietly doing.
Confidence in this realm is really self-confidence. The ability to believe in yourself and have knowledge that you will accomplish what it is you are attempting. This is the point at which you are an expert. You are perceived to be an expert by others, and you have the self-confidence in your talent or your knowledge to put it into practice. Michael Jordan was an expert. He didn’t make every shot, but every shot he took he expected to make. And everyone playing with or against him, and everyone watching him, expected him to make it also. That’s expertise, and it’s a simple definition of confidence:
When you know something so well, you expect it to be successful and are sincerely surprised when it isn’t.
THAT is sexy.
False Confidence
We have all been around local officials who pretend to know. These are people that follow one of two paths, either of which leads to a dead end.
Path #1: They have no idea what they are talking about, but feel they need to impress. We see this at the local level, particularly with elected leaders who, during a campaign, just clearly are not informed. They can’t answer questions (without realizing the fact that “I don’t know” is often a very appropriate answer), or they answer incorrectly. If elected, they do not speak to reporters and delegate their communications to others. They do not have answers and therefore mumble basic facts and figures to try and hide their incompetency.
Or, Path #2: They project an enthusiastic false confidence. Facts and figures roll off their tongues. They obfuscate, pontificate and complicate…and politicate! (I know it’s not really a word, but you know exactly what it means). This “I know precisely everything there is to know about whatever subject we are talking about” attitude is the one we typically find in cowardly leaders. These are the leaders who do not need help, who are cowered and intimidated by local expertise. These leaders answer criticism with, “I was elected, therefore I am the expert.”
How do we distinguish false confidence from true confidence?
Authentic
Dr. Travis Bradbury, author of several books and a LinkedIn influencer, wrote this about the Daily Habits of Exceptional People:
They have authenticity. “Your words and actions align with who you claim to be. Your followers shouldn’t be compelled to spend time trying to figure out if you have ulterior motives. Any time they spend doing so erodes their confidence in you…”
Sometimes I read or hear something that really turns on a light bulb and is so compelling that it sticks with me. Travis’ statement is one of those examples for me: “YOUR FOLLOWERS SHOULDN’T BE COMPELLED TO SPEND TIME TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IF YOU HAVE ULTERIOR MOTIVES.”
How many times do we wonder that about elected officials?
True leaders are confident, and confident leaders are authentic.
Comfortable
There are many definitions of comfort and comfortable. I’m not referring to the absence of stress, or pleasure + familiarity. Comfortable as it relates to confident is the outgrowth of having the skill to believe in yourself, and being authentic while doing so. Some people are comfortable speaking to a group and some aren’t. But practically no one is as comfortable speaking about a subject they know little about than they are while sharing stories about something familiar. When you have developed the skill of being confident in what you know, you will be comfortable in speaking, writing, sharing, and debating it. Most importantly, people see that.
Local leaders who pretend to “know” everything they are talking about, issue half-thought out quotes to the news media, and gloss over their shortcomings may, may, for a short period, be perceived as confident. However, that quickly erodes down to what it truly is- false bravado. False confidence.
Capable, Credible, Confident leaders simply say, “I’ve got this.” Cowardly leaders that exhibit false confidence say, “You take this.”
II- 21
