Create & Maintain Confidence & Resilience Even in the Face of Feedback

Confidence is something all of us struggle with. There is a myth that women are less confident than men at work, and that's been disproved.

And, having typically been the only female leader or one of a handful of female leaders in a sea of male leaders, I've seen first hand that male leaders have the same insecurities and admit to imposter syndrome and lack of confidence at work, too.

And why not? We're human. 

The thing is, confidence is a critical component to leadership. It makes you more trust worthy. It enables others to feel more confident themselves in following your direction and guidance. 

Confidence, note that I'm not talking about hubris here, doesn't mean that you know all the answers or that you're right all the time. It doesn't even have to mean that you're the expert. 

What it does indicate is that you are emotionally intelligent enough to stare down a situation, be it brand new or old hat, and know that you will come out okay. It is a strong sense of self-belief. 

Keep in mind, confidence isn't necessarily a steady state. Most of us are very confident in one thing and quite insecure in another. 

• Think it's no sweat standing in front of a room of strangers and making a speech, but find yourself anxious about going to the neighbor's party this weekend? 
• Committed to learning something new this year and now you are freaking out at how nervous  you feel?
• Very confident usually, but hurdles started popping up and making for a difficult day?

Whew, confidence can certainly start to falter and doubts creep in. Allowing for this, noticing that you feel less confident in a given situation, is healthy and again, human.

The good news is that we can create and build our confidence and resilience. Some tips on building confidence include: practicing affirmations, gratitude and visualizations, learning from experts, modifying your body language & the voice in your head.

You can get AK's favorite confidence builders in this free PDF download.  

Boss Leaders recognize:

• We all have a lot to learn and we have different levels of confidence
• We need to ask for advice & feedback
• Feedback may lead to some emotions & feelings that knock us sideways & still we welcome that
• We should pair confidence with resilience 
• We have enough confidence & resilience to handle & evaluate that feedback.

Lastly, you have to practice. That's the ultimate way to build your confidence.

Want to go a bit deeper? Watch this lesson on Confidence, Feedback, Resilience