Leaders rarely have two good days in a row and, therefore, not for the faint of heart. As a result, a leader’s confidence can often wane.
So how does a leader get it back? What is the source of a leader’s confidence? Where does it comes from?
Evan Cooper is the defensive backs coach for the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers football team. He has over a decade’s worth of experience and has a unique perspective on the subject of confidence.
Recently, Coach Cooper told HuskerOnline.com in this article, “Defensive back is hard. Even the great ones they get beat. You can have 90 great plays and two bad plays and that’s all anybody will ever talk about. So, you’ve got have some deep-rooted confidence and I think I have those type of guys. Those guys, they work. We believe that confidence comes from hard work, preparation and being dedicated to the craft. Those guys approach it that way.”
From Coach Cooper’s comments, we learn the first three sources of a leader’s confidence:
Hard Work
In my book Timeless: 10 Enduring Practices Of Apex Leaders, hard work is identified as one of the traits the greatest leaders have always done and will always do. The following is a portion from the book:
“I was reminded about the sense of peace hard work can bring a leader when I visited a sandwich shop in St. Louis, Missouri. As I was waiting for my order to be filled, I read the following phrase hanging on the wall: ‘As a cure for worrying, hard work is better than whiskey.’ ”
Hard work allows worry to be replaced in your life by confidence.
Preparation
Successful leaders trust in their preparation.
In my next book 2021 The Year In Leadership: The Stories of Faith, Athletics, and Business Which Inspired Us All, I wrote about how Tom Brady changed the culture of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers upon signing with the team.
“You also learn the value of preparation. Let’s start with the obvious: young players watched how he took care of his body. They also watched how he used his mind. Players were sent home iPads to study. Their online time was tracked by the coaches. Tom studied more than anyone on the team. Finally, they watched him in team meetings. Tom always sat in the front row and took notes like a rookie who was trying to impress the coach and make the team.”
Brady’s preparation gave the entire Buccaneers squad confidence. So much so, the team would go on to win the Super Bowl.
Dedication To Your Craft
In my most recent book Mighty: 7 Skills You Need to Move from Pandemic to Progress, I profiled Jiro Ono. Ono is generally considered the world’s greatest sushi chef. President Barack Obama has even dined at his restaurant.
I wrote, “Mastering your craft is an oval track with no finish line… Ono is the greatest sushi chef in the world, and at ninety-six years old, has an insatiable desire to improve. He concluded, ‘There is always a yearning to achieve more. I’ll continue to climb, trying to reach the top, but no one knows where the top is. … Even at my age, after decades of work, I don’t think I have achieved perfection.”
If you have been dedicated to your craft for decades, it will certainly result in a high level of confidence.
Your Memory
One of a leader’s greatest weapons is their memory. When you have accomplished something difficult in the past, the memory of that accomplishment will give you the confidence to do so again.
The Bible
But the primary place a leader’s confidence comes from is the Lord. Read the following eleven Bible verses:
- “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” – Hebrews 10:35-36
- “With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.” – 2 Chronicles 32:8
- “In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” – Ephesians 3:12
- “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” – Hebrews 4:16
- “The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.” – Isaiah 32:17
- “But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.” – Jeremiah 17:7
- “When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.” – Nehemiah 6:16
- “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” – I John 5:14
- “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 1:6
- “This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.” – I John 4:17
- “Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.” – Psalms 27:3
Conclusion
If you are facing a difficult season of leadership and your confidence is waning, trust your hard work, preparation, skill, memory, and most importantly, the Lord.
This will get you through to the other side.
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