Why Is Confidence Important in Leadership And How To Increase Yours

Maybe you are not wondering, but perhaps you are. Why is confidence important in leadership? Actually, confidence is one of the most critical attributes of great leaders. It is essential to reaching your potential as a leader and as a human being overall. When you are confident, you are less stressed and more powerful. Just these two benefits can start to reveal the necessity of leadership confidence. Below, we explore more about confidence itself and why it matters in leadership.

What is Leadership Confidence?

Before we dive deeper into exploring why confidence is important in leadership, let’s define confidence.

Merriam-Webster has the following definitions of confidence:

• a feeling or consciousness of one’s powers or of reliance on one’s circumstances
• faith or belief that one will act in a right, proper, or effective way
• the quality or state of being certain

And while the list of synonyms includes words such as pride, ego, and vanity, when we talk about leadership confidence, we refer to assurance, composure, and even calmness.

Yes, there are many leaders who exhibit arrogance, cockiness, and superiority. This is not the confidence that matters. These are not the attributes that make great leaders. For the rest of this post, we will focus on leadership confidence which is based on inner power and that comes from the anabolic levels of attitude, energy, and consciousness.

Why Is Confidence Important in Leadership?

Now that we know what leadership confidence is, it’s time to explore why it matters and what makes confident leaders so attractive and influential.

Many People Lack It

Many people feel insecure and don’t know what to do. Think about it. How many people do you know who lack confidence in one way or another?

As a leader, you act like a beacon of hope when you are assured, composed, and calm. Your people look up to you to show them the way and tell them what to do. When they are unsure of how to proceed, you are there to lead the way.

The Calm Center

Assured leaders are also the calm center of the organization regardless of the situation. Even during a storm, you have the power to respond to the situation instead of reacting to the circumstances. This is the power of confidence in leadership.

In other words, by being composed and calm, you can take control and responsibility and ultimately make decisions for everyone to follow. This is something we all needed back in 2020 and didn’t get from our so-called world leaders.

It’s Contagious

As a leader, you are always in the spotlight. People look up to you no matter what. Your attitude, mindset, and emotions are contagious. They spread throughout the organization.

When you feel your own power and resilience, and when you believe you will act in the right, proper, and effective way, these feelings and beliefs get picked up by your team or followers. Their own composure improves, thanks to you. Even if you don’t do anything else to help them become more confident.

Equals Success

Have you noticed how we associate confidence with success? There is this perception that confident people are successful.

When you think about it, the two go together. Why is confidence important in leadership? Because when you are confident, you have a higher chance of succeeding. It’s actually a key to achieving your desired results. The more confident you are, the more successful you can become, which in turn increases your confidence. A beautiful, virtuous cycle!

Last but not least, if you don’t believe in your own strengths, ideas, and skills, how would you expect anyone else to do it? And if you don’t have anyone who believes in you and your vision, are you really a leader?

Feeling of Safety

When you are assured and have a sense of composure, you provide a sense of safety to everyone around you. And safety and survival have been ingrained in our human mindset since the beginning of time.

Leaders who can be calm in the storm and provide directions are the ones we all want to be around. We want certainty. We want someone to show us the way. And only confident leaders can do this.

Less Stress

Confidence and stress are opposite ends of the spectrum. The more assured and calm you are, the less fear and worry you feel.

The other way is true as well. When you are stressed, worried, or frustrated, your confidence suffers. So, one other benefit of being assured, calm, and composed is that this state of mind leaves no space for catabolic energy.

Reaching Full Potential

Lastly, higher levels of confidence allow you to reach your full potential. When you believe in your own abilities, you can be really in the moment and focus on your performance. When you focus on your performance with 100% of your energy, you achieve outstanding results.

What are you waiting for? Raise your energy and confidence level!

How Can You Increase Your Confidence?

Why is confidence important in leadership? You already know this.

Now, the next question is: How can you increase your confidence as a leader?

Before we share some tips, it’s essential to know that there are two types of confidence – internal and external. The internal one is all about your consciousness of your own power and resilience. The external is related to your belief that you have the ability to succeed. Here’s how you can improve each of them:

• Internal confidence: It is directly related to your energetic profile. So, you basically need to increase your energy levels to the high anabolic ones by releasing fears, doubts, and worries and by adopting a new mindset of empowerment, joy, and creativity.
• External confidence: When it comes to your skills, it’s all about starting. Do the thing even if you suck at it. Then, learn and improve your skills. As you get better and start seeing results, your confidence will naturally grow.

There you have it. Now go and lead the world. We need you to step up!

What is Your Level Of Leadership Confidence?

That’s it. Now you know what leadership confidence is and why it’s so crucial.

Being the composed and assured calm center of your team or organization allows you to live up to your full potential and attract & influence people around you. Ultimately, this is what leadership is all about. Being someone people gather around, follow, and get inspired by.

If you are wondering what your level of confidence is, take the ELI Assessment to find you. It’s the one-and-only attitudinal assessment that scientifically measures your level of energy.