Welcome, Tiffany Funk, Humanergy’s Marketing & Materials Specialist and today’s blog author.
You’ve worked hard, logged long hours at the office and have always gone the extra mile to get things done. You’ve shown that you’re capable, motivated and knowledgeable in your role. You have good rapport with your coworkers and are receptive to feedback from your boss.
Finally, all that hard work paid off and you’ve been promoted to a supervisory role! Time to celebrate, right? Or maybe you’re starting to wonder if you’re actually qualified to be in charge. All of a sudden, your coworkers are looking to you for answers. Now you hesitate instead of eagerly doling out advice like you would’ve done in the past.
What if you make the wrong decision? What if you mislead your team and they can’t meet their monthly quota or a deadline on a new project? It will be all your fault! The weight of your newfound responsibility as a leader rests squarely on your shoulders.
Hold on a minute.
First, stop being the answer fairy. The job of a leader is to enable others, not to provide magical solutions to your team. Instead, pose great questions and get others thinking. The answer will be far better than your one brain could deliver.
Marshall Goldsmith has more great advice for building self-confidence as a leader in this article in the Harvard Business Review.
Nobody’s perfect. Yes, of course you’ll make mistakes. There isn’t a leader on this planet (maybe Mars?) that hasn’t made some decision that led to an undesirable outcome. As long as you don’t make rash decisions and use all the information at your disposal, you have to trust your own judgment. After all, it is the same judgment that got you promoted.
Live with it. Failure is a fact of life, and it doesn’t make you a failure. Mistakes are opportunities to grow as a leader. Learn from your mistakes, and don’t dwell on them.
Stick with it. Once you make a decision, don’t keep waffling on it. If you do it will only make you more insecure and start a vicious cycle of doubt for every important decision you have to make (turkey or ham for lunch? Ham…no, I’ll have turkey; it’s healthier. But I do like ham better…).
Think like the Cowardly Lion. If you don’t remember the story, in the end it turned out he wasn’t so cowardly after all. Even if you’re not feeling the most confident, don’t show that to your staff. Put on your brave face. If you project your insecurities onto your team it will affect their self-confidence, and you’ll have an even bigger issue on your hands when productivity goes down.
Don’t worry, be happy. “Life is short. My extensive research indicates that we are all going to die anyway. Do your best. Follow your heart. When you win, celebrate. When you lose, just start over the next day.” – Marshall Goldsmith
Contact us if you’d like to learn more about how we can help you build your confidence as a leader! Comment below with your tips for confident leadership.
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