Confidence

Trust. Aplomb. Assurance.

We are facing at threat. A threat against our confidence in all our systems.

Are you feeling confident today? Are you feeling confident in your assessment of the future? Are you feeling confident that confidential conversations will stay that way?

Are you feeling confident that when you call customer service, you will get your questions answered and your problems solved on the first or second call?

Are you feeling confident that the news you get is balanced, presented in context and accurate?

Are you feeling confident that those who represent us have our best interests in mind as they make difficult decisions?

What is the nature of this threat, this crisis of confidence?

Making assumptions. Lack of a common definition. Vague and ambiguous remarks leading people to use their own definitions instead of the intended definition.

My purpose is not to sow doubt, not to pick a particular side, nor be an unjust critic. My purpose is to make explicit some things we often take for granted, illustrate the concept, and create an environment of clarity and precision.

English is a funny language and confidence is a fuzzy word. It has several difference definitions, and the assumptions we make about what other people understand when they hear or use the word can have some less than desirable consequences. I am confident we must be explicit and provide context when we use the word. Casual, sloppy, and vague use of confidence is asking for trouble. Confidentially, I am less confident that we are all confident in our use of confidence.

Here are the definitions according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

1.      : a feeling or consciousness of one’s powers or of reliance on one’s circumstances

2.      : faith or belief that one will act in a right, proper or effective way

3.      : the quality or state of being certain

4.      : a relation of trust or intimacy

5.      : reliance on another’s discretion

6.      : support especially in a legislative body

7.      : a communication made in confidence (Secret)

8.      : of, or relating to, or adept at swindling by false promises

Confidence is also a statistical concept. Confidence Levels, Confidence Intervals, and Confidence Coefficients help us understand and interpret data such as polls, medical trials, and other data. Confidence permeates our lives in many ways that are important, and likely invisible or discounted in importance.

Former Secretary of State General Colin Powell spoke of leadership and confidence. He said,

“Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bring you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.”

Let us unpack Secretary Powell’s quote through the lens of leadership and a few of dictionary definitions above.

Confidence: A feeling on consciousness of one’s powers or of reliance on one’s circumstances.

Strong leaders are aware that their actions and their words matter. Strong leaders are aware of their circumstances, have planned and prepared for their circumstances, and are situationally aware of change as it happens.

Confidence: Faith or belief that one will act in a right, proper or effective way.

Strong leaders know their organizations, know their team members, and know their vision, mission, and values. This knowledge powers their faith or belief that right, proper, and effective choices and actions are made with good intention.

Confidence: The quality of being certain.

Strong leaders do not fly blind. Strong leaders do not come to the table unprepared. Strong leaders do not leave important matters to chance, or to the whims of others not engaged, not aligned with their vision. By being observant, planning, preparing, and executing on their priorities, strong leaders are certain that they are moving in the right direction, at the right speed, with enough flexibility to adjust to change.

Confidence: A relation of trust or intimacy.

Strong leaders can be trusted. That trust is deserved because they have consistently demonstrated their trustworthiness over time. The basis for that consistency is discipline in adhering to a set of values. Strong leaders have close, intimate relationships with their inner circle of professional associates, advisors, and family members.

Confidence: Reliance on another’s discretion.

Strong leaders, by virtue of their position, make tough choices that will have negative consequences on some or all their organizations, their customers, their communities. Tough decisions require tough conversations and tough discussions. Tough decisions require walking through various scenarios and circumstances. Strong leaders have surrounded themselves with key advisors and staff that are trusted and reliable to maintain discretion.

Food for thought.

If you feel irritated or threatened by others' beliefs, it's a sign that you're experiencing crisis of confidence. — Toba Beta

Here are three things I am confident about:

I am confident in human resiliency when faced with adversity.

I am confident that we will continue to learn from our mistakes.

I am confident that we have the moral courage and political will to build a better world for all.

Confidence and Leadership are intertwined. They go together, you can’t have one without the other.

What is interesting is that if I want to be a leader, I not only have to have confidence in myself, I have to have the confidence of others.

I cannot buy the confidence of others. I must earn it.

I cannot demand nor legislate the confident of others. I must demonstrate that I am worthy of it.

I cannot make others confident in me. The best I can do is build an environment, a reputation, a brand that attracts people and provides the kind of leadership they value.

Confidence from others is a gift only they can give. It cannot be coerced, cajoled, or compelled.

If I do those things, then I am confident I am acting as the kind of leader I want to be. I am confident I will attract the kind of followers that are hungry for my kind of leadership. I am confident that those who reject my kind of leadership will eventually find the kind they are looking for, along with the consequences that come with it.

Trust. Aplomb. Assurance. All synonyms and qualities of confidence.

I described a crisis of confidence. If we do not recognize it outright, we surely recognize it subconsciously. That uneasy, queasy feeling in the pit of our stomachs, the anger, exasperation, and emotions we feel, the disconnection and confusion we all experience. If we examine it closely, we find the roots in a lack of confidence.

I provided definitions of confidence. Confidence is a fuzzy word. Use it with great care. Provide context to clarify intent and avoid issues and miscommunication.

I wrote about how confidence and leadership are intertwined. For ourselves, it is a foundation of knowledge and experience providing a calm, quiet assurance that we know what we are doing. From others, a gift that only they can give.

I detailed what it means to act like a leader. Earning respect, demonstrating worthiness, attracting followers. When we choose a leader to follow, we must make certain we are hungry for that leader’s kind of leadership and understand the consequences that come with our choice.

We live in an age of uncertainty. We live in an age of constant change. We live in an age of turmoil.

We must face this crisis of confidence, confident in leading, confident in choosing our kind of leader to follow, confident in our resiliency.

Are you confident? Are you ready? Ready or not, the future is upon us.