During my time at Frito-Lay, GE, and in the Community, the topic of Confidence has proven to be Critical because strong confidence is at the Core of any leader and Elusive because it is a constant effort to solidify as well as maintain.
My Point Of View on Confidence is based on my many conversations and experiences during my personal leadership evolution. I hope that they will prove useful for you as you evolve and build Your Confidence Foundation.
Others will certainly Believe in You, Motivate You, and Inspire You. However, you can’t wait for or depend on external confidence injections. TRUE Confidence comes from within. YOU have to believe in YOU. This belief in YOU is fortified with the right combination of Self-Esteem, Personal Accountability, and Courage.
- Self-Esteem- Our self-esteem is often degraded by the that “little voice” in our heads, the “voice” of self doubt. That “voice” that has been with us for as long as we can remember, it has been with us in the good times and the tough times. Too often, the deep concerns from our lifetimes are relayed to us by that “voice”. It says things like “I’m not good enough” , “I don’t belong here with these people from a different background”, ”don’t they see that I have doubts”, “I got promoted to a new role but can I really handle it”, “why do they believe in me?”, ”why are they looking at me as I try to make a point”, “I blew it last time, don’t mess up again”, etc. We need to stop the “voice” of self-doubt. The messages need to be POSITIVE. We should tell ourselves “these people want to hear what I have to say”, “I belong here as I’ve earned my way”, “I need to leverage my strengths and work on my opportunities”, “I can’t wait to learn from others as well as share my insights”, “I feel honored to have people believe in me and I will make them proud!”, etc. This changing of the “channel” is critical to success. A positive mental attitiude will allow you to celebrate your strengths as well as approach your capability needs with purpose. You don’t want to let yourself down.
- Accountability- Personal Accountability is the glue that holds your foundation together. I often have asked people “if you have a friend who let you down, made you feel bad, missed appointments, and did not uphold commitments – how long would they be your friend?”. The answer is always “for not long”. Why do we do these very same things to ourselves? We let ourselves down for a variety of reasons. However, over-commitment and the subsequent frustration are often primary drivers. These roadblocks can be dealt with thru reasonable goal setting along with personal clarity. Think about the many roles that you play in your life – a mother/father, son/daughter. servant, brother/sister, professional, employee, executive, community leader, friend, citizen, human being, etc. Think about the many areas in which you engage – emotional, intellectual, physical, financial, spiritual, societal, professional, etc. These areas need goals to be fullfilled. I recommend that you decide where you will play your focus over the next year as it relates to your multi-year plans. Consider your many roles as you make your decisions. For example, on the emotional level, you may decide that you need to place more of a focus on being a better parent to truly fulfill your family’s potential. Then set goals around how you will engage with your children, time you will spend as a family unit, how often you will call your parents, etc. The long term impact will be that you will role model for your children how a parent should express their love. You also might want to combine focus areas. For example, if your long-term goal is to be a Senior Executive and you feel that your Financial base is light. Going after an MBA satisfies your Intellectual need while enabling your Professional goal.
- Courage- I have often said that “Our resolve is greater than our circumstances”. We don’t always see this when are in the storm or faced with a challenge. To draw upon this courage, you should leverage your confidence foundation by calling upon the entities that give you strength. Who are you fighting for? Who is depending on me? Who has inspired you? A tact that could work is to think about the important people in your life – past and present. Lao Tzu’s qoute says it all - ”Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” Despite the challenges you face, there are people who have believed in you and whom you won’t let down. When fear creeps in, turn it on it’s ear and leverage it to drive you to maximize your success. Move Forward With Courage.
Well, that’s all for now. I hope that these insights resonated with you.
Special thanks to each of you for your support. Please let me know if there is anything that you would like for me to comment on.
Take care, Angel
I recently had a terrific conversation with my friend, fellow PRIMER colleague (in fact it’s President), and reknowned inspirational speaker, Daniel Gutierrez, about Personal Branding and/or Reputation Management.
We both agreed that it is a foundational necesity for a leader’s success.
Companies build their brands via a clear plan, consistently invest in their growth, and relentlessly protect their images.
Individuals must do the same. However, many people don’t spend enough time on their Brand, on their Reputation.
Plan Your Brand Building
- Lay out a 15 year plan for your journey. Ask yourself the tough questions – where do I visualize myself? What is important to me? What are my strengths and opportunities? Where is my Passion? What will people say about me before I arrive and after I leave? What will be my legacy? Seek Personal Clarity and establish your “VISION”.
- Clearly assess how the your Aspirations, Capabilities, and Choice Flexibility all intersect and/or compliment each other. This is a VERY important item. Your Aspirations will change over time as your life matures. Your Capabilities will also evolve as your career progresses and you identify your strengths. Your level of Choice Flexibility is the true “governor”. It is impacted by the important factors in your life as well as your willingness to “sacrifice”.
- Identify the Core Life Message that will guide you in every arena. For example, mine is “Impact The Lives Of Thousands For The Better”. Everything that I focus on has this Life Message at the center.
- Set your goals along multiple layers – Professional, Personal, Physical, Emotional, Intellectual, Financial, Spritual, Community, etc. Be reasonable in goal setting. Laying out numerical and/or situational metrics is a great tactic. Year over year consistency is the key.
Invest In Your Growth
- With your plan in hand (or at least on paper), move forward with courage and intentionally seek opportunities to build your skills, craft meaningful relationships, and establish your image.
- Take inventory of the relationships in your life and align them against your goals. Are there opportunities for reciprocity? Engage in discussions with others about your goals and ask “how can I help you?”.
- Develop a Personal Board Of Directors. Imagine a conference room table with the “right” people in the room discussing, aligning, and advising on a very important item – YOU and YOUR SUCCCESS. Think about the 6-8 people in your life that you can seek counsel from with the assurance that they will be honest with you and feel vested in your success. Level does not matter – caring candor does. Do not limit the “board members” to current corporate partners – ensure that your entire life vision is reflected.
- Secure professional support in areas that you are not comfortable with or need support. Examples include Time Management, Writing Skills, Presentation Skills, and Technology. In my case, I secured the support of Stuart Crawford at Ulistic to help me build my brand over the next 15 years.
Protect Your Reputation
- Be very aware of your leadership image. This is especially important as you progress upwardly in your career. The shadow that you cast expands exponentially with each promotion, with each success, with each positive interaction. This is an area that many great leaders have experienced a “speed bump”.
- “Dime con quien andas y te dire quien eres” means “tell me who are with and I will tell you who you are”. It is an old saying in the Latino culture that has been shared by grandparents across generations. This is also an area where great leaders have faced issues. Surround yourself with as many people as possible who share your values, have your drive, and exude positive energy. If there are people in your circle that limit your growth, then you should minimize their impact. Remember Greatness attracts Greatness.
- My experience is that when you face obstacles – you lift yourself up and realize that your resolve is always greater than your circumstances. Find the true confidence within and rise like the Phoenix that you really are. There are many who admire you and are counting on you.
Well, that’s all for now. I hope that these insights resonated with you.
Take care, Angel
I had a great conversation today with a friend who is an amazing leader.
A focus area was the power of “Intentional Leadership Action” supported by Timeless Principles.
He shared examples from his career and I shared experiences from my years at GE, Frito-Lay, and the Non-Profit arena.
Your employees, shareholders, consumers, and partners must witness your Intentional Actions to leverage your principles to drive organizational solutions - regardless of the situation. This builds unquestioned confidence in your core as a leader, the foundation established by your years of experiences as well as your personal values.
Principles should be based on the organization’s Legacy (what is it most Proud of AND how was that source of Pride accomplished), the organization’s Vision (what might be?), and the Gaps To Achievement (what are we missing and what “stake in the ground” statements will enable the Vision?).
Strong principles that are put into action will serve to Inspire Your Team to ”Honor The Past, Maximize The Present, And Open Doors To The Future”. I will touch on this further at another time.
Take care, Angel
