5 Ways To Regain Confidence as a Team Leader
The most impactful approach to the coaching opportunity…I now have the skills to ask a question in a way so the team can hear the question and transfer ownership to the team. I’ve gained the confidence to be okay with not having the answers to questions.
~ Chris Kaeberlein, Coaching Agility From Within Cohort Participant
As a cohort participant, Chris gained confidence to lead, even without having all the answers. He gained confidence to lead a team while being on his own continuous leadership journey. How can you, a leader, gain (more) confidence as a team leader, too?
Here are 5 ways to do it!
1 Setting Goals Will Help You Gain Confidence
Goal setting is a vital part of gaining confidence in your ability to lead others. Knowing where you want to end up, will help you create a path to get there.
Setting goals for yourself, setting goals with your team, and experiencing the success of productive team meetings can boost confidence.
Start small, then think big picture.
What are some things you want to accomplish as a team leader? What actions will get you there? What would be a positive outcome of your next team meeting?
Gain confidence by creating a roadmap to a goal.
2 Focusing on Your Strengths Will Help You Gain Confidence
Not everyone is good at everything. You’ve heard that expression:
“Jack of all trades, master of none.”
Being a generalist can be a good thing, but as you lead a team and if your confidence is challenged, write down your strengths; it may help you renew that confidence in leading the team to success.
If you don’t know your strengths, or are troubled with how to optimize them, why not look to a mentor, colleagues, or a fellow coach? Ask them what they think your strengths are. This can be an enlightening exercise at any time, but especially if you are struggling to identify or reconnect with your strengths.
3 Learning New Skills Will Help You Gain Confidence
Leaders learning new skills can boost your confidence and it models for your team in a variety of ways, but mostly by demonstrating that you don’t know it all and are willing to learn.
Have you ever taken an advanced facilitation class?
Do you know how to stay neutral in a team meeting?
Can you lead sustainable change, even when the stakes are high?
As leaders, we should never stop learning. Identifying what you want to learn next can be challenging. Look at problems in your career, problems or friction within your team or in your coaching practice you want to solve.
Now find a way to solve these problems with new skills!
According to psychologist Maud Purcell, sticking with what you learn also improves your confidence, She explains, “true confidence develops from an increasing belief that you can rely on yourself to take action and follow-through, no matter what the result.” Teaching yourself something new always leads to more confidence.
Source: theladders.com
4 Leaving Your Comfort Zone Will Help You Gain Confidence
In order to grow, you have to do things you’ve never done before! That means leaving your comfort zone and stepping into the unknown.
It can be scary!
I recently started a podcast. That was something outside of my comfort zone. I thought about it for a long time. I eventually made a move and I am loving the process of interviewing and having conversation with my amazing guests!
Need some motivation to get out of your comfort zone?
“As you move outside of your comfort zone, what was once the unknown and frightening becomes your new normal.” ~ Robin S. Sharma
“I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy, I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it.” ~ Anonymous Quote
“The comfort zone is nothing else but a graveyard for your dreams and ideas.” ~ Anonymous
“Do one thing every day that scares you.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
And my personal favorite:
“You can choose courage or you can choose comfort. You cannot have both.”
~ Brene Brown
What have you been waiting for? What is it that you are scared of, want to learn or need to address? Go and do it! Leave your comfort zone and gain confidence along the way!
5 Attending Leadership Training Will Help You Gain Confidence
Last but not least, surrounding yourself with other leaders is a great way to gain confidence in your own skill set.
As the world has been cooped up and isolated for two years, I recognize the importance of leadership training as a way to meet up with leaders to gain confidence in what is working for you, and more importantly learn where there is room for improvement. Shared experiences will lift your spirits, and will facilitate your clarity and confidence in your own leadership skills.
As an example, I want to highlight our TeamCatapult Cohort Program.
This is an in-depth, 9-month leadership program emphasizing rigorous practice and rich feedback opportunities including skill drills, peer coaching, team coaching, ongoing group work, professional one-on-one coaching, and one-on-one supervision of actual Agile coaching sessions in your own work environment.
I’d like to encourage you to subscribe to my podcast Defining Moments of Leadership: Inspiring stories and tangible lessons from leaders growing their leadership range, clarifying and refining their model for leadership and daring to define a moment rather than let a moment define them.
