Confidence is the cornerstone of effective leadership. When leaders exude confidence, they inspire trust in their team members and create the kind of environment where individuals can do their best work.

While leaders don’t need to have all the answers, they should be decisive in their actions, communicate clearly and lead their team with resilience and optimism.

Joel Garfinkle, a renowned executive coach, says confidence is a key trait of the super successful – and anyone can enhance this trait. In this issue of PromoPro Daily, we share Garfinkle’s top tips for increasing your confidence as a leader.

  • Communicate clearly and concisely. This is key to selling yourself as an effective leader. According to Garfinkle, you can communicate more confidently by working on both your self-regard and your speaking and writing styles. Remind yourself of the time and effort you have put toward building your knowledge and skill as a promo pro. Focus on what your message needs to convey, he says.
  • Step outside your comfort zone. Doing what you know feels safe, but great success requires taking some risks. Garfinkle says confident people are less concerned with taking risks because they believe in the power of following their skill and intuition. Try new things, learn and adjust as you go.
  • Embrace the power of learning. Commit to being a lifelong learner both at work and in your personal life. Garfinkle suggests letting others see you developing new talents and continuing to try even when you fail.
  • Exert your influence more often. If you know one of your team members would be ideal for a big project or promotion, advocate for them. When leaders use their influence to further a project or sway a decision, Garfinkle says they seldom do so from a need to exercise power but from a deep-seated confidence in the conclusion they have drawn on the situation at hand.
  • Express your confidence in others. Believe in yourself and your abilities and be sure you show your employees that you believe in them as well. People trust leaders with genuine self-confidence, Garfinkle says, so do your work with conviction. When your team sees you believe in yourself and them, you’ll see that confidence build and reflect two-fold.

It takes deliberate effort to boost your confidence as a leader in the promo industry. Start with the ideas above, from communicating with more certainty to showing you believe in your team members. Over time, you can bolster your own confidence and inspire your team to be their best.

Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: Joel Garfinkle is a keynote speaker and corporate trainer who is recognized as one of the nation’s top 50 executive coaches.