I was recently interviewed by a couple of great coaches who were writing an article about coaches who develop leaders and they asked me a very provocative question. The interviews asked me to consider all of the things I’ve learned over the years and all of the skills that have become a part of my repertoire. They said, if we took all of them away, but left you with one, which one would you want us to leave behind for you? I hope you find some value in my answer…
Confidence I’m convinced that having a positive and proactive attitude leads to confidence as you steadily do your best. Over the years, I’ve been careful to remain honest and to operate with integrity so I would be able to be confident as I worked with others. I believe that confidence is highly valuable to a leader, and I further believe that it is highly contagious and that a great leader can spread his or her confidence to others. Your prospects and customers will feel and observe and smell your confidence from a great distance, and if you lack confidence they will just as surely observe and recognize the lack of confidence. People want to feel confident, and they want to associate with others who have reason to be confident. If you believe in yourself and you possess the courage, grit, and determination to make the necessary sacrifices along the way, you can accomplish nearly anything, and you will taste the sweet taste of success often. You have to invest yourself in the things that you believe in and the pursuits that you decide to accomplish. Unless you believe in yourself and make a complete commitment to your goals with your entire mind, body, and spirit, you cannot prevail when the going gets difficult.
Believe My answer to the interviewer’s question was that you can have everything else, but leave me with my confidence. You see, if you believe in yourself, you have everything you need. If you don’t believe in yourself and in the team around you, it doesn’t matter what else you may have, your lack of confidence and belief in your effort will result in you falling short much of the time. Believe in yourself. Believe in your team. Believe in the people you choose to surround you. When you do these things, and you pay the price and sacrifice for what you believe in and what you want to accomplish, you become formidable and you increase dramatically your chances for success.
I chuckled a bit during the interview because I think the interviewers were wondering how much caffeine I had been into that morning. I suspect they may have found me to be a bit full of myself and my enthusiasm for positivity and confidence. No matter, you have to stick to your principles. I stuck to mine. I’m convinced that if you’re confident, you can prevail. I am un-deterred when I get knocked down, or when my nose is bloodied by the contest in front of me. I know that it isn’t whether you are knocked down that defines you, it’s whether you have the courage and the confidence to get up and get back into the contest. See you on the field or in the arena, my friends….
Michael is a Master Coach, certified by the PBCA, the Professional Business Coaches Alliance. His firm, Michael Beach Coaching & Consulting, provides coaching and consulting services to medium-sized fast-growth companies all over the United States, from their offices in Minnesota, Arizona, and Florida. Michael and his fellow PBCA coaches work with C-Suite Executives, and Emerging Leaders and help them to burnish their business acumen and to develop their keen leadership abilities. Check out Michael’s podcast, the “What Are You Doing?” podcast, which always asks the question, ‘What are you doing to develop the next generation of leaders for your organization? Michael and his team would love to talk with you about helping your leadership team to transform the culture of your business while helping you to maximize growth and business outcomes.
