Is confidence the most important leadership trait?

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November 29, 9:20 PM

by Steve Arneson, Leadership Examiner

 

Today, confidence in leadership means believing CEOs will navigate the company safely through these troubled economic times. In fact, of all the leadership traits, confidence is pretty high up on the list of must-haves, along with its partner, trust. If you trust your leaders will do the right thing and have confidence in their decision making and problem solving skills, you’re probably hanging on for the ride with that group of leaders.

Confidence is a critical leadership trait for our country now, as well. The Albuquerque Journal had an editorial this week about President-elect Obama and the confidence he may be building as he assembles his team:

“About all Obama can do is build confidence in his judgment – confidence, like credit, being a commodity these days – as he goes about assembling the team that will advise him and implement policy. So far, he’s doing a good job of that. The most sincere reflection of that could be seen in the market’s reaction to the mere rumor that the president-elect had tapped Geithner to head up the Treasury Department…judging by his transition decisions, Obama the untested outsider is building a solid foundation.” 

Now, maybe it’s too much of a leap to correlate perfectly the market’s mini-recovery last week with Obama’s economic team announcements.  But can you say confidence isn’t at least a part of what is we’re seeing? Do you feel confidence when the president-elect backs a sweeping, two-year stimulus plan that will focus on jobs or says “the work starts today” when announcing his economic team? At the very least, Obama seems to be treating the struggling economy with the seriousness that it deserves. 

What you do to create confidence in your leadership will go a long way toward defining how effective you’ll be as a leader.  Here are some ways you can engender confidence in your leadership:

1. Surround yourself with smart people and demonstrate that you’ll listen to them
2. Quickly assess the situation when a crisis arise – step into the fire, ground the facts, and take action
3. Be honest about acknowledging the issues – but offer workable solutions
4. Be visible and work hard – people want to know you’re on the case
5. Paint a picture of a brighter future 

Ultimately, confidence comes from your actions. Your track record of dealing with a crisis in the past will give people the confidence that you can do it again. As you navigate your own set of leadership challenges, watch for signs of confidence in your leadership. It’s important to know if anyone’s “back there” as you lead the charge… 

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