Do you ever struggle with your own confidence in your leadership role? Maybe you’re plagued with self-doubt or imposter syndrome. Perhaps you’ve convinced yourself that you’re not the one for the job. These fears and doubts can be so loud in our heads, but they are not the reality or the truth that God has called us to live in.
Almost 4 years ago, I shared a podcast episode called “The Importance of Leading with Confidence.” In it, I shared my story of how I landed on the phrase ‘leading with confidence’ for this podcast. We always say that this podcast is designed to help you “Embrace your gifts and lead with confidence.”
In that episode, I shared with you some of the reasons I think confidence is important as well as my definition of leading with confidence, which is my confident leadership framework: love – live – lead.
With that framework, we know that the source of our confidence is God’s love, and once you know that you can live your life with purpose, and then you can step into leading others.
It’s been quite some time since that episode, so I wanted to revisit this conversation and bring you a slightly different take on this: What Confident Leaders Look Like.
If you’re ready to take it a step further and you want to dig deeper into how to become a confident leader, then be sure to check out my Confident Leader Catalyst course.
What Confident Leaders Look Like:
1. A confident leader is someone who is secure in her direction. She is not easily influenced by the opinions of others.
- She is grounded in God’s love
- She is secure in who God has made her to be
- She is following God’s leading, not the leading of man
- Therefore, when other people share their input, she may listen and reflect, but she is not necessarily going to feel the need to adjust her decision or direction because of someone’s opinion.
- Tembi Secrist: “Only you understand the nuances of your situation.” – Episode 84: How to Multiply Your Impact & Face Fear with Tembi Secrist: A Leader’s Journey Around the World Part
2. A confident leader is comfortable in her own skin. She doesn’t find it necessary to perform or be perfect or people please.
- She knows who God has made her to be. She knows her purpose and she is living it out. She doesn’t need to impress other people because she knows who her Creator is, and she is simply trying to do what He created her to do.
- Roshanda Pratt: “There is no way you can be authentic if you have not had an authentic experience with God.” – Showing Up, Telling Your Story, and Using Your Voice with Roshanda Pratt [Ep. 187]
3. A confident leader is willing to speak up and use her voice.
- She knows she has value to add
- She recognizes how God has gifted her
- She uses her voice to make a difference
- Karen Laos: “There’s nothing more freeing than being able to share your ideas without hesitation.” – How to Overcome Self-Doubt and Speak Up with Confidence with Karen Laos [Ep. 190]
4. A confident leader takes scary action.
- She is not necessarily fearless, but she does take action even when there is fear involved.
- She is obedient to what God is calling her to do, even when it might not make sense to other people.
- Patrice Washington: “Confidence is built in the doing.” – Episode 51: Trusting God through Transitions and Building Confidence in Your Calling with Patrice Washington [Wellness Series]
5. A confident leader does not boast about her gifts but she also does not try to hide them or undervalue them.
- She learns what her gifts are
- She develops them
- She uses them to build up the Kingdom and bless others
- When she is encouraged or complimented about them, she does not act like she didn’t do anything at all
- Jill McCormick: “When we confuse confidence and competence with pride, that’s a problem. Because God has gifted you with competence and he has gifted you with gifts to use and to acknowledge, and you don’t do the world any favors when you deny your gifting for the sake of not wanting to be boastful.” – Episode 7: Receiving Grace & Speaking Truth with Jill McCormick
Moving Forward as a Confident Leader:
Of course this list is not all inclusive, so it may get you thinking about other ways to recognize what a confident leader looks like. As always, this is a process – it’s not something you are born with, and it’s not something that you complete and then you’re done for good.
Each time you step into a new leadership role, or you grow your business to a new level, or you start leading a different group of people, you may find that you bump up against this issue of not leading confidently. When that happens, refer back to the Confident Leader Manifesto below to remind yourself of who you are and Whose you are and use those truths to step into leading well.
The Confident Leader Manifesto:
I want to revisit the Confident Leader Manifesto because I think it’s a good reminder of what we need to do if we want to live out this style of leadership.
I am a confident leader. I am fearfully and wonderfully made in God’s image, and I am loved fully by God.
I am a motivated world-changer. I embrace the gifts God has given me so that I can make an impact and positively influence those around me. I don’t complain about my circumstances, but instead, I take determined action.
I am strong, but sensitive to God’s guidance, willing to submit my hopes and dreams to His purpose.
I intentionally pursue healthy relationships. I humbly lead those whom God has placed in my sphere of influence. I love fiercely, live purposefully, and lead with confidence.
If you want to get a copy of this leadership manifesto for yourself, then head over to https://estherlittlefield.com/confident to grab it today.
Quotes to Note:
“A confident leader does not feel the need to adjust her decision or direction because of someone’s opinion.”- Esther Littlefield [6:50]
“When you are walking out confident leadership, there are times when God will direct you in a way that other people aren’t going to understand or necessarily approve of. And you have to be okay with that.”- Esther Littlefield [7:30]
“There might be times when things feel scary and we feel fear, but we still take that action.”- Esther Littlefield [12:45]
“We build confidence by taking action.” – Esther Littlefield [13:40]
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