Got Confidence?
Today’s Tuesday Reading is from Laura Patterson, Leadership Coach and Consultant at MOR Associates. She previously was CIO at the University of Michigan. Laura may be reached at [email protected] or via LinkedIn.
Last week’s Tuesday Reading by Julie Szaj, Assistant Director in Organizational Change Management at Washington University in St Louis, was a personal account of her battle with imposterism. Julie shared that she often feels like an imposter or a fraud, and she recognized two contributing factors: perfectionism and feeling like she needs to be an expert. For many, a third common factor contributing to the imposter phenomenon is a lack of confidence. Confidence. The belief in yourself. The belief that you can succeed. The belief that you are capable. The willingness to take a risk because you know you are good enough.
Confidence is the factor that comes into play when we consider what we are capable of. It influences our thinking about who we are as a leader and our judgment about what we can do. Confidence is the link between thought and action. It enables you to step out of your comfort zone and take on the next opportunity. If you need more confidence, what can you do? Either you have it, or you don’t. Right? Wrong. Confidence is not a personality trait. You are not born with a confident temperament. Confidence is a learned capability. You can become the confident leader you want to be with the right mindset and practices.
A surprising aspect of confident leadership is that imposter syndrome is not uncommon. We all experience it, especially when we start a new job or role, take on a new project, or are with high-stakes clients or senior leaders. In 2020, a systematic review of 62 studies on imposterism evaluated the prevalence of the imposter phenomenon, showing prevalence rates as high as 56% to 82% in graduate students, college students, nurses, medical students, and other professions. Much of the research on imposterism has been in healthcare, and I wonder what the data from research on IT leaders in an academic environment would show.
Research shows that many people, especially women, struggle with confidence early in their careers. Recent surveys indicate that women are less likely to promote themselves than men. This often puts women at a disadvantage, as they are less likely to be hired or offered competitive pay.
Low confidence can be natural when you’re new to a job or lack adequate experience in a high-stakes situation. Low confidence can be a result of several factors. It might spring from early childhood messages, a lack of representation in your organization, previous experiences, or other causes.
The critical thing to remember is that low confidence is not an inherent flaw and doesn’t have to define you. Confidence can be learned and practiced. It begins with self-awareness, changing your mindset, and learning to bring your whole self to work. It’s hard to grasp, but the actions of confidence come first; the feelings of confidence come later. As the feelings of confidence increase, the confidence actions will increase. It’s a cycle. Thought increases action; then action increases thought.
It’s long been established that our beliefs – true or otherwise – direct our actions and shape our lives. The good news is that new research into neural plasticity reveals that we can rewire our brains in ways that affect our thoughts and behavior at any age. That means that no matter how timid or doubt-laden you’ve been, building self-confidence is mainly by choice. The more you practice confident behavior, the more you experience more feelings of confidence. That may explain why you initially feel like an imposter when you step out of your comfort zone. You try to behave or act confidently, but your emotions and inner voice cause self-doubt.
Is it a lack of competence or experience that causes your self-doubt? Find ways to increase your competence if it is a lack of skill, volunteer for an assignment. Take an online class on the skill you want to develop. Attend a leadership development program.
If you are competent in your role and what’s holding you back is a lack of confidence, think about this. Confidence is not based on your actual ability to succeed at a task but on your belief in your ability to succeed. You may feel like an imposter when you step out and take action. But with experience and success, confidence will grow, and imposter syndrome will decrease in time. Practice breeds confidence.
You can build a more confident presence by understanding your emotions and doing the “work on self” we discuss in the MOR programs to elevate your presence. That’s why we do 360s and encourage you to gather feedback. Our critical inner voice most often doesn’t help us. Honest feedback from others does. Instead of assuming you did a lousy job at something, ask and inquire. Self-awareness and self-management are the steps to building confidence. Here are some suggestions to consider.
Practice Self-Awareness to Connect with Yourself
- Practice Introspection; reflect every day
- Review your 360 and other inputs
- Assess your strengths and weaknesses
- Identify what holds you back
- Examine your mindset toward new opportunities
- Recognize negative self-talk
- Establish emotional intelligence practices to increase self-awareness
Practice Self-Management by Building New Habits
- Keep a confidence journal of what worked and what didn’t
- Practice a growth mindset
- Take a new risk each week
- Celebrate success AND failure
- Develop a “confidence” mantra
- Change your speech, eliminate apologetic phrases
- Eliminate negative self-talk
- Prepare for important presentations and practice
- Seek honest feedback
Confidence is a skill that can be developed by building a growth mindset, maturing your emotional intelligence, and stepping out of your comfort zone. Take action today. What goal will you set, and what action will you take to become the confident leader you want to be?
Which of these self-management habits do you feel is most useful as related to building confidence?
Last week we explored the question of experiences of impostorism and identifying as a member of an underrepresented group:
Experienced Impostorism? | Under- represented? | Not Under- represented? | Total |
Yes | 37% | 40% | 76% |
No | 12% | 13% | 24% |
Total | 48% | 52% | 100% |
The two dimensions of these results are noteworthy to explore independently. First, those who responded are divided relatively equally between identifying as a member of an underrepresented group at work or not. This identity can take many different forms in the work setting. As leaders, it is important for us to understand how identities may impact approaches to the workplace. Considering the second dimension, whether or not readers had experienced impostorism, regardless of the response to the first question, it was relatively consistent that just over three out of every four of us have experienced feelings of impostorism. We hope the steps to increased self-awareness and self-management proposed in this article are helpful considerations to those of us experiencing impostorism.
- November 2024 (2)
- October 2024 (5)
- September 2024 (4)
- August 2024 (4)
- July 2024 (5)
- June 2024 (4)
- May 2024 (4)
- April 2024 (5)
- March 2024 (4)
- February 2024 (4)
- January 2024 (5)
- December 2023 (3)
- November 2023 (4)
- October 2023 (5)
- September 2023 (4)
- August 2023 (4)
- July 2023 (4)
- June 2023 (4)
- May 2023 (5)
- April 2023 (4)
- March 2023 (1)
- January 2023 (4)
- December 2022 (3)
- November 2022 (5)
- October 2022 (4)
- September 2022 (4)
- August 2022 (5)
- July 2022 (4)
- June 2022 (4)
- May 2022 (5)
- April 2022 (4)
- March 2022 (5)
- February 2022 (4)
- January 2022 (4)
- December 2021 (3)
- November 2021 (4)
- October 2021 (3)
- September 2021 (4)
- August 2021 (4)
- July 2021 (4)
- June 2021 (5)
- May 2021 (4)
- April 2021 (4)
- March 2021 (5)
- February 2021 (4)
- January 2021 (4)
- December 2020 (4)
- November 2020 (4)
- October 2020 (6)
- September 2020 (5)
- August 2020 (4)
- July 2020 (7)
- June 2020 (7)
- May 2020 (5)
- April 2020 (4)
- March 2020 (5)
- February 2020 (4)
- January 2020 (4)
- December 2019 (2)
- November 2019 (4)
- October 2019 (4)
- September 2019 (3)
- August 2019 (3)
- July 2019 (2)
- June 2019 (4)
- May 2019 (3)
- April 2019 (5)
- March 2019 (4)
- February 2019 (3)
- January 2019 (5)
- December 2018 (2)
- November 2018 (4)
- October 2018 (5)
- September 2018 (3)
- August 2018 (3)
- July 2018 (4)
- June 2018 (4)
- May 2018 (5)
- April 2018 (4)
- March 2018 (5)
- February 2018 (5)
- January 2018 (3)
- December 2017 (3)
- November 2017 (4)
- October 2017 (5)
- September 2017 (3)
- August 2017 (5)
- July 2017 (3)
- June 2017 (8)
- May 2017 (5)
- April 2017 (4)
- March 2017 (4)
- February 2017 (4)
- January 2017 (4)
- December 2016 (2)
- November 2016 (7)
- October 2016 (5)
- September 2016 (8)
- August 2016 (5)
- July 2016 (4)
- June 2016 (12)
- May 2016 (5)
- April 2016 (4)
- March 2016 (7)
- February 2016 (4)
- January 2016 (10)
- December 2015 (4)
- November 2015 (6)
- October 2015 (4)
- September 2015 (7)
- August 2015 (5)
- July 2015 (6)
- June 2015 (12)
- May 2015 (4)
- April 2015 (6)
- March 2015 (10)
- February 2015 (4)
- January 2015 (4)
- December 2014 (3)
- November 2014 (5)
- October 2014 (4)
- September 2014 (6)
- August 2014 (4)
- July 2014 (4)
- June 2014 (4)
- May 2014 (5)
- April 2014 (5)
- March 2014 (5)
- February 2014 (4)
- January 2014 (5)
- December 2013 (5)
- November 2013 (5)
- October 2013 (10)
- September 2013 (4)
- August 2013 (5)
- July 2013 (8)
- June 2013 (6)
- May 2013 (4)
- April 2013 (5)
- March 2013 (4)
- February 2013 (4)
- January 2013 (5)
- December 2012 (3)
- November 2012 (4)
- October 2012 (5)
- September 2012 (4)
- August 2012 (4)
- July 2012 (5)
- June 2012 (4)
- May 2012 (5)
- April 2012 (4)
- March 2012 (4)
- February 2012 (4)
- January 2012 (4)
- December 2011 (3)
- November 2011 (5)
- October 2011 (4)
- September 2011 (4)
- August 2011 (4)
- July 2011 (4)
- June 2011 (5)
- May 2011 (5)
- April 2011 (3)
- March 2011 (4)
- February 2011 (4)
- January 2011 (4)
- December 2010 (3)
- November 2010 (4)
- October 2010 (4)
- September 2010 (3)
- August 2010 (5)
- July 2010 (4)
- June 2010 (5)
- May 2010 (4)
- April 2010 (3)
- March 2010 (2)
- February 2010 (4)
- January 2010 (4)
- December 2009 (4)
- November 2009 (4)
- October 2009 (4)
- September 2009 (4)
- August 2009 (3)
- July 2009 (3)
- June 2009 (3)
- May 2009 (4)
- April 2009 (4)
- March 2009 (2)
- February 2009 (3)
- January 2009 (3)
- December 2008 (3)
- November 2008 (3)
- October 2008 (3)
- August 2008 (3)
- July 2008 (4)
- May 2008 (2)
- April 2008 (2)
- March 2008 (2)
- February 2008 (1)
- January 2008 (1)
- December 2007 (3)
- November 2007 (3)
- October 2007 (3)
- September 2007 (1)
- August 2007 (2)
- July 2007 (4)
- June 2007 (2)
- May 2007 (3)
- April 2007 (1)
- March 2007 (2)
- February 2007 (2)
- January 2007 (3)
- December 2006 (1)
- November 2006 (1)
- October 2006 (1)
- September 2006 (3)
- August 2006 (1)
- June 2006 (2)
- April 2006 (1)
- March 2006 (1)
- February 2006 (1)
- January 2006 (1)
- December 2005 (1)
- November 2005 (2)
- October 2005 (1)
- August 2005 (1)
- July 2005 (1)
- April 2005 (2)
- March 2005 (4)
- February 2005 (2)
- December 2004 (1)