Qualities of confidence
Being confident of what you do is an important requisite for any
manager. There are several key qualities associated with confidence.
David McNally, an international speaker, in his favourite book ‘Even
Eagles need a Push’ discusses five qualities of confident people.
Interestingly, McNally refers to a category of people called
“confident, empowered people”. They are the ones who are clear about
where they are going, why they are going there, and how they should be
going. Their confidence comes from deep within. They are also empowered
in the sense that they take charge of their lives without complaining.
Five qualities
According to McNally, the five essential qualities of confidence
empowered people are self-appreciation, vision, purpose, commitment and
contribution. As in the case of most management concepts, we find that
these are nothing new. It’s a case of re-packaging what we know. Yet,
due credit should go to McNally for popularising them in the context of
individual and institutional development.
1. Self-appreciation
McNally compares our lives to the hull of a boat. Like a hull, our
lives can be covered with layers of barnacles. They are the
self-limiting beliefs about our worth and our ability to contribute to
work and society. Being aware of such self-limiting beliefs is the first
step to improvement.
How good are the Sri Lankan managers with regard to
self-appreciation? Managers attempt to compare and complain on what they
do not have or what others have more than them. The more they complain,
the more resentful they will be.
What should be the positive path? Self talk should be very handy. Go
in front of a mirror (preferably alone) and see the complex creature
called ‘you’. Talk to yourself and appreciate who you are. You are
unique to the whole universe. (I can say this safely at least for a few
decades until scientists master human cloning.)
2. Vision
The book of Ecclesiastes, in the old testament of the Bible says
something very insightful.“When there is no vision, there is division.”
Vision binds a team together. Vision gives a sense of clarity to a
person, in identifying a desired end dream. The old saying of
inspiration goes as: “Dare to dream, dare to act, dare to fail and dare
to succeed”.
McNally identifies vision as the second quality of confidence
empowered people. As many great people on earth have shown us, vision
without action will be a day-dream. Action without vision will take us
nowhere. Vision with action will lead to the fulfillment of aspirations.
How about Sri Lankan managers? We claim that we have fabulous
visions. In most cases they are framed pictures with dust and cobwebs.
Vision is to there to be shared and to obtain support from all
concerned. It is not happening at the level that we would like to see it
happen. Stephen Covey says, “begin with the end in mind”. That’s when
vision matters.
3. Purpose
McNally relates the moving story of Terry Fox. He lost one of his
legs due to cancer, yet, ran more than 3,000 miles to raise money for
cancer research. His target was US$ one million and he ended up raising
US$ 24 million. This aptly demonstrates what a powerful purpose can do.
Purpose goes beyond identifying a big, burning ‘why’ within. Perhaps,
one of the best recent examples is the Sri Lankan armed forces as to how
they defeated the most ruthless terrorists in the world. When you have a
purpose, your life matters.
Having a purpose gives a fundamental reason for one to live. There
are many success stories, from the annals of world history. Victor
Frankel, a Jewish doctor was serving a rigorous imprisonment in
Auschwitz concentration camp. Having seen his whole family getting
killed, he thought of committing suicide. What prevented him doing so
was a strong sense of purpose to live and tell the world the atrocities
committed in the camp.
4. Commitment
McNally cites a University of Chicago study where successful people
and their parents were interviewed. In most cases, the parents said, it
was the other child who did better in school. Commitment is the fuel
that drives achievement, in using one’s abilities to the fullest. Author
Ken Blanchard says that there is a difference between interest and
commitment. If you are interested, you do something when you feel like
doing it. If you are committed, you do it whenever needed, no matter
what the circumstances are. The best example is a mother giving birth to
a child and, thereafter, taking care of it. It is not a choice but sheer
commitment.
5. Contribution
McNally shares an interesting story of a pig and a cow. The pig
complains that the cow is being respected and appreciated more, despite
both giving everything they have to the people. The cow responds saying,
“I give while I am living.” The truth lies here. We are called to
contribute while we are living. In other words, we should contribute
consciously, when we can.
There is a growing wave of awareness on the triple bottom line
(profits, people and planet). Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or
sustainability initiatives all revolve around the principle of
contribution.
It reminds me of a song by the late Gunadasa Kapuge. “Let’s not be
mountains trying to beat one another, and instead be streams of water
leading to one river”. Life is not about cutting down others and making
head way. It is all to do with succeeding while sharing.
Road ahead
Inculcating the five qualities is open to all of us. It is a forward
journey with high self-appreciation, clear vision, strong purpose,
consistent commitment and genuine contribution. A journey of a thousand
miles begins with one step. Let’s take that step today.
The writer is the Director of the Postgraduate Institute of
Management. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Division of
Management and Entrepreneurship, Price College of Business,University of
Oklahoma, USA. |