From Presidents to CEOs to teachers in a classroom, there’s one thing all great leaders have: confidence — or at least, the ability to project confidence. Whether you’re steering your company through troubled waters, making tough decisions, or simply doing your role as the visible head of an organization, all leaders must be able to act with calmness and confidence, to instill that same sense of self-assurance and stability within the company, even during turbulent times.
If you’re an aspiring leader, it can be difficult to know how to go about gaining confidence. It seems like something you naturally acquire over time, something that comes with experience, age, and connections. For students, like those studying an online EdD in Higher Education or Master of Business Administration, confidence might not be something you learn in your coursework, but it’ll be an incredibly valuable quality when you’re going for those higher-level jobs. Even for those at the beginning of their career, there are ways that you can turbocharge your confidence and gain that aura quickly. Here are just a few.
Take care of yourself
To boost your self-confidence, you have to feel happy in your own mind and skin, and that starts with taking care of yourself, mentally and physically. This includes things like eating healthy and getting the right nutrients so that your energy levels are high enough to power your day. It also includes things like getting enough and regular exercise to maintain your physical health, boost your mood and serotonin, as well as improve your body image.
Finally, it should come as no surprise that the final tenet of that triangle should be making sure you have a sleep schedule that complements your body’s natural circadian rhythm — getting at least 7 or 8 hours a night is critical for making sure that you feel your best and ready to face the world.
On the mental side of things, you can practise things like meditation, positive thinking, or motivating self-directed pep talks. Setting aside even just ten minutes to unwind, relax, and reflect at the end of the day can realign your mental state and calm you down. Once you feel happy with your image and your health, that inner confidence will naturally shine in your actions at work, signaling to others that this is a future leader to watch out for.
Stop comparing yourself to others
In today’s day and age, it can be incredibly easy to fall into the trap of online comparison, whether that be in your career or your personal life. Did you know that there is an increasing link between the use of social media and depression? Being able to go online and immediately be flooded with innumerable artificially beautiful people doing exaggeratedly impressive acts is surely not going to help anyone’s self confidence.
The first step to removing yourself from this world of comparison is to unfollow people who don’t improve your life but instead make you feel inadequate or as if you’re behind the pack. If the influencer on your Instagram feed who gives running tips and motivational pep talks is helping you achieve your goals of running more, then that’s a person worth following. However, if the influencer that you follow only ever posts airbrushed selfies of them running 5 miles at 4 am every single day before cooking a three-course meal for breakfast, it might be time to hit that unfollow button and live without the toxicity of having to live up to people whose literal livelihoods and incomes hinge on the impressiveness of their personal lives.
Set realistic goals
Finally, it’s important to set realistic goals. This doesn’t mean you should aim lower — quite the opposite. It means you should still aim high, but break those goals into smaller, achievable, and realistic steps. Want to become a CEO? Make your first goal “talk to one new person in the office every day”. In this way, you can keep the mountain in the distance while still focusing on putting one foot in front of the other.
At the end of the day, confidence is — like any other trait — a learnable skill, and it’s one that reaps immeasurable rewards. If you want to get better at it, follow the tips above, and you’re sure to become a confident leader in no time.
