We looked at an overview of confidence recently, so let me pose this question before we get started: How is your confidence today? In thinking about today’s post, I’m reminded of an old Seinfeld episode where Elaine is put in charge of the J. Peterman Catalog. For her first issue, she put the Urban Sombrero on the cover. Later, she is in Jerry’s apartment and he asks, “How’s your confidence?” Elaine responds, “Shot.”
Before that day, Elaine had been supremely confident she was ready to run the catalog; so where did she go wrong? Or did she really make a mistake and in fact, she was actually right to be confident. Let’s take a look.
In Scott W. Ventrella’s book The Power of Positive Thinking in Business confidence is defined as “being personally assured of one’s abilities, capabilities, and potential.”
As people, we are confident because we trust ourselves. We all know how important trust is to our interpersonal relationships, but rarely do we look at the role trust and confidence play in our intrapersonal lives.
In teams, if your fellow teammates are missing deadlines, or lacking in certain skills, your confidence in them lowers. It’s just a fact of life and business.
But this is about you! Why are you confident? If you agree that we are confident because we believe we can accomplish certain tasks or at least have the right training to find the correct path, then you understand confidence and the role it has in your life.
One final question: How often do you give yourself a compliment? How about negative re-enforcement? I bet it is easier to think of the latter. In Ventrella’s book, he writes about the need to focus on our past successes and what led to success, and not the past failures and mistakes. We need to build ourselves up and having confidence in your abilities is a vitally important factor in your personal and professional success. If you don’t have confidence in yourself, how can anyone else?
I will venture to say that Elaine was right in having confidence in her ability to lead the catalog. She still got it out on time, just with the wrong cover. She had the abilities and her first experience at running the catalog, although negative at the moment, can lead to a great learning experience which will only aid her confidence. It is the same with you.
Confidence can carry you through your struggles. Next week we’ll look at where confidence comes from, so until then, say something positive to yourself. Build up your confidence and trust in yourself.
We’ve all be there. It’s a day-long brainstorming session. Key team members have been flown in, stayed in a hotel, had a big breakfast and then it’s time to start working with the consultant. This one is better than the last one – at least they seem to have a grasp of your business.
But your team needs this. The marketplace is changing, your clients are changing, the economy is changing; whatever the case may be, brainstorming is important. It can come in a ton of forms, but I’m going to look at the large-group style today. What makes up a good session?
- All ideas are (initially) equal. Yes, the moderator probably will say, “There are no bad ideas,” even when we all know, there are bad ideas. But here is the thing, bad ideas can spawn great ideas! So, any moderator wants every crazy, audacious idea to come out. It might spark someone else. It could get the ball rolling on the amazing idea that could change your company.
- Brainstorming should never actually end. It shouldn’t be just a once-every-five-years event. It needs to be ongoing. Whether it is every quarter with different people, or even once a year, the ideas are out there and business leaders need to build an environment for those great ideas to come to the surface.
- We can’t solve every problem. It’s a simple concept, but one that sometimes brainstorm participants fail to remember. Some peoples can’t be solved by a simple group brainstorm. That is why it is important when coming into a brainstorming session, the participants must have a clear understanding of the goals for the day.
- Change the room. Especially if it is a larger group, every so often, have people change groups. It changes conversations and it can lead to even more ideas because of the conversations that happen, but don’t get shared to the whole group.
Brainstorming should be a fun and energizing experience for your teams. Use them to your advantage. It goes back to creating an atmosphere of creativity in Monday’s post. This is just one of many things you can do to improve your team’s creativity.
What have been the best brainstorming meetings you’ve attended and why? What are some really creative brainstorming tools that you have used or experienced?
We all love being creative, some more than others of course, but we are all creative beings. Yes, that means you! However, in business and in life, we all seek to balance our creativity with our productivity and results.
In the always-changing world of public relations and even more, the characteristics of your teams, it is important to build an atmosphere that welcomes creativity while balancing the needs of the business. In my business, I am a one-man show so I have to be the one who not only drives the creative bus, but also the business part of the business. I’ve learned a lot on my own personal journey, but also from my days in the corporate world. Here are some ideas and tactics I’ve learned on how to remain balanced in your creativity and your business.
- If you want creative people, allow them to try new things, and make mistakes! If you don’t build an atmosphere that is willing to try new things, you will get what you’ve always gotten. It will be the same tactics and the same, or worse results.
- Being creative means taking smart risks. Yes, doing something creative and innovative can mean taking risks, but that doesn’t mean they have to be huge risks. Try presenting your client with a completely outside the box idea. It will show your team is thinking outside the norm, but also thinking about what is best for both parties.
- Change it up. This could mean a lot of things, but change the routine. We get into a routine and when that happens, the ideas and the results start to look the same. Have people move offices, have a fun day (like Morningstar Communications does – ), have a weekend retreat. Do something to shake things up. It will build the team, strengthen relationships and get people talking.
These are very simple ideas to implement, but can change your business. There is nothing wrong with being creative, it just must be balanced with the business goals.
Here at Acts of Balance, we’re about to embark on a three-post dive into confidence. Why people are confident, where confidence comes from and how to practice being and having confidence.
But first we must take a brief look at why some people lack confidence. In my practice, one of the things that I am seeing more than ever lately is the lack of confidence among highly competent and talented professionals. For some, it is the feeling that they are like the house of cards, ready to fall over the moment someone recognizes that they don’t really have any talent (lies, all lies). For many, it is significant fear of not only being found out that they don’t have the talent required, but that they have been faking it all along.
There can of course be tons of reasons: lack of success, lack of knowledge, and even, not enough challenge. Think about it, if you’re in a job or a career where you are not sufficiently challenged, whether because of your knowledge base or maybe it because your creative juices are atrophied – if you aren’t challenged – it is tough to build confidence.
One very simple cause of lapses in confidence can be traced back to fear. Just like honor, pride and sadness, fear is a naturally occurring human emotion. Fear is a safety mechanism we use to keep and stay safe. If you are scared of a situation or a challenge or even a simple job task, confidence and success suffers.
Fear can often show up in very subtle ways … oftentimes business leaders don’t actually recognize fear, but sometimes the urge to avoid making decisions is a result of fear. In the end, it is the fear inhibits their leadership. That is just one example. It can be seen in business meetings when someone won’t share their far-fetched idea for fear of being laughed at, or sales people who are good talkers but can’t seem to make the ‘ask’ at the end.
Fear is the inner critic, the doubting self-talk, and the filter that makes us perceive things as worse than they are. It sounds simple but the first step to moving past fear is awareness.
Start with awareness, then investigation and understanding, then begin a development plan that address both the thoughts and beliefs that lead to fear and addressing the behaviors that are simply within your comfort zone. As we move through our discussion on confidence, think about your life. Where do you lack confidence? And why? Once you begin to identify where, the why’s become easy and the solution can be even easier.
*some content was adapted from D. Luke Iorio, President and CEO of iPEC Coaching
On Monday I touched on the importance of slowing down and making sure your life is balanced before jumping onto your bike to race down the hill. Learning to ride a bicycle is a lot like life. When your training wheels are first taken off, you will fall. But then you learn the importance of starting slow and getting your balance before racing down the sidewalk or jumping off that ramp.
“Life is like riding a bicycle, in order to keep in balance, you must keep moving.” –Albert Einstein
In talking about slowing down, we looked at three things: how busy you are, your level of passion and creativity, and your work vs. personal life balance. So now that we are slowed down, it is time to race. Look both ways first though…
Check your wheels. You read it right – check your balance. A life that isn’t in balance, whether it be with your personal and professional life and obligations or if you’re not spending enough time on your life passions, then your life is not in balance. Simple as that. You wouldn’t drive across the country without checking your tire pressure, so don’t do it to your life either. Check for signs that you are out of balance. Are you getting angry at the slightest provocation? Are dishes piling high in the sink? Do you suddenly find yourself out of dog food or toothpaste and squeezing the tube for dear life?
Fill up your tank. Okay, on a bicycle I know that’s not possible, but look at you. When was the last time you did something for you? Just you? Not work. Not your significant other or your kids or your pets or your siblings. Just you. We all need to have emotional energy in our tanks and spending time on you is the perfect way to do that. I love Julia Cameron’s The Artist Way – it talked about taking yourself on an artist’s date at least one hour per week to recharge. Go to a movie, take a walk in an unexplored neighborhood, eat at an exotic restaurant, finger paint…
Be your captain. You need to be your team captain. You’re the boss of your life. If you’re not happy, if you believe you life is not in balance, then you have the power to fix it. But you also need to create an amazing team around you. They can be there to check your wheels from time to time and remind you to fill up your tank. They might even help provide the motivation to keep the pedals moving and your life in balance. Think about who is on your anabolic team – and reach out to them. They are waiting for your call!
Now you’re on your way! In the end, living a life in balance is all about understanding yourself. But we’ll get into that. For now, enjoy the wind in your face. Happy Independence Day!
(flickr photo via kellfrick)
