10 tips for building confidence in times of crisis

We’re in choppy waters and need to work on our confidence.

I used to think cash flow was the lifeblood of a business, but I don’t anymore.

There’s no denying the importance of cash flow, but positive cash flow is what happens when a business is healthy, and one of the markers of a healthy business is confidence.

Do you know what happens when confidence drains out of a team?

People hesitate. They avoid decisions. They retreat into safe routines. They cover their backs. They sit at their desks waiting for emails to answer instead of getting out there and making things happen.

Walk around an unconfident office and everybody may seem busy, but there are a thousand ways of filling a day.

The results may not show up right away. Things may seem to be ticking along.

But all the while, relationships are cooling, market intelligence is not filtering up to you, opportunities are being missed and the stream of work is slowing – all of which saps confidence further.

Unconfidence is terribly contagious

Remember the 2008 Olympic sprint relays in Beijing? In the qualifying heat the US team, who were seasoned world champions, eliminated themselves spectacularly by dropping the baton.

After that the jitters set in and batons were dropping all over the shop in both the men’s and women’s finals. Team members and the spectators shouted “don’t drop the baton” but that drew attention to not dropping it and made it worse, crushing confidence in real time.

But confidence rubs off on others, too. Work alongside someone who has purpose and confidence and you feel it too.

Leaders can help pump confidence back into in an organisation, but only if they’re confident themselves.

How do you get confidence?

Confidence is not something that you either have or don’t have. Instead, it’s something you either foster or neglect; it’s dynamic.

Think of confidence as a marvellous but delicate garden.

We’ve all got one, but for many of us its neglected and choked with weeds.

Just like an actual garden, you have to do lots of things to tend and nurture it.

Everybody’s different, but here are my top ten tips for cultivating confidence – based on my own ‘confidence system’.

10 tips to get confidence

1. Exercise every day. Something enjoyable, walking, running, cycling, squash, tennis, chopping wood – whatever. It reboots your hard drive and releases endorphins. Also, when you feel fit, you feel confident.
2. Spend time with excellent people. It might be a neighbour, a friend, a colleague, a customer, a partner or a child. Excellent people inspire, challenge and support. They get you out of yourself, broaden your perspective, make you laugh and feel better.
3. Develop and share your unique abilities. Everyone’s brilliant at something. Your experience, knowledge, upbringing and natural talents form an unrepeatable composite. Identify, develop and share these gifts. The feedback does wonders.
4. Appreciate your team. I mean the way you would an asset, as in, increase its value. You can appreciate your team (in both senses of the word) by acknowledging their talents and achievements regularly. Just watch their stock rise.
5. Get money in the bank. Yes, you do need cash, so make sure you invoice and get paid on time.
6. Build relationships with customers. Relationships are the foundation for everything, and big results require big relationships. Customers need to be appreciated like anybody else, and so do their businesses.
7. Appreciate your best opportunities. Every day, look at top five opportunities, and do something to increase their likelihood of happening.
8. Appreciate your own achievements. Make sure you achieve something everyday. It might be small, like making a phone call instead of putting it off. Write them down. Every week look back and list the top ten. Do the same every quarter. Confidence is having the feeling that you’re getting somewhere good, and it helps to stop and see how far you’ve come. You can do this with your team, too.
9. Work on a health plan. I’ve decided I’m going to be healthier and fitter in 20 years than I am now. I can honestly say I’m approaching 60 fitter than I was at 40. It’s a fantastic feeling, and it makes me feel confident.
10. Be straight with everybody, especially yourself. If it doesn’t come out right, get straight back in and apologise. It’s hard, but being honest will make you feel better, lighter, clearer and more confident. Don’t sugar-coat bad news for your team. When things are bad, they know. What they need is the truth, so they can do what they need to do to manage.

I work on at least one of these every day, it’s a habit, its my confidence system

You may have different confidence boosters. Write them down and work on them.

Good luck!

We help teams leading companies and delivering critical projects become focussed and confident. Our popular one-day and half-day sessions introduce the principles proven to work for successful construction companies. Check out Discovery Day.