I only partially believe in the saying that ‘a leader is always born’. Our life consists of innumerable instances, experiences, and experiments that shape up our opinions, observations, and attitudes. This, in turn, empowers us to learn, extract insights and grow as a human being, every day. Nonetheless, an innate quality, leadership can also be learned or taught over time. But what matters the most is to exhibit confidence in your leadership capabilities when the going gets tough.
Organizations across the world thrive under visionary leaders who take up responsibilities such as excellent decision-making, business planning, conflict resolution, employee engagement, coaching, mentoring and skill-development of teams and so on. Leaders drive a favorable business environment for both the internal and external public. But what about those uncertainties that the company sometimes goes through – how a leader can show confidence under these ambiguous situations?
After all, only a confident leader can bring tranquillity and clarity in chaotic conditions at work and this requires a lot of in-depth thought processes.
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Take a look at these top 6 tips to become a confident leader in uncertain times
A leader is someone who the entire organization looks up at, especially at times of chaos, uncertainty, and crisis. He/she is the person who brings out positivity, hope, and confidence from employees so they work towards a successful outcome. A leader calms the nerves of those around who carry the burdens of assumptions, fears, and worries. Let’s find out what is expected out of a confident leader.
1. Stay agile and nimble towards change: A leader should be a patron of ‘change’ and should always believe that change is the only constant. He/she should focus on building an agile organization that is well-capable to respond to any change. This requires the leader to imbibe the values of flexibility in their strategy, operations, and culture. Smart and confident leaders strive to make companies nimbler and better equipped to confront challenging times. They focus on the core assets and strengths and capitalize on those capabilities to become better positioned and also to future-proof their companies.
2. Be open with your communications: Communication is the much-needed line that connects all dots and all gaps. Clear, concise and honest communication brings clarity and wisdom and adds a method to the madness. A confident leader needs to communicate with full transparency and honesty during uncertain times. Share what you know and what you don’t with your employees, also tell them what news you are awaiting and what decisions are to be made. Communicate what worked and what did not. Most importantly, make your employees feel that they would be communicated about every forthcoming news and decisions.
3. Express your thoughts and bring up a plan: Uncertain times invites ambiguity, rumors, fears, unexpressed tensions and frustrations amongst employees. Hence, it is vital for leaders to keep communication alive within employees. A confident leader is expected to have clarity and vision that should be expressed to employees so they can do away with all apprehensions and assumptions. He/she should be able to precisely express his/her thoughts, ideas, intentions and methods to the employees in uncertain times, so they are fully prepared to confront the situations from beforehand.
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4. Ask for feedback, ideas, and inputs: A leader cannot always be an all-knowing source of information and knowledge. He/she understand that sometimes the best plan emerges when you have all the information at hand, and this requires collecting feedback, insights, and ideas from employees. When a confident leader consults the employees, they feel responsible and obliged towards offering ideas, which might turn out to be a potentially simpler and more effective business solution. It also motivates other employees to come out of their individual indifference and think of the company as their own.
5. Stay positive and focus on small wins: A confident leader always remains calm, composed and positive even under uncertain times without taking rash or hurtful decisions. He/she should have enough wisdom to understand who to listen to and who not to. Sometimes, it is important to focus on small wins and modest celebrations to keep the motivation up amongst employees and to divert their attention from unknown worries towards visible success. It is under uncertain times that confident leaders need to boost their employees’ morale and confidence by creating momentum.
6. Be approachable and stay engaged: Last but not the least, it is most important for a good leader to be always approachable and welcoming in volatile times. Employees should feel comfortable talking to them and approaching them with any queries and hunches. A true business leader should hence find out time to engage with employees in order to exchange ideas and information and to keep them motivated and updated with every situation. It is important to be open for discussions, presentations and meetings to create a sense of involvement within employees.
Uncertain times or not, a confident leader is always honest and ready to own his mistakes without any hints of ego or insecurity. He/she fosters an environment of open communication, trust, support and consistency in the organization.
