Self-confidence is rocket fuel for leaders. Used carefully and ignited under the proper conditions, it propels you and those around you to remarkable heights.

However, beware the narrow tolerance ranges of your own self-confidence. Too little and you act and are perceived as weak. Too much and self-confidence becomes that most destructive of all leadership attributes, hubris.

Self-Confidence & the Early Career Leader:

In my experience, early career and first-time leaders tend to lack self-confidence, generally because they’ve not walked down the path and experienced the many pitfalls and challenges of the leader. Leadership self-confidence is born of experience, and not bestowed by title.

Some early leaders compensate with a command and control style, much like the parent who responds to her child with the self-serving and wholly ineffective explanation of “Because I said so,” to the teenager looking for some rational reason as to why he should change his behavior. I’ll let those of you that have parenting experience highlight why this approach is doomed to failure.

With coaching and some reasonable degree of self-awareness, early career leaders tend to grow out their ineffective ways, both gaining in self-confidence and recognizing the less than effective outcomes of demanding without explaining. However, with the passing of time and some early successes, a new potential problem emerges.

Experience and Success Can Turn Self-Confidence to Hubris.  Watch Out!

Borrowing from the excellent, but short read, “How the Mighty Fall,” by Jim Collins, he offers that, “dating back to ancient Greece, the concept of hubris is defined as excessive pride that brings down a hero, or alternatively, …outrageous arrogance that inflicts suffering upon the innocent.”

Perhaps it’s human nature, but as we gain experience and enjoy some victories, it is easy to start believing that we can do no wrong. This false and dangerous belief is often reinforced by the distorted reactions on our own performance that we receive from those who report to us.

It’s amazing how quick people are to tell us that we are brilliant when we’re in charge.

When self-confidence moves out of tolerance towards hubris and arrogance, the fuel that propelled teams and organizations begins to burn in the working environment, distorting reality and destroying objectivity.

The hubris of leaders is the accelerant that once ignited leads to the collapse of careers and companies.

How to Keep Your Self Confidence Within Tolerance:

  • Remind yourself daily of your role as a leader. You are there to support, provide help, guidance, coaching and to create an environment for others to succeed in their roles.
  • More on your role: repeat and live Deming’s 8th point: Drive out fear, Create trust and Create a Climate for Innovation.
  • Focus your calendar time on tasks that support the prosecution of your role.
  • Remind yourself that “it’s not about you.”
  • Quit asking people how you are doing and don’t pay attention to their unsolicited praise. Instead, ask people what you can do to help them succeed.

The Bottom Line:

It’s dangerously easy to start believing that “you” are the reason for success. Once you buy into that temptation, you’re headed for a dangerous fall. Keep your edge sharp by focusing on what you can do to help others succeed…not on what they can do to once again prove how great of a leader you are.

At the end of the day, you need enough self-confidence to know that the only way to create and sustain success is to choose carefully, support relentlessly and then place your trust in others.