CEO Confidence Matters

When I was a CEO everyone told me to be confident. They had lots of reasons that all pointed to a need to make lots of decisions with limited information and remain sane while doing something that has not been done before. They told me that having deep confidence is the only way to avoid the crushing pressure of leading a startup. They’re probably right.

Now, as I work with CEO’s I see another reason that confidence is key to success: Confidence is the foundation for scaling as a leader. When you’re confident, you are open to new ideas and you are willing to let others lead. You can experiment and reach for a better way because your ego is healthy and you do not need credit or to be proven right.

When you are confident you are not defensive or tied to your ideas. Instead, you are dedicated to having the best ideas win. When you are confident you are not paranoid. You are not worried about what other people think. Instead, you care about what they think and why. When you are confident, you trust your team because you trust yourself. Being confident does not guarantee success, but a lack of confidence will lead to failure.