Playing with Confidence

It takes more than talent to succeed at work

When athletes have confidence in their abilities, not only do they play better, they sometimes deliver extraordinary performances. This confidence is fueled by their desire to win. In the world of sports, it is well understood that talent and skill are important, but confidence provides a winning edge.

Unfortunately, in our workculture, the "silver spoon" model of success prevails. The silver spoon model correlates success with in-born talent and ability. The premise is that those who are smartest are destined for the highest levels of achievement. For example, graduates from the best and brightest universities are hired, identified as high potentials and assigned to rotational programs. They are expected to gain more knowledge, more quickly, and, consequently, rise more rapidly to top positions. Sometimes, a host of shortcomings get overlooked because an individual is "so smart".

Ironically, research shows there's no correlation between one's IQ and ability to lead or succeed in life. Daniel Goleman in his book, Emotional Intelligence, suggests that, at best, IQ contributes about 20% of the factors that determine life success. Only about 15% of the general population is considered as having "above average" intelligence. Under the silver spoon model, about 85% of the people in this country would be dubbed ill-equipped to succeed.

Our success model identifies more important factors than intelligence. The primary factor is a confident attitude – not a superficial representation like a firm handshake. Confidence that fuels success is belief and faith that you can do what it takes to achieve your dreams. Confidence fuels a combination of desire, willingness and energy to produce another factor we call sheer determination.

Sheer determination isn't just working hard. It involves first making a decision about what you want, then being disciplined about how you are going to get there. Sheer determination takes drive, energy and focus to achieve your goals and aspirations.

Where does confidence come from? Confidence is born out of one's experience with success. Successful outcomes are the result of your strong desire or determination to achieve. The greater and more frequent your success, the more your confidence is strengthened. Stronger levels of confidence allow you to muster even greater determination, discipline and focus – leading to increasingly higher levels of success.

Leaders who build the individual confidence of their people will reap superstar performances.

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VJ Holcomb Associates specializes in Executive Coaching. We work with highly talented individuals and groups to help them utilize their gifts and abilities to perform at the greatest level of influence and impact in the workplace.