Self-Confidence
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SELF- CONFIDENCE
“There are three words a skipper never says, I dont know. Those three words will kill a crew as fast as a torpedo. You are the skipper because you do know, the skipper always knows.” Said to Mathew McConaughey by Harvey Kietel in the film U-571. Self-confidence is the most important trait of a good leader. Self-confidence is what others look to when they look to a leader. A self-confident leader is a powerful leader that always has an answer to the followers questions and always knows which direction to go. In the following paragraphs I will: define and describe self-confidence, explain why I picked it, describe how it works in action, describe an individual that embodies this quality and illustrate how self-confidence works in action. Self-confidence is the deal breaker of leaders, because the skipper always knows.
According to dictionary.com, self-confidence is freedom from doubt; belief in yourself and your abilities. Our textbook better defines self-confidence as assurance in ones own judgments, decision-making, ideas, and capabilities. A leader with a positive self-image who displays certainty about his or her own ability fosters confidence among followers, gains respect and admiration, and meets challenges. The confidence a leader displays and develops creates motivation and commitment among followers for the mission at hand. This is a great definition, however, the meaning behind the definition is not why I consider self-confidence to be the most important trait, because having the appearance of confidence is just as important. In the above example, Mathew McConaugheys character had no idea how they planned on getting out of the situation they were in and his crew wanted to know what they were going to do. He answers I dont know. This is the correct answer in honesty. What he should have said was, “man your stations give me reports on all the areas of the submarine while I plot a course for us to get out of here.” He doesnt admit he doesnt know in words, he gives his followers some tasks he knows they can accomplish and that he can thank them for while he works on his plan. Then he can present his plan to them never once letting them on to the fact that he doesnt know. The skipper always knows.
“To understand the `why.Ð `Why is the only real social power, without it you are powerless. And this is how you come to me, without `why, without power.” Excerpt from the Merovingian in Matrix Reloaded. This quote speaks volumes to me because it is exactly right on the money to describing the only question that need ever be fully understood. Why, of the other major questions; who, what, where, when and how, is the only one that really has any meaning. I know that terrorists attacked the world trade center on September, 11th 2001 in New York City by flying airplanes into the buildings, those facts are easy, but whyÐ…why is the question that preoccupies us. Self-confidence is how I lead; this is why I chose self-confidence. There is a fine line between self-confidence and arrogance, but like anything in life there is always extremes. I make sure that I am a problem solver as a leader, when my followers come to me with problems I have solutions. Being confident in myself allows me to solve their problems and the problems of the leaders above me. Granted my confidence in myself is founded in my knowledge of the business, which I consider to be the second most important trait, but all the knowledge of the business in the world is useless if the leader cant apply it. Do I know every answer to every question? No, but I would never say that to my followers, I would find out the answer for them, while I directed them on another task to give me time to figure it out and if an answer was needed immediately I would decide immediately and deal with the repercussions later relying on my knowledge of the business to guide my decision. In the film Cliffhanger, John Lithgows character says, “You kill one person and you are a murderer, you kill one hundred thousand, and you are a conqueror, go figure.” To me this illustrates that there is a line that can be crossed in everything in life. Self-confidence to arrogance, murder to conquest. Its about finding that line and operating just above or below it. The skipper always knows.
The leader that has inspired me since I knew who he was is a man that needs no introduction. I have developed my leadership style based upon this individual (and the faults of many terrible leaders I have had in the past) his name is Captain Jean-Luc Picard, played by Patrick Stewart. The day self-confidence became the trait in which I considered to be the most important was a Saturday in November of 1993. A new episode of Star Trek The Next Generation aired entitled “Attached.” In this episode Captain Picard and Dr. Crusher are stranded on a planet and they are trying to figure out a way to get off. The catch is that