Values › Leadership › Confidence
Core value · Leadership family
Confidence
Trusting in your own abilities
Also covers Assertiveness
What does confidence mean as a core value?
Confidence as a core value means trusting your own ability and judgement enough to act, speak up and ask for what you need, even before you feel completely certain.
Confidence, for you, means trusting yourself enough to act. You like to back your own judgement and speak up before you’re completely certain. When it’s a core value, you tend to admire people who are at ease with themselves, and you notice keenly when you hold back from saying what you think. It includes asserting yourself: asking for what you need, saying no clearly, and taking up the space your abilities have earned.
What does confidence look like in practice?
- You say “I disagree” in a meeting without wrapping it in three apologies.
- You put yourself forward for a role before you tick every box on the job description.
- You ask for the pay rise, the refund or the better table.
- You accept a compliment with a simple thank you.
- You try something new in front of people, knowing you might look clumsy at first.
When is confidence overplayed?
Too much confidence stops listening. Certainty crowds out curiosity, so you underprepare, dismiss warnings, or talk over quieter people who had the better idea. Assertiveness slides into insistence, and others find it hard to tell you when you’re wrong. The healthy kind of confidence is steady enough to say “I don’t know” and “I was mistaken” without feeling diminished. One way to keep it honest is to ask, before your next big call, “What would change my mind?” and listen properly to the answer.
Often confused with
Confidence vs Courage
Courage is acting despite fear. Confidence is trusting your ability, which often means there’s less fear to push through in the first place.
Confidence vs Self-respect
Self-respect is valuing yourself and holding your standards. Confidence is belief in what you can do, and some people have plenty of one and little of the other.
Confidence vs Decisiveness
Decisiveness is making choices promptly. Confidence is the self-trust that often makes that possible, but it also shows up in how you speak, ask and try new things.
Questions to sit with
- Where do you know more than you let on, and what stops you saying so?
- When did your confidence last cause you to miss something important?
- What would you ask for this month if you trusted yourself a little more?
More values in Leadership
Standing, influence and setting direction.
About the author
Matt Rutherford is a Career and Leadership Coach. The Values Finder is the same exercise he uses with his coaching clients. He also writes Stuff that MattRs, a weekly newsletter with practical ideas to help you think clearer and work better.
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