8 Powerful Ways Leaders With Conviction
Motivate Us
by: TRAVIS BRADBERRY
from: Entrepreneur
1. They’re strong (not harsh).
Strength is an important quality in a
leader with conviction. People will wait to see if a leader is strong before
they decide to follow his or her lead. People need courage in their leader.
They need someone who can make difficult decisions and watch over the good of
the group. They need a leader who will stay the course when things get tough.
People are far more likely to show strength themselves when their leader does
the same.
A lot of leaders mistake domineering,
controlling, and otherwise harsh behavior for strength. They think that taking
control and pushing people around will somehow inspire a loyal following.
Strength isn’t something you can force on people; it’s something you earn by
demonstrating it time and again in the face of adversity. Only then will people
trust that they should follow you.
2. They know when to trust their gut.
Our ancestors relied on their
intuition—their gut instinct—for survival. Since most of us don’t face
life-or-death decisions every day, we have to learn how to use this instinct to
our benefit. Often we make the mistake of talking ourselves out of listening to
our gut instinct, or we go too far in the other direction and impulsively dive
into a situation, mistaking our assumptions for instincts. Leaders with
conviction recognize and embrace the power of their gut instincts, and they
rely on some tried-and-true strategies to do so successfully:
They recognize their own filters. They’re
able to identify when they’re being overly influenced by their assumptions and
emotions or by another person’s opinion. Their ability to filter out the
feelings that aren’t coming from their intuition helps them focus on
what is.
They give their intuition some space. Gut
instincts can’t be forced. Our intuition works best when we’re not pressuring
it to come up with a solution. Albert Einstein said he had his best ideas while
sailing, and when Steve Jobs was faced with a tough problem, he’d head out for
a walk.
They build a track record. Leaders
with conviction take the time to practice their intuition. They start by
listening to their gut on small things and seeing how it goes so that they’ll
know whether they can trust it when something big comes around.
3. They’re relentlessly positive.
Leaders with conviction see a brighter
future with crystal clarity, and they have the energy and enthusiasm to ensure
that everyone else can see it too. Their belief in the good is contagious.
While this might look natural, leaders with conviction know how to turn on the
positivity when the going gets tough. Positive thoughts quiet fear and
irrational thinking by focusing the brain’s attention on something that is
completely stress free. When things are going well and your mood is good, this
is relatively easy; when you’re stressing over a tough decision and your mind
is flooded with negative thoughts, this can be a challenge. Leaders with
conviction hone this skill.
4. They embrace that which they can’t
control.
We all like to be in control. After all,
people who feel like they’re at the mercy of their surroundings never get
anywhere in life. But this desire for control can backfire when you see
everything that you can’t control or don’t know as a personal failure. Leaders
with conviction aren’t afraid to acknowledge what’s out of their control. Their
conviction comes from an unwavering belief in their ability to control those
things that they can. They don’t paint a situation as better or worse than it
actually is, and they analyze the facts for what they are. They know that the
only thing they really control is the process through which they reach their
decisions. That’s the only rational way to handle the unknown and the best way
to keep your head on level ground.
5. They’re role models (not preachers).
Leaders with conviction inspire trust and
admiration through their actions, not just their words. Many
leaders say that something is important to them, but leaders with
conviction walk their talk every day. Harping about the behavior you want to
see in people all day long has a tiny fraction of the impact you achieve by
demonstrating that behavior yourself.
6. They’re emotionally intelligent.
The limbic system (where emotions are
generated in the brain) responds to uncertainty with a knee-jerk fear reaction,
and fear inhibits good decision making. Leaders with conviction are wary of
this fear and spot it as soon as it begins to surface. In this way, they can
contain it before it gets out of control. Once they are aware of the fear, they
label all the irrational thoughts that try to intensify it as irrational
fears—not reality—and the fear subsides. Then they can focus more accurately
and rationally on the information they have to go on. Throughout the process,
they remind themselves that a primitive part of their brain is trying to take
over and that the logical part needs to be the one in charge. In other words,
they tell their limbic system to settle down and be quiet until a hungry tiger
shows up.
7. They don’t ask, 'What if?'
"What if?” questions throw fuel on the
fire of stress and worry, and there’s no place for them in your thinking once
you have good contingency plans in place. Things can go in a million different
directions, and the more time you spend worrying about the possibilities, the
less time you’ll spend focusing on taking action that will calm you down and
keep your stress under control. Leaders with conviction know that asking “what
if?” will only take them to a place they don’t want, or need, to go to.
8. They’re willing to take a bullet for
their people.
Leaders with conviction will do anything
for their teams, and they have their people’s backs, no matter what. They don’t
try to shift blame, and they don’t avoid shame when they fail. They’re never
afraid to say, “The buck stops here,” and they earn people’s trust by backing
them up. Leaders with conviction make it clear that they welcome challenges,
criticism, and viewpoints other than their own. They know that an environment
where people are afraid to speak up, offer insights, and ask good questions is destined
for failure.
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