Confidence is not bravado, or swagger, or an
overt pretense of bravery. This is according to Dharmesh Shah and i
totally agree. Confidence is not some bold or brash air of
self-belief directed at others.
Confidence is quiet: It’s a natural
expression of ability, expertise, and self-regard.
I stumbled on this post on Linkedin and i just loved it and
thought to share. Dharmesh lists 9 qualities of truly confident people.
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| Source |
1. They take a stand not because they
think they are always right… but because they are not afraid to be wrong.
Cocky and conceited people tend to take a
position and then proclaim, bluster, and totally disregard differing opinions
or points of view. They know they’re right – and they want (actually
they need) you to know it too.
Their behavior isn’t a sign of confidence,
though; it’s the hallmark of an intellectual bully.
Truly confident people don’t mind being proven
wrong. They feel finding out what is right is a lot more important than
being right. And when they’re wrong,
they’re secure enough to back down graciously. Truly confident people often
admit they’re wrong or don’t have all the answers; intellectual bullies never
do.
2. They listen ten times more than they
speak.
Bragging is a mask for insecurity. Truly
confident people are quiet and unassuming. They already know what they think;
they want to know what you think. So they ask open-ended questions
that give other people the freedom to be thoughtful and introspective: They ask
what you do, how you do it, what you like about it, what you learned from it…
and what they should do if they find themselves in a similar situation.
Truly confident people realize they know a lot,
but they wish they knew more… and they know the only way to learn more is to
listen more.
3. They duck the spotlight so it shines
on others.
Perhaps it’s true they did the bulk of the work.
Perhaps they really did overcome the major obstacles. Perhaps it’s true they
turned a collection of disparate individuals into an incredibly high
performance team.
Truly confident people don’t care – at least they
don’t show it. (Inside they’re proud, as well they should be.) Truly confident
people don’t need the glory; they know what they’ve achieved. They don’t need the validation of others, because
true validation comes from within. So they stand back and celebrate their
accomplishments through others. They stand back and let others shine – a
confidence boost that helps those people become truly confident, too.
4. They freely ask for help.
Many people feel asking for help is a sign of
weakness; implicit in the request is a lack of knowledge, skill, or experience.
Confident people are secure enough to admit a
weakness. So they often ask others for help, not only because they are secure
enough to admit they need help but also because they know that when they seek
help they pay the person they ask a huge compliment.
Saying, “Can you help me?” shows tremendous
respect for that individual’s expertise and judgment. Otherwise you wouldn't
ask.
You can read the rest of the article here. Enjoy.
I'll be back xo
