I used to categorize people into three buckets when it came to self-confidence. Those who are loud about it, those who are quiet about it and those who just don’t have it. But a recent experience made me rethink all this.
Our product team was in the last stages before the launch. We were tense and excited. Then we hit an eleventh-hour glitch. Robbie, who I see as quietly confident, got very loud. They insisted they had the right answer, and everyone needed to just follow their lead. Jaye, who is usually beating their chest with confidence, retreated to the corner. I’m never sure if I have enough self-confidence and usually waffle. But that day, I stepped up to the plate and calmed everyone’s nerves and guided us to a good solution. Everything turned out fine, product launched.
I now realize that I had grossly oversimplified my understanding of self-confidence. I thought that how people behaved was the best indicator. That may be true sometimes, but self-confidence is an inside job. It may not be obvious to others. It is something we work on all the time and, on our best days, it shows up. That was a good day for me and not so much for Robbie or Jaye.
Self-confidence is that inner voice that says, “You got this. And even if you get it wrong, you’ve still got it.”
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