How Being A Confident Leader Impacts Your Followers

What is it about confidence in a leader that makes people so attracted to follow them? It seems confidence covers a multitude of sins. It makes me think of the chicken and the egg. You need to be a leader to show others you are confident but you have to be confident to be a great leader.

A leader can show confidence in many ways. They can also build their confidence in many ways. In this article, we share how a Decisive Leader’s confidence affects the four styles of people.

Strengths Of A Confident Leader

The D-Style leader or a leader that naturally leans toward being decisive, assertive, and dominant will have the easiest time with quick decisions and showing confidence. For both the leader and her followers, this can be a powerful skill.

The decisive leader exudes confidence through quick decision making, assertiveness, and being a great problem solver. A leader like this will carry themselves in a confident manner. They will walk into a room, make a simple statement and just because of the way they say it some people will hear it as gospel.

Watch for Overconfidence

The D-Style leader has to be careful to not show up overconfident. The things to watch out for are being over-controlling, too direct, and too critical. When followers experience these negatives instead of the positives listed above, they won’t see confidence they will see manipulation and immaturity in their leader.

With overconfidence, it is simply an over-extension of one’s strengths. In this case, their quick decision making leaves others without a voice or an understanding of the “why” behind a project or initiative. When assertiveness becomes too strong or the leader tries to solve all the problems, this creates frustration for their followers.

They won’t experience confidence but will feel manipulated and over-controlled. So how does this type of leader manage their confidence assertiveness around the different styles they are leading?

The Confident Leader and The Influential Style

Influencing Styles like to make decisions quickly but based on intuition and gut feelings. People of this style don’t need a lot of data and facts. What they need are their opinions to be heard. And to know that whatever you’re selling other people have liked and think is worth the time, effort, and money.

This is the most emotional of the four styles. When being decisive around them, make sure you have their buy-in emotionally before you get too far along. Especially since this style will be the best advocate or persuader in the group.
When you come across as critical, this style will rarely want to follow. They want encouragement and atta-boys, not criticism. As a confident leader, you should partner with the influential style to help you sell and encourage others to get on board with your initiative.

The Confident Leader and The Supportive Style

The supportive style is the best at getting people together and choosing a safe route to take as a team. It is unwise as a D-Style leader to not allow people with this mentality and gifting to create consensus and support around an idea. They personally need to arrive there before they will help you to get others on board.

Be sure they feel safe with any changes. Answer any concerns they have with logical responses. And show that you care about the team and the direction it is going. Demonstrating confidence around this style is helpful and necessary. But make sure they understand the potential changes and disruptions early in the process. Ideally, before you make the decision.

The Confident Leader and The Conscientious Style

This type of follower will be all about the details and will pepper you with questions. Make sure you have facts and data to support your decision or position. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself with a lack of support from your best planners and organizers.

Make sure to hear their questions not as doubt about the decision, but their need for reassurance that you’ve done your homework. Partner with this style by giving them the opportunity to dive into the details and process. Giving control of this aspect of the project or initiative to them will be beneficial to everyone.

The Confident Leader and The Decisive Style

You’ll likely have people with your same style that report to you. Two confident, decisive styles together can be a dangerous combo in both good and bad ways. It’s like two speeding cars. If they’re going the same direction, a lot of people can get somewhere quickly. But if they are going opposite directions, the crash is likely to be rather painful.

Work with other D-Styles by relinquishing control to them for parts of the project. If possible, make sure to give them options to what part they have control. Allow them to have independence. But beware they too can become overconfident in their strengths and abilities. Causing undue harm to the team and project.

In Summary…

When working with the Influential style give them personal encouragement and let them be the cheerleader and promoter for the project and team. With the Supportive style, partner with them to create a team cohesiveness for the project and the possible changes it will cause.

The Conscientious style, needs responsibilities related to order, systems, and details. Followed by you getting out of their way. Finally, for the Decisive style, give them enough control and options to allow them to keep them going in the same direction as you and the team.

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I want to hear your thoughts and opinions. Which leadership tip was the most useful for you?