Building a Culture of Confidence
By Patricia Koopersmith and Matt Gaston
A key differentiator between innovative and stagnant organizations is a culture of confidence. The more successful innovative organizations leverage sound psychological principles to successfully manage fear within their culture.
Within any organization, fear tends to deter innovation. For example, widespread fear of criticism or feedback within an organization might mean that employees avoid taking risks or pushing back against the status quo. This, in turn, stymies organization-wide innovation. Conversely, lack of fear of criticism or feedback might result in a culture of comfort or complacency among employees. This complacency similarly reduces innovative practices within the organization.
Finding ways to balance fear within an organization is critical to making those within the organization confident in their abilities to operate outside their comfort zone and achieve significant outcomes.
So how do we define a culture of confidence? Confidence comprises:
The courage to step into a big vision.
An ability to create within the unknown.
A commitment to see things through to the end.
Organizations seeking to create a culture of confidence[1] should encourage and enable employees to exercise the following behaviors and practices, helping to unleash their potential to innovate (both individually and collectively):
1. Maximize Time in the “Zone of Genius”
An employee will perform best when they find their “Zone of Genius” (i.e., in the “state of flow,” where time and productivity remain high) and remain there for most of the workday. The more time the employee spends in this space, the more confident they become. However, an employee that spends most of their day in “The Whirlwind” (the work behind the work that feels like work), will be less productive overall. While all employees will inevitably spend part of their day in “The Whirlwind,” an employer should help minimize their time in this space to maximize their success and confidence.
2. Focus on Talent
Another way to grow confidence is to reflect and understand the skills and qualities that make you excel. To do this, an employee might gather “evidence” about their strengths rather than focus on their weaknesses. For instance, an employee might pose the question, “What is one thing I like about myself? What is one thing I am proud of?” By re-focusing an employee on their talents and what they do well, the employer can help the employee stave off imposter syndrome and enable them to “create in the unknown.”
3. Commit to Tenacity & Integrity
Tenacity involves holding steadfast to a course of action, belief, or purpose without diverting or dissuading oneself. Integrity involves being true to your word, communicating change, and owning your mistakes. Tenacity helps an individual walk into an unfamiliar space ready to engage with confidence, while integrity allows an individual to be accountable and own their mistakes. Tenacity and integrity require commitment from leadership and staff alike. By committing to being powerful and confident, an employee commits to coming from a place of confidence and producing results that augment their talents and self-esteem. By committing to holding employees and leadership accountable for upholding the qualities of tenacity and integrity, an organization commits to establishing a culture of confidence.
Creating a culture of confidence takes time. First, an organization must identify its areas for improvement. For example, an organization that needs to improve talent management might assess the current employee review process–does it allow room for additional manager training to teach a culture of confidence? Aside from making high-level changes to its practices, an organization can instill confidence in its employees and empower them to step into a big vision and commit to seeing things through to the end.
[1] Behaviors recommended by Erik Dominguez, Speak Up Stories