Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It: Why People Demand it

Foster Confidence

People need to feel that they are in control of their own lives. They have a powerful innate need for personal autonomy and self-determination.11 All people want to believe that they can influence other people and influence life's events. It gives them a sense of order and stability in their own lives. In fact, you can't lead until you feel you can adequately cope with the events, situations, and people that you confront. That's why credible leaders do everything they can to bolster people's self-efficacy, their internal sense of personal effectiveness, and to foster greater self-confidence in others. Credible leaders take actions and create conditions that strengthen everyone's self-esteem and internal sense of effectiveness. ...