confidence Archives - Dennis E. Gilbert

28
Apr 21
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Sharing Confidence Is a Workplace Dream

Tags : action confidence planning psychology of work strategy

Or is it a reality? Sharing confidence may actually be your competitive advantage. Are you seizing that opportunity?

What you focus on is what you get. If you don’t have focus, you are focusing on nothing. What will you get? Nothing.

Spend your energy on rumors and gossip, and you’ll have more. Spend it on production, efficiency, and providing stellar services, and you’ll be making better strides.

Does confidence play a role on what you get next?

Doubts or Confidence?

When you launch the new marketing campaign, some people will have doubts.

Build something new for the customer and some people may wonder if it will hold up under pressure or last long enough to be a great value.

Someone might suggest that it can’t be done. The change is too big, too wide, and not focused enough. Someone may suggest it is ridiculous.

Savvy organizations pursue it with passion. They set up metrics, measurements, and plot it all on a timeline with specific milestones. Do they get the work done? Have they accomplished the task? Is the strategy appropriate and are the tactics effective?

The hard part really isn’t in the planning. The plan is just that, a plan. A plan brings things to life. Brick by brick or drop by drop. The build occurs or the bucket fills.

What is the hard part?

The hard part is often inspiring the confidence to get started.

Sharing Confidence

Dreaming is pretty easy, at least when compared with fulfilling the dream.

Confidence is a competitive advantage. Less time is wasted on doubts and fears and more time spent on bringing the plan to fruition.

A lack of confidence stalls projects. It may even cause them to stop, or worse, never get started.

Organizations that build confidence within the employee teams have an advantage.

While everyone else is doing the easy part, teams with confidence are focused.

Don’t waste time sharing things that are project stoppers.

Do the hard part.

Illustrate confidence and then share it.

Dreams do become reality.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

02
Apr 21
-

Finding Certainty Is a Never-Ending Position

Tags : certainty change confidence psychology of work Tolerance

Finding certainty is one way to spend your energy. In an ever-changing world, it seems that certainty may be hard to come by. Yet, there still may be some things that you can be certain about. Change is one of them.

Many people set out to be certain. Low-risk is attractive but with little risk often not much is gained.

Confidence may be considered an aspect of certainty. Removing doubt and installing belief all seem to have linkages to being certain.

It is difficult to maintain the power of confidence while facing extreme criticism or ridicule. When there is a constant stream of new information, the difference between truth and lies, facts and opinions, and those who seek to see, in order to believe, all become blurred.

What is stopping you right now? Is it a lack of information or a lack of certainty?

Finding Certainty

It may be easier to find than you think.

A three-dimensional image is different from a two-dimension image. How things first appear are sometimes different after closer examination. The autostereogram is a perfect example.

Complexities surround human nature. The psychology of the work that we do is often hard to understand.

Driven by perceptions, expectations, and life experiences decisions are made and outcomes are realized.

What may be certain about every endeavor is that there will be an outcome.

In an uncertain world, doing something that produces a new outcome may be better than doing nothing at all.

If you live in South Carolina and you want to get to California by car, driving somewhere in a westward direction will put you closer. It may be driving to Nebraska or Texas, but one thing is certain, both of those are closer to California than South Carolina.

Certainty often exists in what you see and what you believe.

Sometimes the trick is having more confidence than doubt.

Often, that is where you find certainty.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

15
Jan 21
-

Talent Bar or Skills Gap, Which Is It?

Tags : competence confidence skill Talent

Has the talent bar been set too high? Do you have the talent required to do the job, to fit in, or to become a success?

There is a belief, and likely strong evidence, to support the idea that sometimes people give up too soon.

Children in sports are often encouraged.

Nice arm!

That kid is so fast!

Great eye on that one!

Chances are slim for the millions of young people who engage in adolescent sports to become professionals. Even rarer is that if they turn pro, that they will become an all-star.

It is also true for academic studies. True for the assessment of math skills, reading, or comprehension. Yes, of course, some think and achieve differently, yet the bar for success in most job roles is much lower than the academic requirements.

Is the bar about talent or developed skill?

Talent Bar Surprise

In most workplace roles, the concept of talent is given too much emphasis. Just like the Netflix movie suggestion you received from your social media feed, it is overrated.

A focus on developing the appropriate skill is much more appropriate.

Something strange develops from work that you focus on every day. Showing up and doing your part always builds experience.

You may not always get the kudos you feel you deserve or the reaction to your work may receive harsh criticism. Yet with every teeny tiny success, you can raise the bar on your personal levels of competence.

Most work isn’t a one and done.

It’s not a talent bar or a skills gap.

It is a persistent focus on cranking out your best work, day-after-day across time.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

30
Dec 20
-

Lost Skills Might Just Be Misplaced, Find Them

Tags : building confidence replacing skills

Have you experienced the feeling of lost skills? When you believe you once knew how do something but since that time you’ve forgotten?

During the summer I bought two American flags, they were on sale. I sent one up the pole, but by the end of the summer it had lost some of its luster. Now I’m not sure where the other new one was placed. It’s lost.

On another occasion, I bought a hand tool that I didn’t think I had. When I went to put the new tool in a storage place, I discovered that I once bought a nearly identical tool several (or more) years earlier.

I went to a closet area in my home where I discovered several cool t-shirts that I completely forgot I ever owned or wore. Likely, they were worn one time, and then a change of seasons occurred. They were forgotten, abandoned, out of sight and out of mind.

There are various ways we can lose something we have. Sometimes we may forget that we ever had it in the first place.

Lost Skills and Confidence

Many successful business people have spoken with me about workplace situations where a bad boss or a rotten culture made them lose self-confidence.

Perhaps their confidence is still there, it is just being hidden by some unpleasant memories or painful and destructive criticism.

Skills or confidence may not be lost forever.

Maybe you’ve just forgotten where it is stored, or maybe something new or different is hiding it, even though it is right there in plain sight.

Don’t lose track of where you’ve come from. Don’t allow unpleasant experiences override the good of what you bring.

Use it or lose it may have many different meanings.

It’s true for skills, it’s true for confidence.

If you’ve lost something you once had, finding it again can be very rewarding.

Look before you decide it’s gone forever. You might be surprised by what you find.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

22
Dec 20
-

Workplace Solutions Are Better Than Problems

Tags : brainstorming confidence meetings problem solving

What are you bringing to the meeting? Are you bringing workplace solutions or are you bringing more problems?

There are many purposes for meetings.

Some meetings are informational, some are for brainstorming, and there are some that are specifically for planning. Other types of meetings include meetings for making decisions, following up on previous decisions, or even team-building types of meetings.

Do you come to the meeting prepared to drag in some additional problems or do you come with the intent to suggest solutions? Many might quickly suggest that their intent is to do both.

There may be some risk, though.

Is everyone willing to show their hand?

Workplace Solutions

In a game of cards it is often expected that eventually you’ll show your hand. Timing seems to matter, and so does the idea that what others don’t know gives you more power.

Showing your hand in the workplace may mean you have to risk something. You might risk that your idea will be stolen, that the boss will take credit, or that future outcomes will favor a different team.

It may be the fear of success that halts forward motion. Giving others the power of your idea feels unsafe.

Do you still show it?

Many people are quick to bring forward a problem for discussion. Perhaps it is a good idea to put the same effort into providing possible solutions.

Showing your hand is more than just the right thing to do.

Solutions are more powerful than problems.

Bring some to share.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

21
Dec 20
-

Has Workplace Doubt Stalled Your Progress?

Tags : change confidence doubt progress success

Have you experienced workplace doubt? Of course you have, likely even when you don’t recognize it. Is doubt useful?

Do you feel like you have to be certain before the launch? What are the possibilities of success or failure? Will you receive accolades or ridicule?

In most cases there is always a chance. A chance that things won’t go as expected, a chance things will fall apart, blow up, or otherwise just not work. There is also a chance of success.

What odds do you require before you feel comfortable enough to launch?

Input often suggests that the odds increase. One way or another either the doubt increases or the confidence increases?

Many believe that their comfort and confidence will increase over time. Just slow it down a little, see how things develop.

Just as likely though, for some situations, doubt increases.

Is there ever analysis on the cost of the stall? Usually, not so much.

When you consider that doubt will nearly always be present, what can you do about it?

Workplace Doubt

The problem with workplace doubt is that naysayers often find a way to multiply it. It feels like there is less risk in staying the same. Largely, this is a false perception.

Change is always happening. Some change is slower than other change.

Change is often intended to be about progress. Some people aren’t wishful for progress.

Progress means more change. A change in job duties, skills, and systems.

It is easy to multiply the odds for doubt.

Seldom do people apply the same multiplier to the odds of success.

A stall often leads to a stop.

If you are going to put a stop to something, perhaps it should be doubt!

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

29
Oct 20
-

Gone Sideways and Self-Help For Your Efforts

Tags : commitment confidence decisions focus strategy

Have you ever felt like the project took a wrong turn? Have things gone sideways? Maybe you don’t even notice it, yet?

Committed people sometimes do some very strange things. Onlookers wonder why the commitment sticks even when there is evidence clearly illustrating it’s failing.

In all likelihood, there are multiple angles or points of view. One of the common yet somewhat unrealized traps is staying committed because of all the effort already put in.

It’s often hard to make the right choice. Someone wants to abort the project early and someone else wants to hang in there because, “We’ve already invested so much.”

Everyone recognizes hindsight often tells a different story, either way.

The right now is not hindsight and it’s also not foresight.

What should you do?

Gone Sideways

For the customer, you need to do the right thing. For the team and even your community, you must do the right thing.

Yes, even for yourself, you must make a good decision now.

Many people believe that every day they are in a tactical firefight at their workplace. So many things happening so fast, so many loose ends, and so much drama.

What do they do?

They fight the fire. They address problems as emergencies and face the wrath of whatever unfolds next.

Problem-solving is a key skill for leadership. If you are good at it, you should be proud. However, when tactical firefights are so commonplace that you fail to execute strategy everyone loses.

The project gone sideways either needs to stop, start again, or redirect. Stuck won’t work and neither will additional wasted effort.

The same is true with poorly performing employees.

Learning from the past is powerful. It goes hand-in-hand with knowing when to pivot.

A strategic focus needs a tactical approach.

Tactics only, without a vision for the future, are sure to send you sideways.

You don’t have to believe it now, but you will when you check your data.

Commit to the strategy. The tactics of getting there may need to be adjusted.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

27
Oct 20
-

Are Second Thoughts Just Part Of The Decision?

Tags : confidence decision making problem solving second thoughts strategy

You’re facing a big decision. You feel like you’ve decided. Suddenly you have some second thoughts. Is this a bad sign?

Some people suggest that there are always second thoughts about the marriage, if not by the couple, by the onlookers.

It is also true for the home buyer, the new car purchase, or while you wait after ordering from the menu.

People often view second thoughts as the beginning of a wrong decision. What if second thoughts are merely part of the process?

You can analyze many different angles about second thoughts. You can bring confidence into the equation and with that comes past experiences or even ignorance. Sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know.

Have you agonized enough? Thought it through, over and over again? Listed the pros and cons, yet still feel uncertainty?

Second Thoughts

Making the best choice often comes down to belief. Do you belief in the path in front of you? For employee teams, do they believe?

One of the greatest challenges of leadership is to develop a belief in the followers. It is not trying to develop a belief in the leader, it is about trying to develop a belief in the follower. Big difference.

Things will always change. A decision to leave your home without an umbrella can turn out the wrong way later within the same day.

When you make decisions in the present, or for the future, you’ve made the best decision you can make.

At that time, at the exact moment, it often is the right decision. Sometimes later, after things have changed, it is easy to suggest it was a poor decision.

Second thoughts shouldn’t always occur. They also shouldn’t always be dismissed.

Second thoughts are often a test that you’re still on the right path.

In life and in business every day is a fluid experience. Things ebb and flow.

Maybe it really means that you’re heading in the right direction.

Keep going.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and corporate trainer. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

24
Sep 20
-

Restoring Confidence Means Creating Certainty

Tags : certainty confidence customer service employee teams

Are you good at restoring confidence? Do you believe that confident employees and customers matter?

A lack of confidence means worry. Worry means hesitation, procrastination, and delays. Delays within employee teams and delays in meeting the expectations of the customer.

Many people are facing new challenges when navigating the workplace. And now, more than ever, more people are working from home (WFH), and as such workflow and communication have changed. Certainty is at a premium and uncertainty is commonplace.

Timelines, metrics and measurements are keys to successful navigation.

When the boss asks, “When will we get an update on the project?” or when the customer asks, “When will my order ship?” how do you respond?

I’m waiting on one more piece from the team, we’ll have something together soon.

Your order should ship out by Friday.

Neither response makes an exact commitment. The unknown is hard to navigate.

Certainty builds confidence.

Restoring Confidence

A common reaction is to stretch the truth, be vague, and hope everything works out for the best. In reality, everyone is being short-changed.

People beg for transparency, truth, and certainty. In most cases, this is a transaction. It’s a transaction that can have the outcome of restoring confidence or the outcome of uncertainty and disappointment.

When we reassure with direct, not dodged, or fuzzy answers, we have a chance to change the level of confidence, certainty, and even manage the disappointment.

Better to say that the project will be finished by the end of the day tomorrow, or the order will be on the truck on Friday. Wiggle words don’t sound the same as a certainty, and its especially unlikely that they will restore confidence.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

26
Aug 20
-

Does Big Attitude Mean Big Enough to Fail?

Tags : attitude confidence failure scaling up

Charisma, confidence, and a big attitude, is that what it really takes? Selling or leading could benefit from all three, yet a big attitude could mean the beginning of the end.

Some organizations believe that they are too big to fail. They have too much in reserves, the strength of bold and powerful investors, and a market that never ceases to gobble up their products or services.

Perhaps they’ve scaled. They’ve built it from the ground up and now sit atop a high peak. Looking down they underestimate that their strength could be exactly what makes them start to tumble.

Big Attitude

It can happen to the local pizza shop. They run like a monopoly. The best pizza in town. The big attitude is, “If you don’t like it, try to find a better one.”

It can be true for the local convenience store, the car dealership, and even the specialty grocer.

Behind the scene, they make little investment. No need for a drone video, a fancy website, or a Superbowl commercial.

As profits surge, the care they started with begins to diminish.

Keep expenses low and keep the profits to yourself. The facade fades because it costs to keep it up. A new sign here, or a coat of paint over there, and it’s good enough.

Employees are tools, not an investment. Those at the top contribute less and the frontline is coerced to give more. Customers come and go, but they mostly come so who really cares?

Possible to Fail

It’s happened in business, in education, and even in healthcare.

Be on top, or you’ll be underneath. On top is easier, more rewarding, and requires a lot less time. Count the money, buy big stuff, show what you’ve got. That’s the attitude.

A big attitude can get you started. It can also take you places.

When a big attitude scales, it may mean you’re now perfectly situated to be big enough to fail.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Tag Archives: confidence

Apr 21

-

Doubts or Confidence?

Sharing Confidence

Apr 21

-

Finding Certainty

Jan 21

-

Talent Bar Surprise

Dec 20

-

Lost Skills and Confidence

Dec 20

-

Workplace Solutions

Dec 20

-

Workplace Doubt

Oct 20

-

Gone Sideways

Oct 20

-

Second Thoughts

Sep 20

-

Restoring Confidence

Aug 20

-

Big Attitude

Possible to Fail

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