Leadership Roundtable: Building Confidence in Young Leaders

Young leaders are eager to prove their worth, but they can also quickly lose confidence in themselves when faced with challenges or failure. We asked some experienced leaders for their advice on how to build confidence in young leaders, as well as a young leader about what she finds most helpful from her managers.

Devin Lemoine is president of Success Labs.

One thing young leaders are trying to do is to figure out their place, and you build confidence through success and a little bit of failure. The challenge is picking the right experience at the right time — you want young leaders to stretch, but not so much that it tears down confidence.When senior leaders hand off projects to young leaders, they’ll need to present it in such a way that helps young leaders understand the “why” of it: “Here are the skills you’ll need and the people you should talk to to achieve this.”Provide some steps to success. Be specific. Don’t just say, “I know you’re great at this,” but “I want you to build important relationships in the organization, visibility and business acumen. This project will help you do that, and let’s talk about it so we can be sure you’re successful.”Feedback is key as well. The real gift is specific feedback about what you’re good at. Be intentional about feedback along the way and finding time to debrief people. Talk about the projects, share insight about what went well and what didn’t.Senior leaders also have to be willing to stick with people when things don’t go well. Ask them, if you had to do it over again, what would you do differently? What did you learn? When we ask people to say yes to stretch assignments, we have to stick with them through their struggles. Even short-term failure is a huge learning experience.

Megan Redhead is a consultant at Success Labs.

We often teach that when you’re offering feedback, you should start with four positive comments for one constructive comment, and I’ve found that’s beneficial for me. People forget how vulnerable feedback can make you feel. If you’re in a stretch assignment, it’s helpful if you’re not bombarded with all the little things you could have done better. To boost confidence, the feedback should be prioritized in terms of what’s important; small details can go further down on the list.I was working on my presentation skills and was nervous about presenting to a room full of leaders. It was hours long and full of new content, and I was trying to master that as well as what it’s like to facilitate a class timeline and schedule. My manager let me master enough of the process — the big picture of giving a presentation — before she gave me feedback about small and specific behavioral things, like avoiding saying “um” during the presentation. It let me get comfortable with the big task and then address minor things along the way.Another thing I find helpful is when I’m in meetings and say something, one of my managers will follow up with “that’s a really good point” or “that’s a good question.” Another manager will say: “You’ll want to work with Megan on this, she’s the go-to on this topic.” It gives me credibility with our customers or clients. It shows I’m on track and that my comments are valid. Also, it makes our clients want to work with me, and I feel good about working with them.All of these things are free and easy to do, but they have a big impact. Pause for a moment and see how even little phrases can set the tone for the confidence of younger leaders. It’s so simple, and helps them realize what their strengths are.

Kris Kirilova is a career coach who specializes in working with young people.

Encourage young leaders to be proactive, take the initiative and look for leadership opportunities. Confidence comes from small wins, and each small step moves you closer to your long-term goals. Sometimes you may not feel comfortable leaving your comfort zone, but that’s where the growth happens.Older leaders and mentors need to show compassion for the future and development of their mentees. They can encourage and empower others to their full potential by making them feel important and valued. They empower young leaders to step up and lead.Quick-fix advice or offering solutions that will relieve some pain doesn’t help confidence. You can’t offer lasting solutions and confidence from the outside in. Telling people what do all the time doesn’t help with building confidence.Do your company’s managers need to learn better ways to give employees the feedback they need? Contact us to learn about our leadership development and coaching offerings.Success Labs is a leadership development and management consulting firm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more than 25 years, our expert team of consultants has worked with hundreds of companies to explore their business potential and improve their company and cultural performance. Contact us to get proactive about your people strategy.