Few experiences are more universal than self-doubt! For better and for worse, we all go through moments where we question—well, everything, from our inherent worth to our capacity to lead. And when senior leaders experience self-doubt, the resulting anxiety and hesitation can impact their decision-making, team dynamics, and long-term leadership effectiveness. So what do we do? What steps can we take to better recognize how successful leaders do not pursue perfection but in fact aim for adaptability, learning, and impact?
Today we’re going to walk through six key areas in which any of us can take actionable steps to strengthen our confidence and reshape our self-perception as leaders. Have no doubt, my friends, and let’s jump right in!
1. Shift Focus from Proving Worth to Creating Impact
Many leaders operate in a cycle of seeking external validation, where they measure their worth by performance metrics rather than long-term influence. But remember—leadership should not be about personal validation but rather creating meaningful outcomes for others!
Actionable Steps:
Try developing a weekly “Value Tracker,” where we document one action—simple or grand!—that positively impacted our team, organization, or clients. This process can help shift our focus from sitting in self-doubt to recognizing the tangible contributions we make.
Consider reframing leadership from “I need to prove my worth” to “How can I remove barriers and create progress for others?” This mentality helps us look at the long-term value we bring to our organization!
Self-reflection is often a healthy antidote to self-doubt. As such, we might take a moment to identify a situation in the past where we felt we fell short of success. Instead of marking this memory as failure, self-reflection helps us determine what can be learned from this event and thus applied differently in the future.
Remember: Growth comes not from harsh criticism but from centered reflection!
2. Challenge the Default Inner Narrative
It all but goes without saying that a leader’s internal dialogue directly impacts their confidence and, in turn, their effectiveness. If our inner voice is rooted in harsh self-criticism, it is likely to become a limiting factor! To rebuke a harmful inner voice, we must practice consciously rewriting these “conversations.”
Actionable Steps:
Start by identifying one common self-criticism we find ourselves repeating internally. Write it down. Then, rewrite it as if we’re coaching a top performer on our team! (The goal? Shifting from a judgmental perspective to a constructive one.)
Next, we should reflect upon the personal leadership rules we unconsciously follow. Many leaders have rigid expectations for themselves that they would never impose on their employees—it’s the nature of wanting to be the best leader we possibly can be! As such, we should ask ourselves: “Would I expect my team to hold themselves to this same standard?” If not, we can reconsider whether the rule serves our leadership growth—it may simply be unrealistic!
3. Separate Leadership Identity from Performance Metrics
Too often do leaders define their worth based on short-term successes and failures! Time is too fickle for us to judge our worth through it; instead, leadership identity is best articulated through our core values and philosophy.
Actionable Steps:
Do we have a good bit of time on our hands? If so, we might craft a personal leadership creed! This document seeks to outline our fundamental principles as leaders, helping us define our value beyond performance metrics. Sample statement on this list might include:
I value improvement and adaptability over immediate perfection.
I cultivate leadership in others by creating opportunities for my team to articulate and executive their own ideas.
Looking for a more long-term project? Try conducting a “legacy assessment”! Don’t let the word “legacy” be a fright—all a “legacy assessment” asks us to do to reflect upon one simple question: “What do I want people to say about my leadership five years from now?” What our response is often helps us shift our perspective from short-term pressures to long-term impact.
4. Build Confidence through Action
Leaders who struggle with their self-perception and anxiety may hesitate when making decisions, fearing the wrong move will only serve to reinforce their internal doubts. (A familiar struggle, I can admit!) However: confidence is often improved through action—we just need a mindset shift to urge us along!
Actionable Steps:
Ever heard of the “70% Rule”? This mentality advises that if we have 70% of the information needed to make a decision, we should act then and there, because waiting for absolute certainty risks leading to stagnation. (I recommend this advice with a grain of salt, of course! There are inevitably situations in which waiting is the strategic choice—part of building our confidence as leaders is trusting ourselves to know the difference.)
Another tool is that of “Pre-Mortem Analysis”! The slightly eerie undertones of death notwithstanding, this approach advises us ask ourselves one question before we make a leadership choice: “If this decision fails, what would be the probable reasons?” Reflecting over this hypothetical often aids in developing proactive, preemptive adjustmentst o decrease risk!
5. Surround Yourself with Inspiring Influences
I doubt I make a surprising argument when I say that a leader’s confidence is often influenced by the people they interact with most! If our environments constantly reinforce feelings of inadequacy and uncertainty, well, self-doubt will persist. But if we surround ourselves with positive forces that inspire us to improve…? Our confidence will grow with our skills!
Actionable Steps:
If you’ll forgive the pun, think like a plant and create a “growth network” of colleagues, mentors, team members who share goals of progress over perfection. The more our roots spread, the more positive energy we will cultivate! (Okay, I’ll lay off the puns.)
In a more “official” sense, we might consider scheduling quarterly sessions with a workplace mentor or external executive coach to analyze our leadership growth. Having an outside perspective often helps us build from constructive criticism and constructive praise (instead of overly focusing on only our perceived shortcomings).
6. Routine, Routine, Routine!
As I suspect all of us very well know, self-perception does not change overnight. (The world might be a happier place if it did!) Rather, improving our self-perception requires reinforcement—we might say it’s a matter of habit!
Actionable Steps:
Before our workday begins, we can create a ten-minute “Morning Leadership Reset.” The possibilities of what this “reset” can look like are endless! We might review our leadership creed, close our eyes and visualize success in upcoming meetings, or even simply journaling one successful leadership moment we experienced the previous day. (To all the artists out there, perhaps this step is a chance for poetry? Collage? Let creativity flow!)
They say writing reinforces memory pathways, so perhaps we all should keep a “Confidence Momentum Journal”: at the end of each week, we jot down three moments where we successfully led with clarity—no matter how big or small those moments were! Whenever we feel our confidence falter, taking the time to review these moments can help redirect us on the path to growth.
Above all, we should keep in mind that our perception of ourselves as leaders does not determine our impact—our actions do. Even when we doubt ourselves and question our worth, we’re still actively making choices to support our team and grow our organization’s opportunities!
I hope this blog has demonstrated that confidence is an not “innate” quality; rather it is built through repeated, intentional action. By incorporating some of the Actionable Steps we have discussed today, any of us can shift our mindset from inadequacy to leading with conviction and clarity!
Dima Ghawi is a global leadership catalyst, igniting bold transformation in individuals, teams, and organizations. With a powerful blend of storytelling, strategy, and real-world leadership insight, Dima empowers professionals to shatter internal barriers, unleash untapped potential, and drive lasting impact. Through keynote speeches, leadership training programs, and executive coaching, she has guided thousands across six continents to embrace change, rise with resilience, and lead with courage.
If you're ready to break through the barriers that limit your growth and create a new legacy of leadership, connect with Dima at DimaGhawi.com and explore the journey of transformation at BreakingVases.com.
