STAFFING RESOURCE CENTER

Amp up your managers' confidence -- and your company's performance -- by helping leaders be more courageous.

Many people treat courage like it's an immutable statistic. They assume they were born with only a certain quantity of courage -- and when that's used up, there's nothing more they can do.

In fact, courage is not a stat. It's a skill. Like all skills, courage develops the more it is used. Here's how to improve managers' confidence -- and your company's performance -- by building your leaders' courage skill.

Teach managers that courage is fear management, not fear absence.

Courage is not the absence of fear. Rather, courage occurs when fear is present, but the fearful person makes a choice to coexist with that fear while taking the action that kindled fear. A courageous person says, "I hear you, fear, but this is important -- so we're going to do it together."

Confusing courage with fearlessness can cause many managers and leaders to assume they lack courage because they experience fear or hesitation. Yet fear and hesitation can be valuable. They signal that there are things we need to think about, understand, and account for when embarking on an unfamiliar project.

Boost managers' confidence by helping them embrace fear as a helper in the early stages of a project. If doubt or uncertainty arises, treat it as an opportunity to learn more, find answers, and reduce risks to a manageable level.

Embrace mistakes.

A culture that frowns upon or punishes mistakes is a culture that kills courage.

Because courage is called for when stepping into the unknown, its cultivation involves making mistakes. When managers or their teams fear making a mistake, they let that fear win rather than forging ahead with a new idea or project.

Instead, focus on mistakes and missteps as opportunities to learn and grow. Every mistake teaches a lesson. What's that lesson? How can the lesson be shared so that everyone on the team benefits from it? And what needs to change so the mistake doesn't repeat itself?

Encourage questions.

Part of embracing mistakes and honoring uncertainty is encouraging questions. When managers and their teams are free to ask questions, they're able to better manage fear and uncertainty because they can get the information they need to address key questions before moving forward.

An environment that is open to questions also helps foster trust among managers, which translates into greater trust on teams. When leaders ask questions, they demonstrate their trust that others have the information they need -- even if the other person doesn't yet realize they have it.

Questions like, "What would you want to know before you made this decision?"and "What have we missed?"allow managers to explore possibilities in their heads before committing to a course of action. These questions help managers check in with their uncertainties and identify next steps that will lay a foundation for a confident push forward.

Surround them with competent and confident support.

Finally, help managers be more courageous by surrounding them with competent, confident people who also demonstrate bravery in the face of adversity. Looking for new hires that show a willingness to acknowledge fear and proceed with it is one way to boost the "confidence quotient"of your teams.

Another way is by reaching out to outside experts. A recruiter, for example, can boost leaders' confidence by providing essential information and context. Your staffing firm becomes a resource when managers have questions and a source of support when it's time to hire -- both of which can boost confidence and courage when managers face hiring decisions.