LYKKEN ON
leadership
Creating a Winning Culture: Confidence By David Lykken or the past few months, I’ve been discussing the difference between companies that succeed and companies that fail. When you look at the main differentiator between successful companies and unsuccessful companies, it almost always boils down to one single idea: the organizational culture. The companies that succeed will contain leaders who create a vibrant, robust and inspiring culture for their people. The companies that fail will have leaders who create a poisonous, flimsy and discouraging culture. Either way, it always comes down to the culture. It’s the leaders of the company who set the bar for how the culture will develop. So, in the end, the quality of the culture is a reflection of the quality of the leadership. If we want to know how companies can create a winning culture, then,
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the best way to do that is to learn how the leaders of those companies can become better leaders. In my work with hundreds of companies, I’ve noticed a host of leadership traits that are absolutely essential for companies to create winning cultures. I’ve discussed two of them: Character and Conviction. Now, I want to discuss a leadership trait that has probably been on just about everyone’s list of top leadership qualities since the beginning of time. This month, I’m going to talk about Confidence. Great leaders not only feel confident in their work; they project that confidence for others to see. That’s how they get people to follow them. They don’t waver in doubt before making decisions. They move forward boldly. And, as a result, their followers feel more confident in their work as well. A culture thrives when its leaders are sure enough of what they’re doing to get the job done. There is one potential problem
with confidence, however, that I would like to address before moving forward. Without the proper mindset, it is possible for confidence to spiral into arrogance. In fact, some people fail to recognize the difference between the two. While these two ways of thinking may seem very similar, I’m actually going to argue that they are polar opposites. To do so, I would like to take a few moments to tell one of the greatest stories humankind has yet to hear. Let me tell you about David and Goliath. The Israelites were in conflict with their enemies, the Philistines, and were hiding from the fight for one simple reason—the Philistines had a champion among them. The hulking giant, Goliath, stood over nine feet tall and was decked out in elaborate battle gear. No Israelite dared approach him. Nevertheless, Goliath audaciously posed a challenge: If any single Israelite could defeat him in individual conflict, the Philistines would surrender to the Israelites and become their servants. However, if that warrior fell beneath Goliath’s sword, the Israelites would become the servants of the Philistines. Goliath was that certain that no one could defeat him. Goliath was that sure of his own abilities. He stood proudly on the battlefield, mocking his opponents and bragging of his own might. Goliath was arrogant. Then there was David. A small shepherd boy who spent his time chasing away bears and lions to protect his sheep, David was not even a part of the Israelite army. Carrying supplies to his brothers, who were in the army, David noticed that no one in all of Israel’s forces was will-
ing to accept Goliath’s challenge. So, he volunteered. Saul, the king of Israel, tried to dissuade him. “You can’t fight Goliath,” said Saul. “You’re just a kid, and he is a mighty warrior.” David answered his king by explaining how he had driven away lions and bears to protect his sheep. “The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” So, the king finally relented. David approached Goliath with a sling and a bag of rocks. Goliath mocked David and his God, failing to belief that such a small, pathetic little man could bring him down. Nevertheless, David made this pronouncement: “Thou comest to me with a sword and with a spear and with a shield; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.” With that, David took a single tone and slung it at Goliath. The rock hit the giant square in the forehead, and he fell to the ground—dead. When, we look at the story of David and Goliath, we tend to see Goliath as arrogant and David as confident. We don’t describe David as arrogant, though. Why don’t we? What is the difference between the character of these two men that enables us to make that distinction. Here’s what I think it boils down to: When you are arrogant, you take the credit; but, when you are confident, you take the responsibility. Goliath fought with the assurance of his own might; David did not give himself the credit for his strength—he attributed it to his God. When you look at leaders who por-