A must-have characteristic of a great, trusted leader is conviction. Conviction is an often overlooked basis for trust. According to DDI’s Global Leadership Forecast 2023 report, less than half of employees (46%) and only a third (32%) trust that their senior management will do what’s right. In other words, they do not trust that their leaders will act with conviction when faced with difficult decisions to do what’s right vs. what’s easy. Many articles advise that to build trust, leaders must be transparent about their decision-making, share the rationale for decisions, keep commitments, and practice accountability. While these actions are essential for building trust as a leader, conviction solidifies the foundation for that trust. Without conviction, even the most transparent and accountable leader can appear indecisive or unpredictable, eroding trust and confidence in their leadership.
Demonstrating conviction in your decision-making is a powerful way to showcase your business acumen and build your management brand. Acting with conviction, you communicate your values, biases, and business goals to your peers, team, or board members. This can help you gain their trust, establish credibility, and position yourself as a respected leader. To build followership, your employees need to know what or who they are following and that their hard work will be applied to make decisions. If you gain a reputation for lacking conviction, your team will wonder if their work matters if you do not follow through on the positions they have built with you or conveyed to them.
Having a conviction does not equate to being stubborn or arrogant. It refers to your capacity to assert and support your beliefs with principles, data, or judgment, even if they are not widely accepted. Leaders who lack conviction often struggle with confidence, particularly in their decision-making or due to concerns about potential outcomes. How can someone develop or strengthen their conviction when making important decisions? Here are three steps to take.
1. Substantiate your position
Do the work to form your decision based on research, data, and acumen. Read business cases, talk to industry peers and mentors, and obtain opinions from experts in the field. Often, leaders lack confidence because they have not done the work to build an informed basis towards an independent view, instead opting to spend the time figuring out what others would do and deciding based on a popular opinion. Being able to articulate to yourself and others how you arrived at your decision is a confidence booster.
2. Understand the opposing points of view and prepare for pitfalls
In addition to building your perspectives, make sure you know opposing points of view. Ask your peers or team to challenge the assumptions, do a pre-mortem analysis, and carefully consider interdependencies and pitfalls. Put in the effort to convince others and collaborate to build contingency plans or commit to changing course with agility if circumstances or assumptions change.
3. Be realistic about the outcome
Having a conviction does not mean knowing with absolute certainty that you are right or can guarantee an outcome. Instead, you have considered various perspectives, planned for the consequences, and are willing to be accountable for the execution. It is about accepting that you are making the best decision based on the facts and situation at the time. Once you have done steps one and two, have the courage and confidence to move forward with your decision and be open to changing the course when presented with a new set of data. Over time, you will build a portfolio of successful decision-making track records, an essential reminder that you are more than capable of leading.
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