Leaders by Example Involves 4 Main Characteristics: 1. Commitment 2. Confidence 3. Composure 4. Character

WEEK 3 LEADERSHIP: CONFIDENCE How To Believe In Yourself and Your Ability To Lead

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Confidence Partner up to discuss and answer these questions: A) Define confidence. B) Why is confidence important to athletic success and leadership? C) How is confidence in yourself and your abilities created? D) How is confidence in yourself and your abilities diminished or lost?

Confidence O Years of sport psychology research tells us that confidence is the key differentiating psychological factor between successful and unsuccessful performance in a variety of sporting settings. O Tips: 1. Stop trying to feel confident and start thinking confident. 2. Take ownership of your confidence and devise strategies that make confidence on competition day an expectation rather than a hope. 3. There are many different types of confidence that strengthens your overall confidence. Understand and develop these types of confidence and overall confidence will take care of itself. 4. Understand where your confidence comes from. Once your sources of confidence are understood, then you can begin to take more ownership over your overall confidence. 5. Whenever seeking to build overall confidence it is best to start at the bottom and work up. This is achieved by targeting sources of confidence rather than overall confidence.

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Confidence is Fragile: Handle with Care O The greatest disruption to confidence is failure. O Having confidence means that you believe in yourself and your ability to lead. O The toughest thing about confidence is that it is very, very fragile. O Sports are filled with MANY ups and downs that can impact your confidence. O ALL players from time to time struggle with their confidence, even elite players. O Confidence is a skill. Just like with any type of skill, confidence is developed through focus, effort, and repetition.

Confidence is Fragile: Handle with Care O There is a great deal of natural failure built into every sport. O Examples: The best QB’s throw incomplete passes 40% of the time, the top basketball players miss 50% of the shots they take, baseball players don’t get a hit 70% of the time, and the great hockey/soccer players only find the back of the net on only 10% of their shots on goal. O Even the best athletes struggle with their games from time to time and need to repair their confidence.

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Confidence is Fragile: Handle with Care O Some athletes have a tendency to stop leading when they aren’t playing well. O Their lack of confidence causes them to retreat into their shells, stop communicating, and become a distraction to their teammates. O Don’t do this. Maintain your confidence whether you have your “A” game or “B” game. O PLAYING WELL IS NOT A REQUIREMENT TO LEADING!!! O PLAYING IS NOT A REQUIREMENT TO LEADING EITHER.

Solid Sense of Self O Ultimately your confidence comes from within. You must believe in yourself and who you are as a person. O Athletes who lack personal confidence do not make good leaders. You can not let what others think of you dictate your actions. O There will be many times you will need to stand up for what is right and follow your own convictions. O Athletes who focus more on popularity than principles do not make good leaders. They lack self-assurance and courage.

Assignment 1. How comfortable are you with yourself and who you are as a person? Explain. 2. How much importance do you put on what others think of you? Why or why not? 3. What do you stand for? What are you all about? 4. Can you do/say what is right even though it might go against the crowd? If so, write about a time when you have done that.

Want to Perform Under Pressure O Confidence is critical in your sport. As a confident leader, you should want to perform when the game is on the line. O This does NOT mean that you will make every play or get the chance to make every play. But your teammates and your coach will know that you have the confidence to aggressively TRY to make plays. O If you shy away from pressure situations, you will quickly lose the respect of your coach and teammates.

“I want to be the guy this team leans on in critical situations. You always hear people saying, ‘I’d want to be in a foxhole with that guy,’ that’s what it’s all about.” Brett Favre

Four Sources of Confidence 1. Preparation 2. Strengths 3. Past Successes 4. Praise

1. Preparation O Hard work and great preparation are the foundation of confidence. O Confidence is EARNED by the quality training you put in: practicing, weight lifting, conditioning, film study, nutrition, mental training, etc. O List all of the quality preparation you have done for your sport. What gaps are there in your preparation?

2. Strengths O A great way to build your confidence is to take an inventory of all the strengths you possess as an athlete. O The strengths are the weapons you do battle with. You must know what you are good at so you can unleash these strengths on your opponents. O What do you do well? What do you have going for you physically? What aspects of your game are your best weapons? What are your mental strengths?

3. Past Successes O Reflecting on your past successes is another excellent way to bolster your confidence. O Take a look at key plays you have made over your career. Obviously the ability is there physically, you just need to remind yourself of it mentally so that it will surface again when you need it. O Michael Jordan often reminded himself of the game wining shot he hit at UNC in the National Championship game back in 1982.

4. Praise O Use the words and actions of others to help build your confidence. O Think of a time when someone your really respected paid you a compliment. How did it make you feel? Did their belief in you help you believe more in yourself? O Use the compliments of coaches, teammates, friends, parents, teachers, and others to remind yourself that you have what it takes to be successful.

Rely Primarily on Yourself for Confidence O CAUTION: Do NOT put too much stock in other people’s praise! O Praise from others can be used to jump start your confidence from time to time, but don’t use it as your main source of confidence. O WHY? 1. Confidence must come from within. 2. You might be in an environment where praise is given sparingly. Your confidence may starve to death in this situation. 3. Never stop doing your best just because someone doesn’t give you credit.

Resilient Reaction to Failure O A final way to demonstrate your confidence is how you react to failure. O How do you respond when you make mistakes: Do you give up, pout, and make excuses? Or do you learn lessons from them, refocus on the next play, and correct your mistakes? O Confident athletes quickly recover from their mistakes (amnesia) and refocus on the next play with optimism. O (Why Do We Fall)

Assignment O Strengthening your Confidence Worksheet. O List 3-5 major points or insights you gained from this lesson on confidence.