Cracking the confidence code

In the pursuit of leadership positions within the retail industry, one of the greatest barriers for women is our reticence to raise our hands, ask for what we want and be noticed. This lack of confidence makes women seem less comfortable with risk-taking and decisiveness, both of which are critical competencies for senior leaders.

Right now many people are asking why women have a crisis of confidence. My reply is that it’s not as important for a woman in the workforce today to crack the code or to know "why" she lacks confidence; it’s much more critical to provide her with the tools to course correct.

There are many opportunities for us to help change this. But for the woman in the workforce today, a better use of her time is to start to connect her "competence to her confidence" and to turn on her own power switch.

Working hard and being smart are table stakes. It’s not enough to keep doing what you are doing and hoping that someone will notice you. We have to be seen as more than someone who produces results. We must be seen as powerful and with potential to do more. The Center for Talent Integration did a fantastic study on the elements of "executive presence," an often-used term with a meaning very few truly understand. In talent management discussions you will hear executive leaders say that a woman leader needs to improve her executive presence. Yet this is rarely discussed in performance reviews or feedback with direct reports.

Grace Killelea

The study highlights that many senior executives associate executive presence with "gravitas," or how we handle ourselves in every type of situation — good and bad. According to the study, at the heart of gravitas is confidence; the ability to "stand over your own power." A woman who can stand her ground in the face of disagreement is considered confident.

Another skill of a confident leader is speaking up and not always waiting one’s turn. In her TED Talk, Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook, discussed how women in a group will hold up their hand to ask a question while a man will just make his comments, illustrating how this can be seen as less confident and less powerful. She admitted to being surprised herself when she didn’t call on the women who had their hands raised but acknowledged the men who just spoke up.

Confidence can be learned and, while it is being learned, can be displayed. We can reprogram ourselves to show up differently almost immediately. Having the awareness that competence and confidence need to be connected really can shift how women are perceived in the workforce.

Grace Killelea is founder and CEO of Half The Sky Leadership Institute, a program that develops high potential women and builds critical leadership skills. She is a former Fortune 50 company SVP of Talent, a skilled executive coach and sought after keynote speaker. Killelea is also author of the highly anticipated title, "The Confidence Effect: Every Woman’s Guide to the Attitude That Attracts Success." Connect with her on the eeb at www.thegkcgroup.com and www.halftheskyleadership.com, on Twitter @ GraceKillelea and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GraceKillelea.