Why is developing confidence in people a strategic advantage for businesses of the future.
The future of work is focused on technology and the importance of people being capable of being innovative and entrepreneurial. According to discussions at Davos in 2017:
Forty-seven percent of jobs are expected to be automated within the next decade.
By 2020, thirty percent of the core skills to do existing jobs, will disappear.
Generating technology products requires competence, however turning those ideas into a commercial reality, which MIT defines as innovation, requires confidence by the individuals and the investors.
Confidence is the most important psychological contributor to performance in the business world. Markets rise and fall on confidence.
Yet according to the research many people lack the confidence to do their job and this is cross generational.
According to the research by Kathy Kay and Claire Shipman:
Thirty percent of men
and
fifty percent of women
lack the confidence to do their job.
If you average this out forty percent of people lack confidence to do their job.
Developing confidence in people, particularly women, can therefore provide a strategic advantage for businesses. They are more likely to proactively promote their ideas, express realistic concerns and develop opportunities for the business.
Many competent women, are capable of generating ideas, however they are less likely to put those ideas forward, due to ideas of perfection and lack of confidence.
According to research conducted at Stanford University and MIT there are three key factors that promote innovation within teams.
- More women on teams.
- The ability of the group to be socially perceptive. This is to read body language and interpret behavior.
- The evenness of the conversation. The ability to share ideas rather than squish ideas.
There is an opportunity for organisations to unleash untapped potential, if they help employees develop their confidence. Few companies have seen this as a developmental priority or realized the link to innovation. However, those companies that do may have a strategic advantage.
Confidence is a skill that can be taught and developed. It is not difficult. It does however require management to understand why it is important, their role, the process and how success will be measured.
Helping people to develop confidence in their own ability requires an integrated approach which draws on research, experience and an understanding of human dynamics. Confidence is about being human and needs a humanist approach.
There are three key steps in developing people’s confidence in the work environment. They include:
- The management team understanding the research and why developing people’s confidence, particularly women in business, could provide the business with a strategic advantage.
- This is important because the research suggests manager’s attitudes are key to developing confidence in their employees.
- That managers commit to a short session learning about why and how they can develop confidence with their employees. The do’s and the don’ts.
- The research shows one of the main reason managers are reticent to give such feedback is because they are fearful of the consequences of giving such feedback to women.
- Management commit to a series of half day workshops conducted over a period defined by the organization. It provides women with the research, and a series of tips and techniques that women could use to develop their confidence.
At the initial session confidence is evaluated. A buddy system is initiated so participants can provide feedback to each other, about what worked and did not work for them in practice. At the end of the process, confidence is re-measured and feedback by the participants is given to management.
Investing in developing confidence in employees is worthwhile. It is a foundation stone that helps provide the backbone in an organization. Real confidence evolves over time. As people receive positive feedback and their initiatives are encouraged, confidence grows.
The more confident people are, the more likely to contribute to the organization with their ideas and initiatives. It supports innovation. This in turn may help create more jobs in the future.
