Developing Leadership Confidence
In his 1997 book Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control social psychologist Albert Bandura explored the importance of self-efficacy.
Not self-esteem. That’s our general feeling that we’re worthy, competent people.
Self-efficacy is our belief that we can do a specific thing well. Rather than being a general sense of self-esteem, self-efficacy is activity-specific. For example, I have strong self-efficacy for cooking. (I took culinary school courses while finishing my PhD – I have some wicked knife skills.)
But for golf? Not so much. (I truly suck at golf.)
More recently, Laura Dwyer wrote about a concept I find particularly important: Leadership Self-Efficacy (LSE). She summarizes research confirming a strong relationship between LSE and leader performance. And it doesn’t stop there. A leader’s LSE also contributes to the performance and confidence of their entire work unit.
So this raises the question: How do you develop LSE?
On the surface, you’d believe in your own ability to do “leader-like” things – delegate, make decisions, and give feedback, for example.
But I have a feeling it runs a little deeper than tangible skills.
I know from many years of classroom experience that I can teach people theories and strategies to make them effective delegators and decision-makers. But just having skills – and passing a test signifying you understand them – seems insufficient.
Instead, I believe LSE comes from our belief that we will be taken seriously as a leader. That others will not only accept our authority but appreciate our efforts.
And this is where I think Millennial leaders need guidance. We need to build Millennial LSE.
To that end, we can take suggestions from Bandura himself. He put forth three ways self-efficacy can develop.
Mastery Experiences
When we do something and succeed, we develop the belief that we’ll see continued success when we try that thing again. Bandura saw this as the most direct and effective way to develop self-efficacy.
For some Millennials, mastery doesn’t come easily. Many were raised by parents who only wanted the best for them…and so encouraged them to continually try to improve. Rather than celebrating the accomplishment, a win at sports or a virtuoso musical performance was met with a laundry list of ways to improve next time. They didn’t learn to count their wins or focus on what went right.
And for those who also suffer from Impostor Syndrome, success is viewed as evidence that they were “lucky” – things ended up OK and they weren’t discovered as frauds this time.
Neither mindset makes it natural to learn from success and build self-efficacy.
Social Modeling
Bandura also thought we could learn self-efficacy by seeing other people being successful. The more similar the successful person is to us, the easier it is to make the connection that we, too, can accomplish that task.
Now don’t get me wrong – there are many amazing Millennial leaders out there. But the ones who get the most media attention tend to be outliers. They’re the entrepreneurs. The social media influencers.
Their leadership lessons aren’t always relevant for a newly appointed Vice President in a regional bank. For Millennials stepping into leadership roles in more traditional environments, there’s a surprising lack of role models.
Social Persuasion
Bandura also believed people could develop self-efficacy when others told them they could succeed. This is called the Pygmalion Effect, named for George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion – a show you may know better in its musical version My Fair Lady. If someone else believes in your ability, it’s easier to have confidence in yourself.
But many Millennials tell me there’s a surprising lack of mentoring and coaching as they rise through organizational ranks. “It feels pretty lonely sometimes” was the way one woman described it. We need to do a better job of providing both practical training and psychological support for Millennials as they take over key leadership roles.
Bandura also noted that people develop self-efficacy when their experiences make them feel psychologically good. When an activity relaxes me, or I find myself “in the zone”, I’ll develop more confidence in my ability to do that activity in the future.
I say often that I’m ready for Millennials to take over the world. This generation has ingenuity, high standards, a passion for inclusion, and a care for the environment that give me confidence in the future. But to reach their full potential, Millennials need to work on LSE.
Let’s work together to create positive experiences. To be mentors. To highlight good role models. But above all, to express our faith that Millennials are – and will continue to be – strong, capable leaders.
Dwyer, L. P (2019). Leadership self-efficacy: Review and leader development implications. Journal of Management Development, 38, 637-650.