Confidence

            In this video Prof. Baba Shiv goes over the importance of confidence and the effect that it can have on a leader and his or her followers. When a leader is put in charge of a group of people it is important that they act like a leader. People look at a leader for guidance, when in charge of a group Prof. Baba makes it a point to show us that we must transfer our own confidence to those below us.

            I think that Prof. Baba gives a good example of when having confidence is crucial. When he talks about a military commander be shows us the importance of confidence, someone like a military commander will have the lives of others in their hands so it is important that they do not fail to portray confidence. I often knew this when I was in the military but sometimes did not follow through, it was always hard for me to tell those which were older than me what to do and how to act. My military experience was in an air traffic control facility and not a battle field.

            Although an air traffic control facility can feel like a battle field it can be very different in some aspects. Overall the concept was still the same, we all had responsibilities and we all had the lives of others in our hands. I can recall a situation when I was new to working in the tower, on this day I was working ground control which consisted of controlling the aircraft which were taxiing through the airfield. I was still relatively new, I was bit nervous but I tried to sound as confident as possible. I remember having to ask a group of pilots to park their aircraft in a location which they usually do not for a temporary amount of time because we had a lot of foreign traffic in route. One pilot questioned why I was doing things differently on that day and I did not convey enough confidence so this pilot wanted to verify with their supervisor on what the issue was. This pilot slowed traffic down enough to where it became a snowball effect which caused the air field to get severely backed up.

            This is an example of what lack of confidence can do, when your troops no longer want to follow you mass delays can occur and people can be scared for their own safety to follow your lead. During this situation there were many emotional reactions which came with it but it seemed as though they all revolved around fear. During this situation I felt worried, stressed and inadequate, I felt at that young age that I was not good enough to be able to hold these types of responsibilities. This is a constant fear that comes with not having confidence, the feeling of not knowing rather you are good enough can take its toll on a leader and then be reflected through the performance of the group.

            As time went on I feel that I have grown as a person, confidence is something which I am much more comfortable with. Confidence is not always automatic but it is much easier to convey when I am an expert on the subject matter. As a T-ball coach I am tasked with the job of teaching my four year olds and transcending my own confidence to my team so that they want to get up and play. In this situation my job is to teach the kids they are capable of completing any task which they put their minds to. Many times I will instruct the kids on their task and for them to complete it I must sound confident and assure them that I am confident in them. Every age group is very different and you must learn how to push them in the right direction.

            I can recall my first game with my team, we had spent the last two months training them and assuring that they will be able to play well. Before the game started I looked at my team and told them to just have fun out there on the field, this game was all about fun and learning to love the sport. Throughout the season I made sure to never scold any of the children, I knew that it was my job to build their confidence in themselves first. In this situation confidence transcended into fun for my whole team and I could not have been happier with the result. During this time my confidence and my teams confidence brought out some special emotion in me which I had felt during other leadership roles. I had a feeling of honor, pride and most of all I felt very accomplished. It was important for me to feel this way because this last year coaching t-ball had to be one of the most rewarding things that I had ever done in my life.