Sometimes a leader has to . . . well . . . lead.

Some situations call for swift action instead of collaborative consensus. And in those situations, leaders lead. They make decisions

Somebody has said when it comes to organizational decision-making, “a bad decision is often better than no decision.”  Leadership requires a certain level of confidence.

That being said, the best leaders combine confidence with humility. They are humbly confident.

Confidence and humility are like a Reese’s peanut butter cup – the chocolate and peanut butter taste better together than they do apart.

How can we lead confidently without being a jerk? We integrate confidence with humility.

1. Be open to constructive criticism from your team – God uses the well-timed feedback of friends (and sometimes even foes) to help us grow as leaders.
2. Express gratitude to your team – gratitude is recognition that without my teammates, our organization will never reach its full potential.
3. Resist the temptation to take all the credit and place all the blame – success is a team game. So is failure. When your organization is succeeding, the humbly confident leader is generous with praise toward the team. Conversely, when a teammate misses a deadline or turns in poor performance, the humbly confident leader resists the urge to quickly assign blame. He or she instead looks in the mirror first. After self-evaluation, the humbly confident leader addresses the issue clearly and respectfully.
4. Look at setbacks as an opportunity to grow – challenges with your team can become growth moments if handled with the proper blend of humility and confidence.

Leading like this is totally within our reach.

Why does this matter? Because becoming a humbly confident leader makes you a leader worth following. When we lead this way everybody wins.