People are naturally attracted to leaders who convey poise and self-assurance; they won’t follow one who lacks self-confidence. An excellent illustration of this is an incident that took place in Russia during an attempted coup. Army tanks encircled the government building that held President Boris Yeltsin and his prodemocracy supporters. As the army moved into position, Yeltsin strode from the building, climbed up on a tank, stared the commander in the eye, and thanked him for turning to the side of democracy. Later the commander admitted that although he hadn’t intended to go over to Yeltsin’s side, the Russian leader appeared so confident, the soldiers decided to join him.

Great achievers exhibit confidence regardless of circumstances. But true confidence doesn’t come from having the approval of people around you. The Bible says, ‘The Lord will be your confidence’ (Proverbs 3:26 NKJV); it’s about knowing He has called you and equipped you to do the job. Paul wrote, ‘We feel certain before God…It is God who makes us able to do all that we do’ (2 Corinthians 3:4-5 NCV). Even though others may not believe in you, knowing God believes in you enables you to believe in yourself. David wrote, ‘Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.” But you, Lord, are a shield around me…the One who lifts my head high’ (Psalm 3:2-3 NIV).

A confident leader can say to those who follow him or her, ‘I have confidence in the God who called me. I have confidence in you. I believe that together we can accomplish what God wants done.’