I was taken by a news item over the weekend with the head of the Ferrari F1 Racing team, Frédéric Vasseur, where he said the spirit of Enzo Ferrari still lives on, highlighting any successful team must have a sense of confidence. Which got me thinking. People only perform at their best when they are confident. Likewise, people are motivated when they achieve something and are recognised for it. This builds self esteem and belief in one’s own abilities. One of the most important roles any leader has is to inject a sense of confidence and self-belief into people. Of course, this is often easier said than done.

In order to win, one must first conquer oneself
– Enzo Ferrari

Of all the things that keep leaders and coaches up at night is how to motivate and build a sense of confidence into others. It starts by creating the right team environment for this to occur. These are the “hygiene factors” which must be in place before any team motivation or personal confidence building can occur. These hygiene factors are created by a leader and include:

1. A sense of safety, both physical and mental. A person should feel secure within themselves and their team, feel that it is safe to share their thoughts and feelings, and know their leader and colleagues are supportive and non-judgemental;
2. A sense of belonging. A person feels they are a valued and respected team member, and their leader is appreciative and respectful of a person’s contributions to the team;
3. A feeling of achievement and progress. A person and the team can feel they are growing and developing, which is recognised and reinforced by the leader; and
4. A culture of learning and continuous improvement. Learning and curiosity must not only be role modelled by a leader, but it should be ingrained in the DNA, the team culture and mindsets of all. An open mind is what facilitates learning and improvement.

Whilst there are many other “hygiene factors”, such as clear goal setting, delegation, empowerment, agreed measures of success, and effective feedback mechanisms, the above four factors have been identified through research as the “mission critical” success factors which must be in place to enhance confidence and motivation.

I gave my drivers three things. A sense of optimism. A creative environment. The motivation and permission to compete
– Enzo Ferrari

Building confidence and motivation is the realm of leadership. The 4E framework is a simple and useful template for a leader to apply and explore how they might go about building confidence and the motivation in others.

Engage: Plan how to engage with the team and individuals. This requires formal and informal rituals to engage with and check in with others. These can be team meetings, one on one coffee catch ups, and random check-ins with someone via a phone call or simply walking up to them. Key is to have a set of regular rituals upon which you as a leader engage with and to actively listen to others.

Equip: Building the skills and competence of people requires practice and application. This needs to be practical, repetitive, and constantly reinforced by a leader in a range of scenarios. If a person feels they are prepared to deal with all potential circumstances, their confidence in their own ability will build.

Excite: This is important. A leader needs to infuse a sense of excitement and progress in a person’s ability and teams’ performance. Focus on and reinforce achievements and the attainment of key milestones. It is a bit like students progressing from one year level to the next at school; there is recognition they have progressed, but also a set of new expectations of standards and performance, which challenges and excites.

Encourage: Encourage people to have a crack at things. Let them practice and apply a new skill in a safe and supportive environment, and as their skills and confidence build, encourage them to do more, take the next steps, and explore further. It is OK to make mistakes, that is how adults learn.

Use this framework to formulate a plan on how to build the confidence and competence of people, which in turn impacts their motivation levels.

Finally, five tips for a leader to help build confidence and motivation in others:

1. Praise publicly, criticise privately. Nothing diminishes a person’s confidence and motivation more than public admonishments and criticism by a leader. Conversely, what motivates is public praise and recognition by a leader of a person’s efforts and achievements.
2. Adopt the 5:1 feedback model. Catch a person doing things right, to affirm correct behaviours and approaches. For every one negative piece of feedback (critical learning) given, then provide five pieces of affirming (positive) feedback to help fuel confidence.
3. Define and measure what success looks like. Keep it in perspective. Focus on the “next logical step up.” This means the setting of realistic goals and targets in light of a person’s skills and confidence.
4. Lead by example. Get in and be part of the team. Role model the desired mindsets and behaviours. Show specific skills and techniques in practice and application. Let a person have a go at applying new skills and provide the gift of feedback. It is important to teach a skill and coach the application, then applaud and recognise good practice.
5. Celebrate successes. Don’t focus on what went wrong. Acknowledge what went right and showcase examples of good practice. Avoid mixed messages, by applauding what went well and then zeroing in on a “but” coaching conversation. Save this for another time.

Leadership Lesson

Everyone has capability. If you can dream it, you can do it.
But it takes commitment, lots of persistence, and a sense of confidence and self-belief.
– Enzo Ferrari

Facta Non-Verba – Deeds Not Words