Empower Nonprofit Women Leaders: 4 Actionable Strategies to Boost Confidence
Mastering your confidence as a nonprofit leader is crucial for you and your organization. But why don’t you feel confident? What gets in the way, and what can you do to change that? Let’s begin by unpacking its importance, then barriers and finally, practical strategies for helping you feel more confident in your nonprofit leadership role.
1️⃣ START HERE:
This is why you need to develop your leadership confidence
1 — When you are a confident woman leader, you are perceived as more competent and trustworthy
Trust and credibility are foundational for leadership and essential for gaining the support of your board staff, clients, donors, and the community. This trust is critical for keeping your program alive and thriving.
2 — Confident women leaders are more decisive
When you trust your judgment, you make timely, effective and confident decisions. If you lack the confidence to decide, you might get bogged down in overthinking as you weigh the pros and cons or just put off making a decision forever. But if you are confident, you’ll gather data, assess, make a confident decision with the information you have communicate it confidently.
3 — Confidence empowers women leaders to pursue continuous learning and development.
When you feel confident, you are ready to take on new challenges, seek mentorship, and develop the skills necessary to lead effectively. It also helps you welcome feedback as an opportunity for growth and self-improvement. This openness to feedback fosters a culture of continuous learning and improvement within your organization.
4 — Confidence is contagious
When you, as a leader, exude confidence, it inspires and motivates your team. This can lead to higher engagement, productivity, and morale among staff, driving your organization toward achieving its mission-critical work.
Mastering Confidence: Discover Your Leadership Potential by Awakening Your Inner Guidance System
When you are a confident leader, you are perceived as more competent, trustworthy and decisive. Confidence empowers you to be a lifelong learner and spreads confidence amongst your team. Honestly, you probably already knew that.
So why aren’t you always confident?
What gets in the way?
Let’s see if any of these reasons are what gets you down.
2️⃣ THEN CONSIDER THIS:
This is WHAT gets in the way of feeling confident
There are many reasons why you may struggle with your confidence. Consider the following reasons and note if any of these impacts how confident you feel at any given moment.
You lack competence
You moved up the ranks without the leadership training to accompany your career growth. As such, you don’t know how to run a staff meeting, communicate hard messages or manage a budget down to line items. You know you should do these things. You may have the forms, deadlines and information, but how to actually do it may never have been something you were taught.
Do you feel incompetent some days?
You’ve lacked feminine role models.
Because leadership is different for men, without a woman leader to show you the way, you’ve struggled to make it work with the hand you are playing with.
We know that traditional gender roles in the home and societal expectations often place additional burdens on you. When you are balancing your professional responsibilities with personal and family obligations , that can be overwhelming and lead to you doubting you can “do it all.”
Do you have female role models that lead in a way you want to lead?
You don’t believe in yourself
You are not alone if you struggle with impostor syndrome and worry you are not as competent as others perceive you to be. We know women leaders often face higher expectations and harsher scrutiny than their male counterparts so it’s no wonder the pressure to perform perfectly can leave you full of self-doubt and a fear of making mistakes.
Do you struggle to believe in yourself some days?
3️⃣ FINALLY DO THIS:
Okay, so the real question is what to do about your lack of confidence. The solution is to build it up, gradually and day by day. Work on your confidence. Below are some practical strategies to help you.
Practical Strategies to Overcome These Barriers and Build Your Confidence:
Build your competence
To feel confident, you must first feel competent. Engage in continuous learning and development to build both competence and confidence. Continuous learning and development enhance your effectiveness as a leader. This ongoing growth fosters confidence, enabling you to tackle challenges more effectively and inspire your team with expertise and adaptability.
What areas do you wish you had more competence in?
DO THIS: Make a list and consider how you could grow those skills
Build your awareness
Increasing self-awareness through regular self-reflection is crucial because it helps you identify your strengths and areas for improvement, enhancing decision-making and emotional intelligence. Pausing and reflecting allows you to build emotional control and helps you to maintain your composure, which leads to feeling more self-assured when handling situations.
Do you spend time regularly in self-reflection?
DO THIS: Create a routine of weekly or daily self reflection.
Build your support networks
Find mentors, guides, coaches, teachers and peers to build a support network, especially one full of women. These people can provide guidance and support and help you navigate challenges and make informed decisions in your leadership role. Their insights and experience can provide invaluable perspective, accelerate your learning, and contribute to your professional growth and success.
Do you have female mentors, guides, leaders or coaches?
DO THIS: Make a list of who is in our support network and where you feel you could use more support. Consider how you can build your network.
Build a confident mindset
To challenge Impostor Syndrome, recognize and acknowledge your feelings of impostor syndrome. By confronting these feelings, you develop a conscious awareness of them, “name them to tame them,” and then you can prevent them from hijacking your confidence and performance. Then, build new thoughts that will help you feel more confident.
Do you have thoughts that make you feel less than confident?
DO THIS: Rewrite the thoughts that might pull you down to be more confident thoughts.
- I’m growing my leadership skills and building competence.
- I’m more aware of what’s happening inside of me, my thoughts and feelings. That awareness is helping me to be more capable of managing my thoughts and, thus, my composure.
- I’m developing competencies by leaning into strong mentors and guides.
Confidence is about being comfortable with who you are and trusting your ability to make a positive impact. It is a cornerstone for effective leadership in the nonprofit sector. Confidence is built over time through development, experience, reflection, and support. More intentional focus on these areas will lead to greater self-assurance and success in your leadership role.
If you want to grow your competence, build your confidence and find a network of support, join The Training Library today!
Become a Confident Leader
If you’re looking for a supportive community and resources to help build your confidence as a nonprofit leader, consider joining The Training Library membership site.
- you’ll find oodles of training materials
- a supportive coach, me, who was a leader in the nonprofit sector for many years
- you’ll connect with your peers, also women nonprofit leaders, on a similar journey.
The Training Library provides the tools and guidance you need to grow, learn, and lead.
✅ You’ll become confident in your leadership abilities
✅ Learn to bounce back when adversity hits
✅ Discover how to be your best self
✅ Find a place to belong!
Join today and take the first step toward becoming the confident, effective nonprofit leader you aspire to be.
Originally published at https://www.kathyarcher.com.
