6 Steps to Leadership Confidence

If you’ve never stood on the edge of a cliff with a hang glider strapped to your back, you might think it’s a test of fear. But it’s really a test of confidence. Because when you’re launching a glider, you can’t tiptoe off the edge. You have to run.

It’s counterintuitive. You’re staring into open air—maybe 2,000 feet above the valley floor—and the only way to fly is to sprint straight into the void. This act, repeated over time, does something powerful to your mindset. I wrote a whole book on that! It teaches you what real confidence feels like and how to find it when you need it most.

The steps to leadership confidence require running off cliffs, too

However, confidence isn’t blind. It comes from knowing your equipment, your training, and the conditions. The steps to leadership confidence work the same way. You don’t just take risks for the thrill—you assess, prepare, and act with clarity. Both hang gliding and leadership demand that you stay attuned to your environment, trust your instincts, and lean into uncertainty with skill.

Here are the 6 steps to leadership confidence:

• You trust your preparation. Just like checking gear before launch, strong leaders know that readiness fuels courage.
• You take decisive action. There’s no halfway commitment. Confidence comes when you move with full intent.
• You focus forward. Looking down (or back) causes stumbles. Confidence builds when you keep your eyes are on where you’re heading.
• You ride the lift. The moment your feet leave the ground, you shift from running to flying. That’s when all your effort transforms into grace.
• Now you look for lift – the opportunities that surround you. Find them and use them to soar!
• You do it again. Confidence isn’t built in theory—it’s built in repetition. Each launch adds to your personal runway of belief.

Every leader faces metaphorical cliffs: hard decisions, big changes, public risks. When you learn to lean into the launch—when you be aware, you prepare, and you dare—you discover that confidence doesn’t come before the leap, it comes because of it.

I help leaders identify the lift in their challenges—so they can run, leap, and soar. You haven’t peaked yet!