Episode #89: Self Sourcing Confidence

Why does confidence matter so much in business?

When people feel confident, they speak up, try new things, and grow.
When they don’t, they stay in their Comfort Zone, doing only what feels safe and familiar.

The problem: real growth, innovation, and leadership development always sit outside that Comfort Zone. If employees are afraid to fail, they avoid new tasks, new roles, and new ideas.

Mini-summary: Confidence is the gateway to growth. No confidence = no innovation, no progress.

The environment either supports people or shuts them down.

• If people can try, fail, learn, and try again, their confidence grows.

• If mistakes are punished, they stop taking risks.

• If ideas are met with sarcasm or criticism, people quickly decide to stay silent.

Over time, many become “spectators” at work: they do the minimum, keep their heads down, and avoid attention.

Mini-summary: Supportive environments expand people’s confidence; critical environments shrink it.

A common scene: the boss stands at the whiteboard, asks for ideas, and then immediately criticizes anything that isn’t perfect. After a few harsh replies, only the bravest 5% keep speaking up. Everyone else disappears into their chairs.

Leaders often think, “It was tough for me, so it should be tough for them.” They assume everyone wants to push hard and be like them. In reality, most people simply want to do good work and feel valued.

Research and experience show:
The key trigger for engagement is feeling valued by your boss. If only 5% feel valued, you only get 5% of the team’s potential.

Mini-summary: Harsh or impatient leadership kills ideas, engagement, and innovation across most of the team.

Leaders can choose to be confidence builders, not confidence killers:

• Treat mistakes as part of learning, not as proof of failure.

• Praise effort, progress, and smart risk-taking.

• Ask for ideas, then listen first, and refine later.

• Make it safe for people to challenge the status quo.

• Show clearly that every team member is valued, not just the top performers.

When people believe they will be supported, they will try new things, share ideas, and step outside their Comfort Zones.

Mini-summary: Leaders grow confidence by making it safe to try, safe to learn, and safe to speak up.

Most companies do not measure confidence at all. They track revenue, costs, and performance—but not whether leaders are building or draining confidence.

A simple shift can change everything:

• Make “build confidence in our people” a leadership performance measure.

• Review whether teams are bringing new ideas, taking ownership, and growing skills.

• Re-examine leadership training to ensure managers know how to encourage, not discourage.

If more people across the company feel confident, the organization naturally becomes more agile, innovative, and competitive—and the cost is almost zero. It is mainly a mindset and behavior change from leaders.

Mini-summary: When “build confidence” becomes a serious leadership metric, the whole organization moves forward faster.

• Confidence grows when people feel safe to try, fail, and learn.

• Critical or sarcastic leaders shut down ideas and silence most of the team.

• Leaders must focus on valuing all team members, not only the top 5%.

• Making “build confidence” a leadership goal unlocks innovation and long-term performance.

Founded in the U.S. in 1912, Dale Carnegie Training has supported individuals and companies worldwide for over a century in leadership, sales, presentation, executive coaching, and DEI. Our Tokyo office, established in 1963, has been empowering both local and multinational corporate clients ever since.