Self-Assurance®: Developing Your Leadership Skills

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Explore Gallup's CliftonStrengths^® for Leaders Report and discover its ability to help you maximize the impact of your -- and others' -- unique leadership talents and strengths, in this Season 2 episode of The CliftonStrengths Podcast. Join Jim Collison and Dr. Jaclynn Robinson as they discuss the Self-Assurance^® theme, its power in a leadership role, how it can help or hinder you as you lead others, and how you can leverage it with the CliftonStrengths for Managers and CliftonStrengths for Sales Reports. Unlock the leadership potential of your Self-Assurance talent -- because everyone leads something.

A leader with this theme, ... they lend their self-confidence to other people. They're not only their best coach and champion, but they do really well at championing others and nudging them towards their own goals.

Jaclynn Robinson, 5:00

[Self-Assurance] can create that sense of Stability of, even in the face of fear or failure, you've got this! And I'm in this with you. We're in it together.

Jaclynn Robinson, 3:47

Jim Collison 0:00
I am Jim Collison, and this is The CliftonStrengths Podcast, Season 2, recorded on January 31, 2023.

Jim Collison 0:06
In this CliftonStrengths Podcast series, we look at the CliftonStrengths for Leaders Report one theme at a time, and today's theme is Self-Assurance. If you're listening live, and you don't see the chat room, there's a link to it right above me there. Love to have you in chat. Or if you have questions after the fact, maybe you're listening to this as a podcast or on YouTube, you can send us your questions: coaching@gallup.com. Dr. Jaclynn Robinson is our host today. She works as a Senior Learning and Development Consultant and has joined me for Season 1 of the CliftonStrengths Podcast, where we looked at the book Wellbeing at Work one theme at a time. And Jaclynn, always great to have you. Welcome back!

Jaclynn Robinson 0:55
Oh, yes. Hello!

Introducing Self-Assurance

Jim Collison 0:57
We are spending some time talking about Self-Assurance today. And this is one of my favorites, I'm not gonna lie. I'm excited for it. Let's jump in. Give us that intro, and tell us what it is.

Jaclynn Robinson 1:08
Yes. You feel confident in your ability to take risks and manage your own life. You have an inner compass that gives you certainty in your decisions.

Jim Collison 1:17
Self-Assurance is every movie hero.

Jaclynn Robinson 1:22
Every action-movie hero.

What Is the Power of Self-Assurance in a Leadership Role?

Jim Collison 1:23
Every action-movie hero. Yeah, right, in that, for sure. We're spending some time this season thinking this through the lens of the CliftonStrengths for Leaders Report. So what is the power of this theme in a leadership role? Talk to us a little bit about that.

Jaclynn Robinson 1:38
I think this leader's confidence brings certainty to pathways, situations or goals they and their team are tackling. If an obstacle arises, it's like, Hey, we'll find a different way or a way through. If an outcome falls short, they learn from their mistakes and try again. And I think because of their persistence and that inner confidence, they can create Stability and Hope for others that they will achieve their, their goals or outcomes.

Jim Collison 2:02
I love that, I love that Positivity spin on this. We spent some time talking about Significance. And I think Self-Assurance lives in the same theme bias sometimes, because it's, it's not as common. I think sometimes we don't understand it as humans, and then we start, we get, we get kind of biased against it. And we kind of think, Oh, these, you know, terms. I won't even say them, because I don't want people to think about them. These terms come to mind of how we label these individuals. And I think we need to take a step back, because I love when you said, Because of their perseverance and inner confidence, they can create Stability. Let's get to that. I want to dig in a little bit. When we think about the 4 Needs of Followers, certainly Stability is one of those 4 Needs. Is that the one that it, for the -- I've been asking this question all series about the 4 Needs -- is that the one that comes to mind of Self-Assurance? I don't think we think of Self-Assurance providing Stability. Talk a little bit about that, because I think that's pretty awesome.

Jaclynn Robinson 3:02
Yes! Yes, I think they bring it for sure, because they, they lend that sense of self-confidence to other people: I know you can do this! We've got this! If I can do it, you can, too! We, we're in this together. And it helps that person go, Ooh, OK, maybe it's not all bad. Maybe I can do this. And I've had, I had a class previously that I led with a former military officer that led with this one. And they had to jump from a large height. And he had his person in front of them that was just scared as could be. He said, Listen, you have to do this. But I'm gonna be there right behind you. And, and the, the troop jumped, and then he followed right behind him. So it can create that sense of Stability of, even in the, in the face of fear or failure, you've got this! And I'm in this with you. We're in it together.

How Can Those With Self-Assurance Lead Others?

Jim Collison 3:57
It's, it's amazing, as we've done, you know, I've done 3,000 of these webcasts or so -- something like that. And as I work with people who've never done it before, you know, they're always a little nervous. And I always say, "That's fine." It's actually good, it's better to be nervous. And then, "I'm here for you." Like, I'm not gonna let you, I'm not gonna let this be a bad thing for you. I've done this a bunch. I have confidence. I mean, I, I, those are the words, as you're saying these things, those are the words that I use when I'm helping people through these things. And a lot of times I'm get, at the end, when we're done, I'll like, Hey, thanks for being confident. Right? And so I think that confidence brings Stability in there. And that Stability brings Hope, just to kind of bring it around to that, right. OK, I can do this, and I'm gonna be fine. Because there's somebody who's done it with me here in the past. How, so let's spend a little more time, just to be consistent in our note-taking, because some people want to do that. How can this theme -- we've been talking about how can it help and hinder, so How could this theme lead others?

Jaclynn Robinson 4:59
Well, a leader with this theme, as we mentioned, they lend their self-confidence to other people. They're not only their best coach and champion, but they do really well at championing others and nudging them towards their own goals. It's a great person to have in your corner.

How Could Self-Assurance Hinder Your Leadership of Others?

Jim Collison 5:14
Yeah, and it's the "me," again, the "me" versus "we," where we spend time, you know -- "Hey, I can do this" to, you know, "We can do this." Like, "I'm gonna bring you along with me. We can do this thing." And to say it in a way where you believe it. Oh, OK. I'm in. The power, the true, you know, if lead, if, if, you know, leading is taking people a place they've never been before, right, and doing, or doing something they've never done before. That, that confidence matters in bringing them along. What about the other side of this? How could this theme hinder the leadership of others?

Jaclynn Robinson 5:52
Well, they could have fellow leaders or colleagues or, you know, just anyone in their life that could be deterred from offering advice or giving feedback due to their independent decision-making and confidence in their actions. But I think someone with, a leader with Self-Assurance has to remember there is no "I" in "team," and so people are looking up to you. You have that sphere of influence, and so inviting others into the process will create that more cohesive and collaborative workplace.

Jim Collison 6:20
Yeah. I think it takes a chance, a risk for leaders who have this to come out sometimes and say, "No, we can do this together." Like that's a risky, I think sometimes we think that just happens. But that's a risky moment, and I think a moment of growth for some individuals with high Self-Assurance to say, "No, I know, we can do this. Let's do this! Let's do this thing, and here's how we're going to do it." And to be inspiring, that's a, I think, sometimes that's something that takes practice, right, it takes taking a risk maybe early on, or taking a risk in certain situations, to say, "No, I know how to do this. Let's do it." I don't know, any thoughts on that, Jaclynn?

Jaclynn Robinson 7:06
I like this perspective of risk. Because they're so comfortable with risk from their own internal perspective, you know, OK, well, if there's, if failure occurs, I know I'll get through it. And I love that idea of risk, because the risk is engaging others and maybe hearing the feedback of others, the advice of others that might go against where you wanted to go, but for the sake of the company or the team, you want to bring people on board. Yeah.

How Can You Use Self-Assurance as You Lead, Together With the Managers and Sales Reports?

Jim Collison 7:38
Yeah. Listen, I want the person doing my taxes to have high Self-Assurance. Yeah, no, I got this. I got it. I don't, I don't want anything to do with it. Like, I want you to do it. Right. So only applicable because it's the end of January, and here in the United States, taxes are due in a couple months. And so we're all, we're all spending some time thinking about it. We're doing some report dynamics. We're spending some time thinking about the CliftonStrengths for Leaders Report and the CliftonStrengths for Sales Report, as well as Manager. But as we think of sales, and taking the Leaders Report and the Sales Report and putting them together, what kind of report dynamics could we get out of those?

Jaclynn Robinson 8:20
Well, their initiative, their motivation, their confidence, I think all of those traits can lead clients to feel empowered and excited by the solutions or goals outlined in the statement of work. And then just from that, that, that Sales Leader role perspective, there's just some thrills and chills involved in being able to take ownership over your prospect list or the clients you have and to negotiate and to close deals and to architect a solution. So they're kind of thriving in both ways: in the role but also with the prospects or clients in front of them.

Jim Collison 8:58
I love that statement -- thrills and chills. I like that in this, especially in this context, right? The thrill of this, the close, right? The, the, the strategic, maybe small "s" on that one, but the strategic actions that have to take place to get the thing closed. What about the, what about the Leader and the Manager Report put together, as we think about those dynamics? How could that be used for success?

Jaclynn Robinson 9:23
Yeah, so a leader who manages others can help direct reports, or the team itself achieve their goals. If they feel unsteady with the workload, I can see this leader's confidence helping them figure out how to tackle it, you know, little by little, or just encourage them to push their way through, because sometimes teams have those periods where they're just really busy. And it's, OK, well, we have to get through this, but we'll get through it together. Let's push forward. We can do it. Let's think about ways we want to celebrate after. So that's what comes to mind from this Self-Assured leader who manages people.

Jim Collison 10:00
It sounds like a pretty great dynamo pulled together. We know from the databases, it's not as common. So those who have it, you need to use it. Get it out front, get it, get it, hone it in, get it productive in a way that helps other people or helps the, those that you're leading move forward. I mean, because that's really, at the end of the day, that's what this is all about, right, is making progress -- whatever that looks like -- is making progress. Jaclynn, as we think about wrapping this up, any final thoughts on this theme?

Jaclynn Robinson 10:34
Well, Self-Assured, folks, there's, if you think about people that are kind of stuck in that rut, or they just don't see the light at the end of the tunnel, I think those with Self-Assurance can have that impact to say, you know, "You've got this. Just push your way through. I'm here to support you." And you can be that champion for their change. And I will leave it at that.

Jim Collison 10:56
Let's leave it at that. Let's leave it at that. With that, we'll remind everyone to take full advantage of all the resources we do have available in Gallup Access. I've been saying this all season, but maybe you haven't done it yet. Head out to gallup.com/cliftonstrengths. Sign in. Go to the menu, upper left, and choose "Resources." Drop that down, choose Resources, and then search bar, put in this theme. You can put in any theme, but put in "Self-Assurance," and everything we've done on it will come back. A bunch of podcasts, all Theme Thursday, these, this and Season 1 of The CliftonStrengths Podcast be available for you, plus a lot of other resources that we have, and continue to learn on that. It's a great way to do it. Stay up to date with all the webcasts by following us at gallup.eventbrite.com. Create an account, follow us, and you'll get a notification whenever I post something new. Join us on any social platform by searching "CliftonStrengths." I want to thank you for listening today. If you've enjoyed it, hit the Like or Share or Heart or Plus or whatever -- all these platforms call it something different. We appreciate that. It's good feedback for us, and it feeds my Self-Assurance. So make sure you, make sure you get it done. Thanks for listening today. For those listening live, stay around for a little bit of postshow. With that, we'll say, Goodbye, everybody.

Jaclynn Robinson's Top 5 CliftonStrengths are Achiever, Strategic, Maximizer, Positivity and Relator.

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