Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably read about the recent bank failures, and heard news pundits describe why consumer confidence matters. Basically, banks take your money and invest it to make more money. There are certain covenants that are put in place so that risk is abated, but if confidence wanes and all depositors want their money back at the same time, we have a crisis. As an executive coach, I like to remind my clients that as a leader, confidence matters. But rather than looking at themselves (I call that self-confidence) it is as important or even more important to look at the confidence of their employees, their customers, and if appropriate, their investors.
What if You Were a Bank?
We further the confidence analogy to ask, what if you were a bank? Would you pass the confidence test from regulators, depositors, and the public? Who are your regulators? Who are your depositors? And who represents the larger public?
What Risks Are You Taking/Managing/Mitigating?
We then move to risk management. When it comes to the confidence factor what is the risk that what you say and/or do isn't believed? Who believes in your ideas, leadership, or vision? Who doesn't? If you had to put a number on it, what is the ratio? What can you do to derisk your stakeholder confidence? What is your FDIC promise to your stakeholders? What can you do to make sure the promise is real?
How Are You Avoiding a Run on Your Confidence Bank?
Finally, we have the discussion of what do they need to do differently to assure that there won't be a run on their confidence bank. What values or covenants are non-negotiable? What are you doing to communicate those values/covenants? Who else needs to uphold those covenants? How do the stakeholders know that covenants are upheld (transparency)?
Break the Tape Leadership helps leaders unleash creativity and potential in themselves and the organizations they lead to generate meaningful momentum. (And we find creative ways to build executive confidence with your stakeholders, and with yourself.)