Return on Belief (#227)

The Confident Leader

BOOST YOUR LEADERSHIP IN UNCERTAIN TIMES

Last weekend, I attended a client event celebrating their achievement of an accomplishment twelve years in the making. The client had an unwavering belief that they could achieve the near-impossible goal. This got me wondering: what is a leader’s Return on Belief? 

“When you affirm big, believe big, and pray big, big things happen.” 

― Norman Vincent Peale (American clergyman and author)

This Week’s Edition

What is your return on belief?

Clarify Your Thinking

A return on investment (or ROI) is a typical financial measurement. When you invest $100 and generate $200, that’s a 2x return on your original investment. This straightforward calculation provides an easy way to quantify success.

In thinking beyond financial returns, what is the return on a leader’s belief in an idea, something they’ve never accomplished before? 

Take my client: he and his team knew that what they wanted to accomplish was huge. Many on the outside thought it was impossible. As they pursued this massive undertaking, some thought they were foolish. Others stopped supporting them. Yet, he and his team believed and persevered. 

Along the twelve-year journey, how could they have calculated the return on this belief, especially in the face of setbacks and others who flatly refused to believe?

Old Thinking: Well, we believed and tried. But we didn’t get the results we wanted. We aren’t giving up; it’s just that this is proving to be impossible. It won’t work.

New Thinking: I believe we can do this. I recognize that we’ve had some setbacks. We can rethink our approach and keep going. I truly believe we can do this. I trust that our team has what it takes to make it happen. 

Thoughts Lead to Actions

Belief alone is cheap. Meaning it doesn’t cost much to believe. The cost is calculated when you begin to trust in that belief. Trust means you step forward and do something to pursue your belief.

The question then is this: In what are you trusting? 

Are you trusting in the results? If so, you might be discouraged. You can’t always trust the daily or weekly results. Setbacks occur. They will give you plenty of reasons to stop believing, especially when those short-term results don’t match your expectations of progress. 

The reality of “two steps forward, one step back” will dampen your resolve. 

First, believe in the possibility of your desired outcome. Second, trust the process to generate the outcome. What is your process you will implement to execute a daily plan to realize your belief?

Step 1: Determine what you want to accomplish, something that is next level, perhaps something you’ve never done before or haven’t done in a long time.

Step 2: Ask yourself if you truly believe you can do it. A simple yes or no.

Step 3: Get a plan.

• Create a plan from what you know has worked before.
• Buy a plan. Utilize an expert who has a tried-and-true plan.
• Borrow a plan. What else has worked in other areas of your business? Borrow that plan and apply it to this situation.

What is the R.O.B. – return on belief? Observing my client and his team at their gala celebration, I can share that their investment yielded:

• Pure joy at accomplishing something others thought was impossible
• New believers joining the mission 
• New belief: “If we can do this, I wonder what else we can do.”
• Satisfaction that the fulfillment of the goal was worth the effort
• Pride in what they had achieved. Humbled that no one did it alone, that everyone contributed to make it happen

I’m certain there are more aspects, but those I observed make the case that Return on Belief can be high. Show me a leader who would not desire their leadership to be brimming with joy, new team members, more belief, satisfaction, pride, and humility.

Boost Your Performance

Watch this week’s video for additional thoughts on the outsized ROB – Return on Belief.

What’s Your Opinion?

How would you determine return on belief? Share it with me at robin.pou@robinpou.com

If you are going to be a leader, you might as well be a good one. Don’t let doubt count you out. Have a confident week!

Robin Pou, Chief Advisor and Strategist

We live to make bad leadership extinct so forward this newsletter to others who strive to be confident leaders. 

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What is “The Confident Leader”?

During the Covid-19 Pandemic, I began a video series called “Panic or Plan?” It was designed to equip leaders to navigate the doubt they experienced and to rise in the confidence they needed to lead during turbulent times. It took off. I then started this newsletter to equip leaders in the same fashion each week for the doubt that crashes across the bow of their leaderSHIP.