Confidence isn’t just about a firm handshake

Every year, here at the Australia Businesswomen’s Network, through our Businesswomen’s Hall of Fame,  we honour inspirational female entrepreneurs who excel in their field. This year, we’ve found a habit that stands out among these business leaders. That is the Confidence Habit. But what is the Confidence Habit? Confidence is not (despite what those 80s motivational speakers tried to tell us) just wearing the right clothes, having a firm handshake and feeling good about ourselves. Richard Petty, a psychology professor and confidence expert at Ohio State University, defines it like this: “Confidence is the stuff that turns thoughts into action.” In an interview with Womenomics authors, Katty Kay and Claire Shipman, Petty said that even though other factors play a role in determining our actions, for example a will to persist, intelligence, creativity and even anger, he stated confidence as the essential element, “because it applies in more situations than these other traits do. It is the factor that turns thoughts into judgments about what we are capable of, and that then transforms those judgments into action.” And there are dozens of scientific studies that prove the notion that confidence and action are interrelated. In fact, research at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business by Leslie Patch, investigating the longer-term personality predictors of leadership, found the correlation between self-confidence and leadership effectiveness was overwhelmingly statistically significant. And it seems the Confidence Habit is a fundamental determinant of whether we will even start our own business in the first place, according to a study by researchers at Rutgers University Newark who found the level of confidence was “positively related to the intention to set up one’s own business.” We are really committed to help women build the confidence habit. And, that’s why we developed two resources for you. 1. The Breaking Through eBook Download our very special Keepsake Booklet to learn more about the Confidence Habit and how it’s helped our Hall of Fame Inductees become the successful female entrepreneurs that they are today. 2. The Breaking Through webinar If you’re experiencing challenges in your business and you’re feeling stuck, overwhelmed, anxious, or frustrated, you’re not alone. These problems are very real, but successful business owners are finding a way to break through these struggles and keep their businesses alive. But how are they doing it? Watch the Breaking Through online training now to learn they key habit to success among top business leaders and how they implement it.