Who Believes in You?

I was reminded about the strength of “belief” during the Olympics this past week as the media reminisced about Kerri Strug’s incredible vault when she stuck her landing on an injured ankle, securing the gold for the USA women’s gymnastics team in 1996.

I love listening to Bela Karolyi’s words to Kerri, “You Can Do It! You Can Do It!” These are very common words, but the passion and intensity in how he said them is incredibly moving. Bela truly believed in Kerri. His belief made her believe!

It’s a game changer when a leader gives and shows their belief in others.

Think about it. Who believes in you and how does that make you feel? Don’t you want to step up your game for them? It’s a huge motivator! So as a leader how do we get started believing in others?

Believe!

First you’ve got to believe in people. Your attitude needs to be one that desires to see others do great things.

Look for Potential.

I’ve said it before so this might not surprise you. I love the healthy discontented teammates. I look for them. These are the people who aren’t satisfied with the way things are; however, they are positive about making things better. They are not whiny and they are willing to work hard. That attitude is like finding gold for me. I believe in these people, I support them, and I coach them closely with strong expectations for professional growth.

Build Trust.

Believing in others involves a lot of trust. Personally, I find it hard to be all in for someone who isn’t willing to have my back and be all in with me. I guess in a way we believe in each other. I believe they can do it, and they believe I can help them do it.

Share Your Confidence.

People are more confident when they are working with confident people. Interestingly enough, this is a two-way street for leaders. Great teams give their leaders confidence. And confident leaders give their teams confidence. This is what creates “performance mojo!”

Have Credibility.

If I had yelled out, “You can do it!” to Kerri Strug, I doubt it would have had the same effect on her. Why? Because I’m not a credible leader to her. But her leader, Bela, she trusted. He was credible and she knew she could trust his opinion and his opinion was YOU CAN DO IT!

Belief. Having it is essential. Giving it away is powerful.  Who in your life do you motivate simply because you believe in them?