Humble confidence

Friday, February 2

“I keep hearing people say humility, but how do I balance that when I’m on the field in a competitive environment? When I’m out there trying to dominate?”

This was the question asked by a football player I was having a conversation with recently. We had been talking about key characteristics of leaders and multiple people - including the head coach, myself, several assistant coaches and another guest - had mentioned humility was a non-negotiable when it came to leadership.

But when you see great athletes in competition, you see supreme confidence. Some would call it ego, but I think ego is confidence without preparation. The greats are confident because they prepare, and also have a high level of belief in themselves that they will find a way in any situation.

So how does humility play in? My answer was that you should be confident in who you are, confident in your ability to execute, confident in your ability to operate under pressure because you’ve prepared for it. That confidence is a competitive advantage. But be humble enough to know that you can always grow, you can always learn, you can always get better. The greats are the most confident and the most coachable, whereas ego prevents being coached or receiving feedback. And also be humble enough to know that you don’t have to do it yourself, that you have teammates who you should also be confident in. Michael Jordan didn’t always have to take the game-winning shot.

No matter your role or profession, that is how each day should be approached. Confident in your ability to get the job done at a high level and find a way through any obstacles, humble enough to be open to feedback and advice that will make you better.

Humble confidence is undefeatable.
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Keep chopping wood. 🪵🪓

-Kevin