The time has come!  You’ve been a rock star at your job and management has been watching you for some time.  The decision has been made to promote you into a management role.  You’re feeling like the big man/woman on campus.  However, you start to realize that the type of work you’re doing has changed.  You’re no longer feeling like you can do your job in your sleep.  That rock star confidence you had no longer exists.  What now?
Becoming a new leader can certainly be intimidating.  Besides the normal “work”, you also now have to support the people you lead.  Others are looking to you to have all the answers.  Plus, dealing with tasks and working with individual behavior are two separate things.  Don’t forget about the issues people face in their personal lives that affect them in the work environment.
Let’s start with the basics: Most people understand that confidence comes with practice.  With enough practice, the confidence will naturally increase over time as you do more of what you’re learning.  This, however, does not apply to all situations.  Being in a management role, you are likely going to encounter various situations during your career that you’ve never faced before. 
Even for those who are not technically in management, most work in a variety of jobs where they are faced with new challenges on a regular basis. 
I was faced with my own personal challenge recently where I had to speak at a company meeting.  I am used to speaking to groups of individuals in virtual environments, but not so much in face-to-face situations.  Even though it seemed to go well, I was still extremely nervous the entire time I was in front everyone.  After all, no one wants to look like a fool in front of their colleagues.
I had a big “Aha!” moment shortly after that meeting.  Thanks to a posting over at Great Smitten, I realized that everyone is figuring things out as go, just as I am.  
No single individual has all the answers.  As Diane mentions in her post, everyone is “faking it”.  More importantly, she mentions that once you understand this, you no longer need to fake it, yourself, because you know you don’t know everything, and that’s ok. 
I look at this as a hidden piece of the puzzle when it comes to unlocking confidence.  Yes, practicing what you’re learning is still what will ultimately lead to the highest level of confidence over time.   Yet, for those just learning something for the first time, coming to this realization will help alleviate the fear that fills in the void when confidence is not present.
 If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend taking a looking at Diane’s posting.  It had a profound impact on me, and I hope it will do the same for you.
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