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The 4 Cs of Effective Leadership – Confidence, Competence, Courage, and Calm

The 4 Cs of Effective Leadership – Confidence, Competence, Courage, and Calm

Gwen, Inc. helps leaders increase personal and organizational effectiveness by focusing leaders on developing the 4 Cs: confidence, competence, courage and calm. These are the four core competencies of Gwen Inc., and the company utilizes an array of programs and services to help leaders incorporate these competencies into their ongoing professional and personal growth and development.

Confidence

Confidence is an anchoring leadership competency that serves as a “springboard” for the development of the other Cs. Developing personal confidence is primary for career success and leads to other types of confidence that contribute to business success. When leaders develop strong strategic plans they increase organizational confidence by providing specific focus and strategies for achieving business goals. Gaining and sustaining the confidence of internal and external stakeholders adds value to leadership efforts. The continual assessment of employee confidence in leaders helps build organizational culture. These additional forms of confidence position leaders to conduct good business on behalf of organizations and companies.

Competence

Competence includes skills leaders develop to perform in the workplace. Today’s business environment demands competence in new skill areas, which directly connects to building operational capacity in all industries. Nonprofit leaders are particularly challenged because current trends mandate they function more like private sector counterparts. Many leaders recognize current skills are not sufficient to ensure the long-term viability of the organization. Our competence building work takes on an organization development approach, emphasizing skills such as data driven decision making, strategic critical thinking, sustaining market share, dealing with competition, sophisticated fiscal analysis and strategic staffing and hiring. Competence in these areas is a determinant of individual leadership success and the overall success of an organization or company.

Courage

Courage may be the most important leadership competency. Many clients describe themselves as leading in extraordinary times. Having courage is no longer optional, it is an absolute necessity. Leaders report the need to courageously speak truth to power. Difficult situations can’t linger and must be dealt with expeditiously and with great courage. Fiscal courage is necessary to align reduced resources into budgets that truly fund what is needed to sustain an organization. Effective leaders muster courage to stop doing what is no longer relevant and promote bold and courageous visions for the future of the organization.

Calm

Calm, like confidence, is an anchoring competency in effective leadership. The quote, “Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart,”speaks to the specific form of calm we see in talented leaders. Effective leaders infuse the workplace with calm decision making, working with employees to create workplace environments that encourage thoughtful consideration of important matters. Factors that disrupt calmness are quickly confronted. The goal is to help employees remain calmly productive even in the midst of noise and challenge that comes with hard work. The beauty of being in the leadership development business is that it is an ever – evolving industry. Leaders constantly change. I’ve learned any leader who thinks they are done evolving is DONE! Our company practice is to allow ideas about leadership to evolve with the changing needs of our clients. As you continue your leadership journey remain open to evolving with the changing times. Doing so will enhance the quality of your work and add value to your experiences as a successful leader.

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