How to Build Confidence – Coaching for Leaders

Katy Milkman: How to Change

Katy Milkman is an award-winning behavioral scientist and professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She hosts Charles Schwab’s popular behavioral economics podcast Choiceology, and is the co-founder and co-director of The Behavior Change for Good Initiative.

Katy has worked with or advised dozens of organizations on how to spur positive change and her research is regularly featured in major media outlets such as The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and NPR. She is the author of the book, How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be*.

In this conversation, Katy and I explore the research on confidence. We highlight some of the key tactics we can use to enhance our own feelings of confidence. Plus, we explore some of the ways that leaders may be able to support confidence-building in others.

Key Points

Self doubt affects our ability to take action.
Our expectations shape reality. How we think about something affects how it is.
Leaders can support those with less confidence by inviting them to be a mentor or coach for others.
Set ambitious goals, but allow yourself a limited number of emergency passes when you slip up.
Focus on personal experiences that make you feel successful or proud.