These continue to be trying times. I had a client call me the other day seeking some help on how to more effectively reorganize his management team. In that conversation he mentioned he had just come from attending a factory meeting. One of those where they give you the entire scoop. What I found interesting was that he said that what the dealers were looking for was some sort of sign of CONFIDENCE from the manufacturer. He really didn’t get that and came away even more discouraged.

At this very moment you are the factory guy speaking on stage. You are on stage everyday, every minute. You have to raise your level of confidence and more important, you have to show it. Act it, make believe it, call it what you want. You can call it “fake it until you make it,” but there has never been a more crucial time for you to look confident. You need to act and look Presidential and as always I have a few suggestions:

1. Change your appearance. If you’re been dressing casual, stop it! For the next two weeks, wear a dark suit, long sleeved white shirt and a bright tie. If you’re a woman you need to do the same sort of thing, less the tie.
2. Change your posture. Stand up straight. Walk with your chin up. Chest up and out.
3. Walk with a pep in your step. Think about moving fast everywhere you go.
4. Take time out of your busy schedule to listen to your people.
5. Make it a point to spend time with each and every employee. Do this everyday for the next two weeks. Your people are scared. They are concerned, they need reassuring.
6. Smile; yes smile every chance you get. Make yourself smile.
7. Have a victory party. Serve lunch to everyone including key vendors. Make it a celebration of “we are together, we are doing well, and we are all winners.”
8. Pat people on the back. Make it a point to say positive and uplifting things to your staff.
9. Have more meetings. Yes, have more meetings. Everyone hates meetings but now is the time to rally the troops. Set realistic goals and objectives. Bring a motivational speaker in. It doesn’t have to be a high dollar out of town expert. Surely there is someone local you can bring in.
10. Open your door. Be visible. Don’t hide in your office. If you’ve always been accessible, be more accessible. If you’ve enjoyed hiding in your office as the CEO, get out of there.

Use the “as-if” frame. If you were confident, how would you be acting? How would you be moving? How would you be speaking? What would you be thinking? What would you tell yourself inside? By asking yourself these questions, you are literally forced to answer them by going into a confident state. You will then be acting “as-if” you are confident and pretty soon you’ll develop it into a habit.

Now is the time to exude confidence in everything you do. Your people will respond, all they want is a little nudge of “it’s gonna be alright.” They need to hear it, they need to feel it and they need to see it. “You ‘da man!” (Or woman!)

That’s all I’m gonna say.