From Confidence in You to Confidence in Themselves: The Mark of a Great Leader
“Good leaders inspire people to have confidence in their leader; great leaders inspire people to have confidence in themselves.”
– Eleanor Roosevelt
This quote speaks directly to the heart of what separates competent leaders from truly transformational ones. Many leaders can command respect, issue clear directions, and even rally people around a common cause. However, inspiring confidence through leadership means going a step further—helping others believe not just in you as the leader, but in themselves as capable, empowered contributors.
In the fire service, we’ve seen this play out daily. A skilled incident commander can effectively direct an emergency scene, and their crew will follow. But the great ones? They’ve spent months—sometimes years—preparing their people to make wise decisions without needing constant oversight. They’ve created teams that not only comply but also contribute. This philosophy isn’t unique to first responders—it’s just as relevant in local government, boardrooms, and manufacturing plants.
Let’s break down how to transition from being the kind of leader people look up to to the type of leader who helps people look inward and believe they are capable, worthy, and powerful.
The Trap of Charismatic Control
It’s easy—and even tempting—for leaders to build teams that depend on them. After all, if your people need you to make every decision, you stay at the center of everything. You feel indispensable. But that’s not leadership; that’s control dressed up as guidance.
Inspiring confidence through leadership means letting go of the need to be the hero in every situation. Great leaders focus on building others up, not keeping them down under layers of approval chains and micromanagement.
In the firehouse, this might mean teaching your junior firefighters how to size up a scene independently, allowing them to take charge of low-risk evolutions, or guiding them through after-action reviews rather than just providing answers.
In the corporate world, this could look like empowering team members to pitch their ideas, lead meetings, or make decisions without fear of reprimand. You’re not becoming obsolete—you’re becoming irreplaceable in a far more meaningful way: as a mentor, not a manager.
Building Competence First
Before people can feel confident, they need to be competent. One of the greatest gifts a leader can give is opportunity paired with support. This doesn’t mean throwing someone into the deep end and watching to see if they sink or swim. It means gradually increasing responsibility while providing the tools and training needed to succeed.
For example, in emergency services, a captain doesn’t hand a new EMT a complex patient care scene on their first day. However, over time, with coaching, feedback, and encouragement, the EMT becomes confident in handling critical incidents.
Similarly, in a business setting, junior employees won’t feel confident presenting to clients until they’ve been equipped with effective communication training, have had the opportunity to shadow others, and have received clear feedback from their supervisors.
Inspiring confidence through leadership starts with building competence. When people understand the “why” behind decisions and feel prepared to act, confidence naturally follows.
Trust Is the Currency of Empowerment
People won’t believe in themselves if their leader doesn’t first show trust in them. When leaders constantly second-guess, override, or hover over their team’s decisions, it sends a clear message: “You’re not capable.”
Contrast that with leaders who say, “I trust your judgment,” or “Take the lead on this and let me know how it goes.” These statements are powerful because they shift the psychological dynamic. The person on the receiving end feels empowered, and with empowerment comes a sense of ownership.
In the fire service, this might be the chief allowing a company officer to run a multi-unit drill or a battalion chief delegating strategic planning for a response area. In the corporate environment, it could be a department head allowing their team to propose and execute a new workflow without requiring multiple layers of approval.
Trust amplifies confidence. Confidence enhances performance. And performance builds more trust—a beautiful cycle, started by courageous leadership.
The Role of Feedback in Fostering Confidence
Confidence doesn’t mean perfection. The most confident leaders are often those who excel at receiving feedback. But here's the catch—your people won’t embrace feedback if it’s always punitive or one-sided.
Inspiring confidence through leadership requires leaders to normalize learning moments. After-action reviews, coaching conversations, and one-on-ones should be safe spaces where growth is encouraged, not spaces where punishment is handed down.
Fire officers often hold hot washes after a call, not to assign blame, but to reflect on what went well and what could improve. That’s not just tactical debriefing—it’s confidence-building. When team members see that feedback is about growth, not discipline, they’re more willing to engage, take risks, and try new things.
In a corporate setting, leaders should do the same. Provide feedback that is timely, clear, and solution-oriented. Celebrate wins, but don’t shy away from constructive guidance. When feedback is fair and consistent, people grow—fast.
Creating a Culture of Shared Leadership
One of the clearest signs of a great leader is that things don’t fall apart when they’re not in the room. That’s because they’ve cultivated a shared leadership approach, where everyone feels a sense of responsibility and influence.
In the fire service, a senior firefighter may take initiative on scene logistics without being asked. In an office, a team member may proactively flag potential budget concerns. That kind of initiative doesn’t happen in a culture of command and control—it happens where people have been trusted, empowered, and believed in.
Inspiring confidence through leadership doesn’t happen overnight. It’s an ongoing investment in the people you serve. But the return on that investment is massive: initiative, accountability, and resilience throughout your organization.
How to Start Inspiring Confidence in Others
If you’re ready to become the kind of leader who helps others believe in themselves, here are some steps you can start today:
Delegate with intention. Don’t just assign tasks—assign growth opportunities.
Model vulnerability. Show that you’re still learning, too. This makes it safe for others to try and fail.
Celebrate initiative. When someone takes ownership or shows courage, call it out.
Be present. Leadership isn’t just a series of memos and directives. Be available and engaged.
Ask before you tell. When someone comes to you with a problem, ask them what they think first. Guide them to their answers.
In other words, don’t be the hero. Be the person who builds heroes.
Why This Matters Now More Than Ever
Today’s workforce—whether in the firehouse, the boardroom, or the city council—wants more than a paycheck. They want purpose. They want to grow. And they want leaders who see them as more than task-doers.
In high-stakes environments, such as emergency services, the payoff for inspired confidence is immediate. Teams perform better under pressure, communicate more effectively, and recover faster from setbacks.
In the corporate sector, the benefits include increased innovation, improved collaboration, reduced turnover, and enhanced organizational resilience.
Simply put, confident teams are high-performing teams. And it all starts with leadership that sees beyond itself.
Final Thoughts
Eleanor Roosevelt’s wisdom cuts to the core of servant leadership. Your goal isn’t to collect followers. It’s to create leaders.
When your people leave your organization—or even just the room—more confident, capable, and courageous than they were before, you’ve done something extraordinary. You’ve moved from influence to impact.
That’s the legacy of inspiring confidence through leadership.
Ready to Elevate Your Team’s Confidence?
If you’re a fire service leader, local government official, or corporate executive looking to build a culture of trust, ownership, and confidence, visit www.chiefkramer.com to learn more about how First Due Leadership Consulting can help transform your organization. From keynote talks to custom leadership development workshops, we’re here to help you turn good leaders into great ones—and great teams into unstoppable ones.
Let’s build the kind of leadership that inspires confidence from the inside out.
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