All people within an organization depend on each other. To the extent that one person is abrasive with customers or doesn't take the initiative when appropriate or is indecisive will all employees pay a price. The bell does indeed toll for all.

But have you noticed most people are more effective in situations in which they are confident? Confident managers seem to select better employees; confident salespeople seem more inclined to say the right thing at the right time; confident engineers seem to make more effective and appropriate decisions.

Conversely, fearful people have difficulty in situations in which their fear is too strong. Fearful managers have difficulty delegating; fearful salespeople have greater difficulty taking the initiative to see prospective customers rather than familiar old ones; fearful engineers have difficulty proposing new ideas or making decisions.

Putting these points together would seem to lead to the conclusion that the more confident every employee is in an organization, the more rewards each will reap.

It would seem appropriate, therefore, for evaluating and increasing the confidence of our colleagues and subordinates.

What is confidence? It is the natural state of a person not compromised by fear. What is it in life we fear?

One basic thing in the work setting -- the behavior of others! We may fear criticism, being seen as a failure or being seen as weak, being ignored or reprimanded, being disliked or rejected.

The list is great indeed, but it almost always involves the behavior of others! Is it any wonder, then, that we may not engage in appropriate behavior when we should?

After all, most meaningful interactions within business are with, or eventually with, other people and the things we fear those other people could do to us are wicked indeed.

What, then, can we as managers do to increase the confidence of our colleagues and employees? Increase their liking of people! People are effective with people they like because they experience minimal fear with those people. If we can associate people with positive things to our employees, we can increase their confidence. If we reinforce our employees for their positive reactions to people, for their enthusiasm for people, we will increase their confidence. Liking people is certainly one of the greatest indicators of confidence we have found when evaluating people.

What people should we try to get our employees to like and thus feel comfortable with? Everyone! Business today is "market driven". What does that mean? It means we try to get our employees to like customers so they are cooperative, helpful and constructive with them.

Why can we not adopt this orientation toward everyone, including and especially fellow employees? Are we afraid of people liking each other? Do we feel if someone likes someone else our importance will be diminished, our influence lessened?

Let us take as a task of management the increasing of the confidence of employees. Let us then judge our managers by how pervasively their subordinates like people, not only customers but colleagues within and outside their own departments.

For if we do increase the liking of an employee for people, we will eventually increase that employee's liking of him/herself, his/her confidence and, quite naturally, his/her competence and effectiveness in the organization. In an organization in which everyone liked and felt confident with people, profits would be maximized.

Ask yourself:

1. What is confidence?
2. What is it in life we fear?
3. What type of people should we encourage our people to interact with?
4. How do you build confidence in others?