University Name - Leadership and Integrity: Self-Confidence Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of self-confidence as a cornerstone of effective leadership. It begins with an executive summary highlighting the critical role of self-confidence in communication, problem-solving, and team motivation. The report then delves into the results of five diagn...Read More

Running head- LEADERSHIP AND INTEGRITY
Professional written report on Self-confidence
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Executive summary
Self-confidence acts as the cornerstone of leadership. A leader is usually expected to play the
role of a good communicator, an effective problem solver, who is able to coach the other team
members. However, lack of believe in oneself will lead to failure of the leader. A self-confident
leader is capable of boosting and encouraging the morale of the team, foster a good working
relationship, accept feedback, recognize the strengths and weaknesses and have the courage to
propose new ideas and innovations. This report will focus on my self-confident capabilities by
analysing the results of five diagnostic tests that I have undertaken to recognize the areas where I
lack. It will further illustrate the importance of self-confidence through an extensive literature
search and will also contain an action plan for improving my weaknesses.

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Table of Contents
Self-reflection on self-confidence....................................................................................................3
Big five personality test...............................................................................................................3
Authentic leadership test..............................................................................................................4
Leadership toolkit........................................................................................................................5
Self-reflection test........................................................................................................................5
DISC assessment.........................................................................................................................6
Literature review..............................................................................................................................6
Action Plan....................................................................................................................................10
References......................................................................................................................................14
Appendix........................................................................................................................................17

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Self-reflection on self-confidence
The primary objective of this business report is to help me recognize my capabilities of
efficient leadership. I have selected self-confidence as the topic for this report as it is the
fundamental step that helps in growth of leaders. I believe that self-confidence is imperative for
taking risks and accomplishing intended goals by a leader. I have chosen five diagnostic tools
related to development of self-confidence and will compare the results of the tools with my real-
time experiences. Furthermore, I will also try to recognize the specific areas of leadership where
I lack and will develop an action plan to improve those aspects. The report will also contain
exhaustive information on the major theories and evidences related to development of leadership
capabilities and skills.
Self-confidence refers to the ability that makes a person certain and aware of the skills
and competencies that he is capable of displaying while adorning the role of a leader (Filippin &
Paccagnella, 2012).
Big five personality test
The Big five personality test will be used to help me identify the fundamental dimensions
of my personality. The test includes 50 questions that need to be attempted for a personality and
behaviour analysis (Cobb-Clark & Schurer, 2012). I attempted all the questions given in the
checklist. The answers for each corresponding questions had to given a score ranging from 1-5,
based on extent of disagreement and agreement, respectively. On adding up the results for each
parameter, I scored maximum in ‘Agreeableness’ (score=27), followed by ‘Openness to
Experience’ (score=25). However, I obtained lowest score in Neuroticism (score=13), followed
by Extroversion (score=14). My scores suggest that I am always eager to adjust my behaviour

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and perceptions according to the people surrounding me. A high score in agreeableness indicates
that personality trait is characterized by a cooperative, warm, sympathetic, kind and considerate
attitude (Credé et al., 2012). It demonstrates my empathetic and altruistic nature. Furthermore, a
higher score in openness to experience suggests that I have an active imagination and aesthetic
sense, and also display attentiveness to my inner feelings. Lowest score in neuroticism indicates
lack of anxiousness, guilt, depression and envy. Therefore, I do not interpret situations as
threatening and do not get frustrated easily.
This can be explained by a recent experience that I had encountered at my workplace.
Although, I had been working in the company for more than 3 years, the administration had
decided upon promoting another employee to a senior post, a year after his hiring. This did not
make me feel jealous or envious of the employee owing to the fact that although the person was a
new joiner, he was academically more qualified and had a vast experience in the field due to his
previous working experience of more than 7 years. On being asked to cast our votes for or
against the decision, I voted for his appointment. Furthermore, I also tried to help him learn the
cultural aspects of our background, to assist his effective interaction with all clients, due to the
fact that he belonged to diverse ethnic background.
Authentic leadership test
The second diagnostic tool is authentic leadership assessment that is based on a
questionnaire containing 16 questions (Peus et al., 2012). These questions were also scored from
1-5 based on disagreement, neutral or agreement. On adding them, a low score of 15 was
observed for self-awareness, which can hinder my leadership qualities and create problem in
development of a high-performing team. Lack of this competency is a major disadvantage and
can create barriers in interpersonal skill development. Scores of 16 and above in balanced

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processing, relational transparency and internalized moral perspective suggests that I have the
qualities of a good leader.
Leadership toolkit
The leadership toolkit was the third diagnostic tool that I had used to assess my skills and
behaviour. Scoring 46 questions honestly based on whether they get applied in my context
helped in assessing my level of commitment and competence towards specific tasks or goals and
also facilitated recognition of my leadership style. Lowest score in self-awareness (17) showed
consistency with the previous diagnostic tool and indicates the need to develop awareness skills
for having a sharp realization of my personality and effectively carrying out the role of a leader.
Self-reflection test
The fourth diagnostic tool was based on self-reflection that helped in determining the
skills and personal strengths that enhance professional development (Nesbit, 2012). Scoring the
questions from 0-4 based (never to always) added up to a total score of 48, which indicated that
there was a need for improvement and I was not ready to be mentored as a leader. This can be
attributed to the fact that most of the scores were in the range of 2 and 3. This was also
demonstrated by an incident that took place a year ago where I had to explain the slow progress
of my department to the higher authorities. Due to the fact that I was unable to influence my
team mates to work in collaboration, could not handle the enormous stress at workplace, and
failed to demonstrate an adequate understanding of all the team members, I could not provide a
valid justification of the poor performance. This indicated that there was a scope of growth to
become a good leader.

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DISC assessment
The final tool was the DISC behavioural style report that helped in gaining a better
understanding of predictable behaviour (Sintim, 2016). It identified my dominance, influence,
steadiness, and conscientiousness accordingly. On completing the report, I found my results to
correspond with the ‘I style’ for both internal and external features. The results suggested that I
possessed strong inspiring traits that can be attributed to my outgoing, friendly, and optimistic
nature. Thus, the report helped me identify that my interaction with co-workers and the urge to
experience fun and excitement at the workplace will help me in influencing the behaviour of
colleagues. Therefore, after using the five diagnostic tools and correlating them to my work
experience, I found the aspects that require further development. I selected self-confidence as my
principle leadership capabilities and will focus on the key competencies of self-awareness,
neuroticism, and extroversion, with the aim of strengthening my leadership capabilities.
Literature review
Self-confidence commonly refers to the use of self-assurance in judging personal ability,
judgment and power. Thus, self-confidence reinforces the positive belief that the intended goals
can be accomplished. Evidences suggest that there are stark differences between the concepts of
self-confidence and self-esteem (Mittal & Dhar, 2015). While the former refers to trust in self
ability to achieve specific objectives, the latter encompasses evaluation of worth of an individual.
A leader who is academically and technically qualified for a particular position, however
demonstrating a lack of confidence will face difficulty in influencing others to work towards the
directed goals of the team. While the foundation of leadership relies on effective communication,
passion and empowerment, self-confidence acts as the basic element without which a leader will
fail to perform the duties efficiently (Malkinson et al., 2013). Thus, it can be stated that the role

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of a leader expects presence of confidence to take risky and innovative decisions for the ultimate
benefit of the organization. Lack of courage to take such decisions will result in loss of
productivity. Thus, self-confidence acts as the driving force that helps a leader to make accurate
decisions.
Evidences suggest that self-confidence allows one to conduct meetings with sufficient
influence and power, to accept bluntness and commence communication, and the greater
employees identify the force of will, the more faith they will have in the company and its mission
(Rego et al., 2012). Self confidence therefore helps in building a positive self-image. Self-image
helps in creating a mental picture about oneself. Research evidences considered competency as
the primary criteria for an efficient leadership. Trustworthiness and presence of excellent
interpersonal communication skills are other important attributes that must be demonstrated by a
good leader. Self-confidence helps a leader to embody all the aforementioned attributes.
Lacking self-confidence makes the leaders mask their weakness with an expression of
bravado, thereby resulting in manifestation of certain characteristics that others perceive as
arrogance. This makes the leader micromanage the people and results in their failure to listen to
the needs and suggestions of co-workers. Absence of adequate self-confidence usually makes the
leaders unpopular with the staff and management team. According to several research studies,
dictatorial leaders lacking self-confidence create poor working environment and do not value the
co-workers. This results in lack of innovation and stifles creativity and productivity of the
organization.
Two different methods that are used to measure the amount of self-confidence, based on
meta-cognition are the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) and the Memory and

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Reasoning Competency Inventory (MARCI). Metacognition is considered imperative to
development of a successful and self-confident person owing to the fact that it enables and
empowers individuals to manage their cognitive skills in a better manner. It also facilitates
identification of strengths and weaknesses through construction of cognitive capabilities (Teo &
Lee, 2012). Recent researchers provide evidences that illustrate the role of metacognition in
creating more aware and strategic learners who are able to monitor and sequence self-behaviour
(Young & Fry, 2012). The MAI encompasses 52 questions that need to be given an appropriate
‘true’ or ‘false’ score, based on the thoughts of the learner. The questions are principally based
on self-awareness of metacognition (Tosun & Senocak, 2013). Thus, the questions help in
measuring individual perceptions on thinking, planning, understanding, and execution.
On the other hand, the MARCI instrument helps in capturing the declarative aspects
related to metacognition. It recognizes self-awareness as a learner and a cognizer. It focuses on
self-concept that refers to the subjective perceptions of the relative strength and weakness of an
individual, based on specific circumstances and activities. It encompasses a questionnaire that
collects information related to self-concept and memory (Jiang & Kleitman, 2015). Thus,
MARCI helps in predicting self-confidence traits.
Additionally, there are some popular theories that explain different aspects of self-
confidence. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs there are multiple needs that need to be
fulfilled by humans, after meeting the most basic and complex needs. The theory regards self-
esteem as the second most essential need, preceded by self-actualisation. Individuals are
expected to fulfil needs of love, safety, belonging and physiological stability, before developing
self-esteem and confidence (Anderson, 2014). On the other hand, the terror management theory
delved deeper into individual experiences to illustrate self-confidence. This theory focuses on the

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idea that all individuals hold potential for responding with fear to awareness of self-mortality.
Self-esteem is thought to buffer and provide protection against anxiety, thereby assisting people
to strive for their self-confidence (Du et al., 2013). In addition, the sociometer theory, proposed
by Mark Leary, emphasizes on the role of self-esteem as an internal gauge of the extent of
inclusion or exclusion of others (Reitz et al., 2016).
Furthermore, the Wheel of Wellness represents several components of wellness over the
lifespan of an individual and focuses on several components that get multiplied over time. It was
introduced with the aim of understanding psychology and quality of life of wealthy people. The
model focused on 12 subdivisions of self-direction that included sense of control, worth, self-
care, realistic beliefs, gender identity, stress management, problem solving and creativity,
nutrition, emotional awareness and coping, exercise and culture identity (Reese & Myers, 2012).
Thus, it considered self-direction as the spokes of a wheel that was related to self-management.
Figure 1- Wheel of Wellness
Source- (Reese & Myers, 2012)

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Spirituality forms the centre of the wheel and acts as the most crucial factor that
determines wellbeing. The wheel of wellness is considered ecological in the sense that is
facilitates dynamic interaction between the life tasks with several kinds of life forces. These
interactions are in turn affected by a plethora of natural (famine and flood) and man-made (wars)
global events (Cuddihy & Tomson, 2013). Thus, change in a single area of wellness will directly
affect others in positive as well as negative directions.
The tasks expressed in the wheel are connected to the way of life and assists people to
know their self-worth and wellness (Binkley, 2013). Thus, it helps to establish a good
relationship based on friendship and love, while working with other people. Thus, this aspect of
self-direction facilitates forming a connection with self-confidence of the concerned individuals.
Becoming more self-confident directly increases the capabilities of a leader (Rehman et al.,
2013). Thus, self-confidence is an essential trait for demonstration of successful and undisputed
leadership.
Action Plan
Upon use of the five diagnostic tools and correlating them to my personal experience,
followed by an exhaustive literature search, I am able to conclude that in order to improve my
leadership skills, there is a need to develop three key competencies of self-awareness,
extroversion and neuroticism. The action plan for 6 months that will help in enhancing these
competencies is given below:
Self-awareness Extroversion Neuroticism Duration
Reading business
articles, journals,
Participating in
brainstorming
Reading relevant
magazines,
2 months

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books, relevant
magazines and
watching
motivational
videos
and group-
discussion
sessions to
identify the
strengths and
weaknesses
books, articles
and watching
videos that can
provide
motivation and
encouragement
Undergoing a
training/workshop
and participating
in discussions
Attending
workshops and
certificate
courses that will
improve public
speaking skills
Enrolling at a
short term course
that will help in
reducing mood
swings
2 months
Writing down the
priorities and key
plans and taking
feedback from
friends and family
Enrol at an active
listening course
Engaging in
effective
conversation
with co-workers
and peers
2 months
First 2 months- I intend to focus on developing my self-confidence by reading relevant
books, journal articles, magazines, that will enhance my personal development and self-
awareness. These books will also facilitate elimination of social anxiety and will change my
thinking and perceptions. Furthermore, engaging in active discussions and participating in group
sessions will help me interact in a better way, thereby assisting me to identify the aspects that

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need further improvement. Thus, it will work towards eliminating unnecessary competition with
the team members. My self-confident abilities will also help in improving employee morale.
Second 2 months- Attending short-term workshops and training sessions will help me to
gain a deeper understanding of the behaviour and skills I need to display when crucial
circumstances arise. The workshops and courses will help me become self-aware and on
applying the knowledge gained during these trainings while working in a team, will help in
directing the team members to achieve the vision of the department or organization. It will help
me to manage my stress in a better way and will help me during intuitive decision making.
Furthermore, it will work towards avoiding conflicts at the workplace and will reduce frustration.
Last 2 months- Writing down my feedbacks and priorities in a personal journal will
benefit me to enhance self-reflection, express feelings and opinions, and will also facilitate
critical thoughts. Furthermore, it will also help in developing a good relationship with the co-
workers and will make them realize that their wants and demands are being understood.
Moreover, it will also help me to correct my mistakes, thereby preventing misunderstandings.
Engaging in effective conversation will help me in understanding the ideas and perspectives of
the team members, thereby facilitating proposal of innovations. It will also reduce linguistic and
cultural barriers and form highly efficient teams.
To conclude, it can be stated that self-confidence is an essential skills that needs to be
demonstrated in all kinds of leadership. An individual can master the skill of self-confidence by
learning from experiences related to particular circumstances. It creates the positive belief that
the intended goal can be easily accomplished. Upon undertaking the self-reflection activity, I
identified that I need to focus more on developing my capabilities related to neuroticism,

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extroversion and self-awareness. Thus, I intend to manifest my best capabilities at my workplace
with the aim of becoming a successful leader.

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References
Anderson, A. (2014). Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. The Prairie Light Review, 36(2), 7.
Binkley, E. (2013). Creative strategies for treating victims of domestic violence. Journal of
Creativity in Mental Health, 8(3), 305-313.
Cobb-Clark, D. A., & Schurer, S. (2012). The stability of big-five personality traits. Economics
Letters, 115(1), 11-15.
Credé, M., Harms, P., Niehorster, S., & Gaye-Valentine, A. (2012). An evaluation of the
consequences of using short measures of the Big Five personality traits. Journal of
personality and social psychology, 102(4), 874.
Cuddihy, T. F., & Tomson, L. M. (2013). Physical activity, sedentary behavior and total wellness
changes among sedentary adults: a 4-week randomized controlled trial. Health and
quality of life outcomes, 11, 183.
Du, H., Jonas, E., Klackl, J., Agroskin, D., Hui, E. K., & Ma, L. (2013). Cultural influences on
terror management: Independent and interdependent self-esteem as anxiety
buffers. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 49(6), 1002-1011.
Filippin, A., & Paccagnella, M. (2012). Family background, self-confidence and economic
outcomes. Economics of Education Review, 31(5), 824-834.
Jiang, Y., & Kleitman, S. (2015). Metacognition and motivation: Links between confidence, self-
protection and self-enhancement. Learning and Individual Differences, 37, 222-230.

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Malkinson, S., Waldrop, T. C., Gunsolley, J. C., Lanning, S. K., & Sabatini, R. (2013). The
Effect of Esthetic Crown Lengthening on Perceptions of a Patient's Attractiveness,
Friendliness, Trustworthiness, Intelligence, and Self‐Confidence. Journal of
periodontology, 84(8), 1126-1133.
Mittal, S., & Dhar, R. L. (2015). Transformational leadership and employee creativity: mediating
role of creative self-efficacy and moderating role of knowledge sharing. Management
Decision, 53(5), 894-910.
Nesbit, P. L. (2012). The role of self-reflection, emotional management of feedback, and self-
regulation processes in self-directed leadership development. Human Resource
Development Review, 11(2), 203-226.
Peus, C., Wesche, J. S., Streicher, B., Braun, S., & Frey, D. (2012). Authentic leadership: An
empirical test of its antecedents, consequences, and mediating mechanisms. Journal of
business ethics, 107(3), 331-348.
Reese, R. F., & Myers, J. E. (2012). EcoWellness: The missing factor in holistic wellness
models. Journal of Counseling & Development, 90(4), 400-406.
Rego, A., Sousa, F., Marques, C., & e Cunha, M. P. (2012). Authentic leadership promoting
employees' psychological capital and creativity. Journal of Business Research, 65(3),
429-437.
Rehman, R., Syed, S., Hussain, M., & Shaikh, S. (2013). Health and Spirituality" walk along" in
wellness journey of medical students. J Pak Med Assoc, 63(4), 495-500.

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Reitz, A. K., Motti-Stefanidi, F., & Asendorpf, J. B. (2016). Me, us, and them: Testing
sociometer theory in a socially diverse real-life context. Journal of personality and
social psychology, 110(6), 908.
Sintim, H. (2016). How the DiSC Assessment Can Help Build Better Relationships in Your
Career. Crops, Soils, Agronomy News, 61(6), 30-31.
Teo, T., & Lee, C. (2012). Assessing the factorial validity of the Metacognitive Awareness
Inventory (MAI) in an Asian Country: A confirmatory factor analysis. International
Journal of Educational and Psychological Assessment, 10(2), 92-103.
Tosun, C., & Senocak, E. (2013). The effects of problem-based learning on metacognitive
awareness and attitudes toward chemistry of prospective teachers with different
academic backgrounds. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 38(3), 4.
Young, A., & Fry, J. (2012). Metacognitive awareness and academic achievement in college
students. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 8(2), 1-10.

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Appendix

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