Episode 246: How to Build Leadership and Confidence Without Chasing Perfection with Crispin Thompson

Heading in any direction is better than heading in no direction.

Crispin Thompson~ Founder, The Leadership Studio, Author: The Human Advantage: Emotional Intelligence in the Age of AI

Confidence isn’t about always knowing what to do. According to Crispin Thompson, founder of The Leadership Studio, it begins with knowing yourself well enough to trust what you bring to the moment. Crispin believes strongly in introspection—understanding our strengths, weaknesses, experiences and values—and using that knowledge when circumstances become uncertain. Just as we teach at Brilliantly Resilient, our past challenges aren't merely things we've survived; they're evidence. They remind us of the skills, wisdom and Resilience we've already developed and can call upon again.

Crispin also takes direct aim at one of confidence's biggest enemies: perfectionism. Waiting until we're certain of the perfect decision can leave us stuck, while taking imperfect action gives us something to learn from. His philosophy of becoming “better tomorrow than we were today” dovetails beautifully with Brilliantly Resilient's belief in taking one imperfect step, evaluating what happens, and allowing ourselves to evolve. As Crispin says, we cannot remain static in a dynamic world. Resilience isn't about getting everything right; it's about learning, adjusting and continuing to move.

And perhaps most importantly, Crispin reminds us that strong leadership isn't about having all the answers or proving that we're the smartest person in the room. It's about empowering others and approaching leadership with humility, gratitude and service--and trusting our emotional intelligence. Crispin believes leaders should focus less on what they can get and more on what they can give—a philosophy that aligns directly with Lead with Heart, Serve with Passion. When we know ourselves, trust our experience, allow others to contribute and use our gifts in service, leadership becomes less about a title and more about how we show up in the world.

Learn more about Crispin's methods and wisdom and order your copy of The Human Advantage here. Be sure to listen to this week's episode of the Brilliantly Resilient Podcast for these additional bits of Brilliance:

“I believe very strongly in introspection. We should know ourselves. We should be willing to look inside ourselves.”

“We have had missteps or maybe even indeed failures in our past, and we’ve gotten through them.”

“I’m a big opponent to the term perfection. I think especially as leaders and communicators, perfection is unachievable. So we should strive for continuous improvement, be better tomorrow than we were today.”

“Inaction is so much worse than maybe taking a step forward that at some point in the future we might realize was maybe not the step that we should have taken in that moment.”

“We should be willing as leaders to make decisions, to own our decisions, to be accountable for our decisions, whether they are amazing or whether they are slightly less amazing than we would like them to be in hindsight.”

“If we cannot evolve in our thinking and our actions, then what are we doing? We cannot be static in a world that is dynamic.”

“Something you try today may fail. But it may not fail because it was a bad idea. Maybe the conditions were wrong. Maybe the timing was wrong.”

“Heading in any direction is better than heading in no direction.”

“We should let our own experience decide whether we need patience or urgency.”

“When as leaders, we start to think about serving others and what we can give versus what we can get, I think it becomes so much more internally energizing.”

Let's be Brilliantly Resilient together!

XO,

Mary Fran