Here's how you can embody the key attributes of a confident and assertive leader.

Building trust is the cornerstone for a confident leader, as it fosters a supportive and loyal environment. A leader's consistent, honest, and empathetic behavior strengthens this trust, reinforcing their confidence.

Effective communication and leadership require assertiveness during stressful conversations. Manage your fight or flight response, maintain calmness, and use assertive techniques like "I" statements, eye contact, and tone. Acknowledge the other person's perspective, express thoughts clearly, and set boundaries if needed.

Demonstrating the key attributes of a confident and assertive leader involves a combination of actions empathy, behavior, delegation, resilience and communication

Trust begins with oneself. It is tested especially when no one is watching you. It manifests in the smallest details of what you do and say as a leader, as a person. The consistency of your actions to your values results in earned trust among those around you.

I’ve always said that if people know you, like you, and trust you, they will do business with you and/or follow you. Building trust as a confident and assertive leader has more to do with than just reaching the end goal but also about how you got there (the journey) and being the type of leader that is protective of the culture of that organization he or she is leading. I read once before that “culture is defined by the worst behavior the leader is willing to tolerate”. If you can ensure that each of your team members feel protected by way of your consistency, integrity, and character, then trust is almost always a given.

For most people, communication starts and stops at simply saying what you believe, think or feel so that you can check the box that you have “communicated”. The challenge with forming your thoughts into words without care as to the tone in which it was delivered is where communication breakdown happens most. Clear communication includes not only the verbal but also the NONVERBAL. If there’s a challenging conversation to be had, leaders must first slow down to collect their thoughts, separate their feelings, stick to the facts and express a well-thought out message that is not aggressive nor domineering. The goal is to find common ground to resolve an issue, set proper goals and establish a mutually-beneficial relationship with your team.

In a world of information overload and clutter, a clear, concise and decisive message is a breath of fresh air that steers its audience to the right direction.

Apart from clarity in direction, accountability measure should be mutually agreed and clear expectation setting of output should be established.

Action speaks louder than words Be a role model Leader is a human who makes mistakes, yet, the way he/she handles the mistakes in constructive ways makes the team members respect. Leaders are also experiencing unpleasant moments, exhaustion, anxiety, stress etc, yet they are able to undisclosed their bad moments to their team members as those moments are contagious. Instead of doing so, they keep inspiring by sharing positive attitudes and behaviors

Well said. You can’t give what you don’t have. As a leader, with that title itself, you set the standard. And naturally your team will replicate this.

One thing I’ve found helpful is understanding as leaders our actions, our attitude, our behavior, our drive towards change management, how we empathize with situational leadership and servant leadership, the daily example of how we conduct business aligned with our values and I consider the most important, our integrity as professionals and humans.