If you need a lesson in workplace confidence, look no further than our Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
Yesterday she delivered another scathing attack on Opposition leader Tony Abbott during Question Time, one that showed she’s not giving in just yet – despite her government facing political annihilation come September and her leadership capabilities being under constant and relentless scrutiny.
“The election will be on the 14th of September,” she said when asked by Abbott if she’ll regard failure to pass media reforms this week as a “question of lack of confidence in her Government”.
Gillard continued: ”And let me say very clearly to the Leader of the Opposition, it will be a contest counter intuitive to those believing in gender stereotypes but a contest between a strong feisty woman and a policy weak man and I’ll win it.”
As we’re constantly being reminded, to believe she’ll “win it” is a big call. But declaring such expected success shows she knows the value of demonstrating confidence in her capabilities – to the Opposition and to her own party — and that she’s particularly good at doing so. Fake it till you make it, they say, and Gillard’s sending the message that no matter what practically every political commentator, the members of her party (and most Australians) now think, she’s still got a chance.
You don’t have to be “feisty” to be confident, and we know on Women’s Agenda plenty of readers hate the word (given it rarely applies to men). But there’s value in perceived confidence, however you choose to display it, and the women who best exert it are often the ones who can quietly hide inner insecurities or deep-seated feelings of the “imposter syndrome”. They’re women who may, consequently, achieve the highest levels of career success.
Indeed, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg writes in Lean In that a lack of confidence amongst women is at the core of what holds women back in the workplace. “All through my life, culturally reinforced signals cautioned me against being branded as too smart or too successful,” she writes, saying it starts young when being the “smartest girl in the class” is hardly conducive to being popular. She believes we stay silent on our achievements and abilities as a means of self-defense. By doubting ourselves, we protect ourselves from being disliked.
Sandberg uses generalisations and carefully selected (and often outdated) studies to prove her point (as well as most of the points through her book), but what she writes on confidence resonated with me. I’ve heard from plenty of women who’ve shared their own ideas on feeling like a fraud, not taking the risk of speaking up due to the fear of being shot down, and failing to request from their employers what they deserve – including resources, the correct title and remuneration.
It wasn’t Gillard calling herself a “feisty woman” or labeling Abbott “a policy weak man” that got me during Question Time yesterday. It was her final three words: “I’ll win it.” She didn’t make any excuse for her expected success other than the personal belief that her abilities are more superior to those of her opposition.
Whether or not anyone else believes it is another matter.