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September 26, 2004

What is Confidence?

Rosebeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School Professor, tells us in her new cook, Confidence:

"Confidence isn't optimism or pessimism, and it's not a character attribute. It's the expectation of a positive outcome."

But, accordingly to Ms. Kanter in a September 19, 2004 New York Times article called, If at First You Don't Succeed, Believe Harder, the "most lasting form of confidence is often not self-generated, but nurtured by others. She posits that sports teams win because coaches instill a belief that they will, and that children succeed when parents and schools create an environment that encourages them to do their best."

Guess that's why we like those bosses who believe in us.

Posted by Nan Russell at September 26, 2004 06:09 PM