The Confidence Myth by Helene Lerner

Jackie Hernández felt strongly about how Telemundo should be rebranded, and she was able to get the market research to support her choice. She moved straight ahead without hesitation.
    â€œWe decided to relaunch the brand, and for two years we did a tremendous amount of research. We used to have a beautiful blue
T
—the logo was very traditional. My gut told me to go with red because it’s a vibrant color, and we deal with Hispanic culture. We also wanted something that was contemporary and modern. We asked consumers what they thought. I got enough information to back up my gut reaction and went with it. The relaunch was a huge success.”
Proceed with caution
    Some opportunities create doubt, but not enough to stop you from moving forward. Although Jill Campbell of Cox Communications considers herself a high risk taker, she proceeds with caution when necessary. She looks both ways and then takes a leap in the direction of her inner compass. Below is the story of when she took a lower-titled position in order to move ahead. “I actually went backwards for one of my jobs. I was managing a cable system and they asked me to fill the number two spot in a larger one, so I lost the status of being a general manager. But it was the best move I could have made because I was able to learn how to run a big system. That set me up to be the general manager of other big systems. It was a gut feel on that one.”
Wait, then decide
    Sometimes sitting on a decision for a while to gather all the information—including what is
not
being said—and connecting with what your intuition is telling you is important. Such was the case with Susan.
    Susan had been with her company for two years as a senior director, and she was one of two people being considered for a promotion to vice president when her boss retired. In conversations with him, the implication was that she was next in line. Around the same time the decision was being made, a recruiter called about an amazing opportunity as president of a pharmaceutical division. Her skills were in demand!
    Susan wasn’t sure about the new opportunity for a number of reasons. First, she had a good chance of being made vice president at her current company. Second, this new job would be a big jump in levels. She waited an entire week before she accepted the interview for the president position. In the end, she trusted her instincts about who was shooting straight and who had other agendas: “I thought about it a lot. I kept coming back to the fact that I didn’t trust my boss—I knew he didn’t want to lose me (he did not want to have to train someone else), but I don’t think he wanted to promote me either. That’s what my gut told me. After several rounds of interviews, I was offered the job, which I accepted—best move I ever made.”
    Confidence spark
    Think of the person who is your strongest supporter—did you sense at the beginning that you could trust him? Now think of someone you know professionally, a person you keep your distance from. Did you know not to trust him initially? Don’t discount your first reaction to people; it is usually right.
Decide it’s not right
    If your inner voice is advising no, then it’s an indication that an opportunity is not right for you. Even if the opportunity is presented as being in your best interest, have the courage to turn it down if that is what needs to happen. For Kathy Murphy of Fidelity Personal Investing, saying no is a matter of being able to sleep at night because she made the right decision. In the world of financial products, competition is intense, but she has learned to follow her inner compass and only offer products that have a positive value proposition for the consumer.
    â€œMy rule is that if we are not comfortable selling it to our own parents, then we shouldn’t sell it to anyone. I would take the hit with our sales figures because I didn’t want