The Leadership Anchor: Believing in Yourself When It Matters Most
Feb 04, 2026
If there is one principle that determines whether a leader survives difficult seasons or is crushed by them, it is this: belief in yourself. Every leader will face moments of doubt. You will be questioned. Your decisions will be second-guessed. Some days it will feel like no matter what you do, you can’t please anyone. There will be chaos. There may be loss. There will certainly be pressure. Leadership is not lived on easy days — it should come to light on the difficult ones, and in those moments, the most destructive thing you can do is stop believing in yourself.
The Reality of Leadership Pressure
Leadership invites scrutiny. The higher the responsibility, the louder the noise around you. People will question your judgment, your direction, and sometimes even your motives. That is part of the territory. But here’s what many leaders fail to recognize: Doubt from others is manageable. Doubt in yourself is dangerous.
When you begin to question your own judgment at a deep level, you lose confidence. When you lose confidence, you hesitate. And hesitation under pressure can compound problems instead of solving them. I have had many situations where the right answer was not obvious, but having an answer was necessary. The one thing that always helped me find the right answer was believing in myself.
How Leaders Lose Belief in Themselves
There are two primary ways belief in yourself disappears:
1. You give it away.
You allow someone else’s opinion to outweigh your own internal compass. You let criticism define your confidence. Over time, you start trusting outside voices more than your own experience and values. You second guess yourself. As a leader you are not going to have the perfect answer or make the perfect decision. You must accept this. But don’t fail to trust that inner voice inside of you.
2. You let it erode.
Repeated stress, mistakes, or emotional fatigue can slowly chip away at self-belief. If not guarded, even strong leaders can start questioning their path. Day to day problems and situation create frustration and chaos seems to be constant. Everything around is seems out of our control. This can quickly erode belief in yourself
Both are devastating. Both are avoidable.
The Anchor in Difficult Times
One truth stands out from seasoned leadership experience: the leaders who endure are not the ones who avoid hardship — they are the ones who refuse to abandon belief in themselves during hardship.
Difficult seasons will come. That is guaranteed. The deciding factor is whether your internal belief remains steady when external circumstances are unstable.
Believing in yourself does not mean thinking you’re always right. It means trusting your preparation, your values, your intent, and your willingness to learn. It means knowing that even when you adjust course, you are still the one holding the wheel. It means letting yourself believe in you.
A Personal Leadership Truth
Anyone who has led for years — especially in high-stakes environments like law enforcement — knows there are moments that test you deeply. Moments where the weight of responsibility is heavy and the consequences are real. Those who make it through those seasons share a common thread: they never completely lose belief in themselves. I have had plenty moments of self-doubt and second guessing my decisions, but one thing I can honestly say is I never lost belief in myself.
You must reflect, learn and adjust. But do not surrender your confidence in yourself. At the end of the day this is may be all you will have.
- Dean Crisp
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