The power of belief, confidence and focussed thinking was clearly demonstrated in last night’s The Apprentice, because despite five of the eight women not agreeing with the App that was chosen to sell, the focus was on winning.

Interestingly, none of the five said anything at the time, and most of them said when interviewed that they would choose to believe in the product and be 100% behind it when selling it. They wanted to win and this was their focus.

As leaders we would be foolish to underestimate the power of belief – whether in oneself, the product we sell, or the business altogether. If we believe in what we’re doing, selling, wanting to achieve overall, if we believe we can be successful, in spite of the odds, we will probably go a long way to achieving that success. 

What is more, we are more likely to look and sound confident, and our staff are more likely to follow and engage with the vision of a confident person – if you don’t believe, why should others? 

Sometimes, we are asked to carry out certain tasks, or do things we don’t always agree with to achieve the bigger success for the company, and quite often we complain about this. There was lots going on in tonight’s episode, and lots at play. If I were a betting person I would have certainly backed the men’s team, but in spite of all this, the women won. Sometimes it’s better to focus on winning, not whinging!

Karen Murphy

Muika Leadership

Our next Developing Leadership training programme is Focussed Thinking