Self-Assurance & Shaq

My last blog entry was about Kobe Bryant and Achiever. So it’s only natural that today I talk about Shaquille O’Neal and Self-Assurance

(If you need to get up to speed on the infamous partnership and feud between these two legends, click here).

Self-Assurance is an influencing theme. I like to think about it as a form of self-confidence in both your ability and your decision making. Kids today might call it “swag”. Or maybe kids from 10 years ago. Whatever, I’m out of the lingo loop. Either way, Self-Assurance might describe someone who is comfortable with their choices when taking a risk and a strong belief that they know which move is the right one to make.

Distilling the difference between Kobe’s Achiever and Shaq’s Self-Assurance to its simplest form looks like this to me:

• Kobe’s had an intense work ethic and meticulous attention to detail. His notorious inner drive helped him leverage his natural talent to become a champion.
• Shaq had incredible size and power, and separated himself as a winner due to an unshakable belief in his dominance and charisma.

How do we know that Shaq believed in his dominance without knowing his actual CliftonStrengths assessment taking status or results? Well, it’s a slam dunk because Shaq has never been shy about simply telling everyone about his high level of confidence.

I mean. Even the Merriam-Webster Dictionary used Shaq to define the word dominant.

Shaq has called himself MDE (Most Dominant Ever), The Diesel, The Big Aristotle, and Superman. People who lack confidence certainly don’t give themselves multiple nicknames. These monikers were not just playful labels. It was Shaq’s pronouncement that he was unparalleled in ability and just could not be stopped.

One of the most famous examples of Shaq’s self-assurance came in response to criticism about his free-throw shooting. Despite his struggles from the line, Shaq confidently stated, “I make them when they count.” It’s actually not even true that he shot free throws better in the clutch, but this quote highlights his belief in his ability to perform under pressure, a hallmark of true self-assurance. In critical moments, Shaq’s confidence never wavered, and at times he did deliver when it mattered most.

The Self-Assurance Takeaway

The lesson when it comes to someone with unshakeable confidence on a team is that they often need to be right. Perhaps that’s why Shaq and Kobe ultimately had to part ways, as they could not figure out a way to share the spotlight and work together even though they were incredibly successful.

Self-Assurance is one of the most rare talent themes across all recorded Gallup results. It’s great to have you on the team! I often hear about Self-Assurance with respect to having a “strong inner compass”, which is a perfectly fine description. It’s also 2024 and when was the last time you used a compass? Let’s instead say that Self-Assurance means you have a high-powered inner-GPS.

Getting from Point A to Point B

That inner GPS means you don’t have to rely on directions. You likely have a strong sense of where to go and how to stay on track as a natural trait so it’s important to keep improving the GPS technology inside your head. You’ll arrive at your destination faster each time, especially after you update the GPS app. These updates will help you influence others as a rare set of skills that most teams could use.

Barriers to Avoid

What do we need to look out for? Over-confidence. Being stubborn. Losing sight of our need for humility when the moment calls for it. Sometimes you have a sense of the right choice but you have a hard time explaining to others why you’re so confident. Letting others on your team know that this is your strength can go a long way towards building trust so that even when your way doesn’t quite work, others understand why you made the choices that you did.

Hopefully then, when you’ve turned this talent into a dominant strength — you too can give yourself a cool nickname like Shaq.