Confidence

Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End

By Rosabeth Moss Kanter

About the Author

Rosabeth Moss Kanter is a renowned professor at Harvard Business School and the former editor of the Harvard Business Review. She has been a guiding force for numerous corporations, governments, school systems, and community organizations, from IBM to the Girl Scouts. Her groundbreaking books include "The Change Masters" and "Evolve!" Kanter's extensive research and advisory roles have made her a pivotal figure in understanding organizational dynamics and leadership. Her work consistently emphasizes the power of confidence and its profound impact on success and failure.

Main Idea

The central premise of "Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End" is that confidence acts as the linchpin between success and failure. Confidence is not merely a fleeting emotion but a self-perpetuating trajectory that can influence outcomes significantly. Kanter delves into the psychological, organizational, and cultural factors that foster winning streaks or perpetuate losing streaks. Through a comprehensive study of various teams, companies, and organizations, she elucidates how confidence is built, maintained, and sometimes lost. Her insights provide a robust framework for leaders to cultivate a culture of confidence that can turn the tide of fortune in their favor.

Table of Contents

1. Winners and Losers
2. Winning Streaks
3. Losing Streaks
4. Turnarounds: The Art of Building Confidence
5. A Culture of Confidence
6. Delivering Confidence: The Work of Leaders
7. Winning Streaks, Losing Streaks, and the Game of Life

Winners and Losers

Rosabeth Moss Kanter begins her exploration with the dynamic interplay between winners and losers. She narrates the story of Gillette, a company that experienced a significant downfall after a decade of high performance. Missteps in business practices and overpromising to Wall Street led to 15 quarters of missed earnings before a new leader turned things around. This example underscores Kanter's assertion that "confidence is the bridge between expectations and performance; between investments and results."

Winners and losers, according to Kanter, are not merely defined by outcomes but by their trajectory. Winning streaks generate positive momentum, attracting talent and investment, while losing streaks erode confidence, repel talent, and perpetuate failure. Confidence balances between arrogance—ignoring flaws—and despair, recognizing that success and failure are self-fulfilling prophecies. Leaders play a crucial role in restoring confidence and redirecting trajectories from decline to success.

• Confidence creates a positive cycle where belief in success encourages effort, leading to victory.
• Losing streaks, conversely, destroy confidence and create a negative cycle of failure.
• Leaders must balance arrogance and despair to maintain a healthy level of confidence within their teams.

Winning Streaks

Kanter explains that winning streaks are built on a foundation of confidence at multiple levels: self-confidence, confidence in others, confidence in the system, and external confidence. These layers interact to create a virtuous cycle of success. Kanter uses the example of the University of Connecticut's Huskies women's basketball team to illustrate how winning begets winning. The team's journey from having only one set of bleachers and 50 attendees per game to becoming a powerhouse with sold-out games and substantial profits exemplifies this principle.

"Winning is hard work. Losing is much easier," Kanter states, highlighting that maintaining a winning streak requires continuous effort and discipline. However, winning also brings rewards that perpetuate more winning, creating an environment enriched with resources, talent, and opportunities.

• Winning streaks generate self-confidence and external support, creating a reinforcing loop of success.
• Leadership continuity is crucial; frequent changes in leadership disrupt the momentum and relationships necessary for sustained success.
• Winners must remain vigilant and disciplined to avoid complacency and overconfidence.

Losing Streaks

Losing streaks, according to Kanter, are destructive cycles that erode confidence and lead to further failure. She narrates the plight of Prairie View A&M University's football team, which suffered an 80-game losing streak, the longest in NCAA history. This example underscores how losing can become a self-fulfilling prophecy, with systemic issues and lack of investment perpetuating the cycle of defeat.

Kanter explains that losing streaks create a sense of learned helplessness, where individuals believe their efforts are futile. This mindset leads to short-term solutions, reduced goals, and a culture of mediocrity. The lack of communication, increased blame, and internal focus further exacerbate the problem, creating what Kanter terms "doom loops."

• Losing streaks create a cycle of decline that is hard to break due to eroded confidence and systemic issues.
• Leaders must address the root causes of failure and restore accountability, collaboration, and initiative to reverse losing streaks.
• Breaking a losing streak requires substantial investment in resources, talent, and a shift in mindset.

Turnarounds: The Art of Building Confidence

Kanter emphasizes that turnarounds require strong leadership to rebuild confidence at all levels. She describes the turnaround of Gillette under the leadership of James M. Kilts, who restored accountability and transparency within the company. Kilts' approach involved setting realistic targets, admitting past mistakes, and fostering a culture of responsibility.

Turnarounds are challenging and require bold decisions, consistent effort, and patience. Leaders must balance immediate actions with long-term goals, ensuring that early successes do not lead to complacency. Kilts' leadership at Gillette is a testament to the importance of clear communication, setting expectations, and fostering collaboration to rebuild confidence and achieve sustained success.