Recently retired Kansas State football coach Bill Snyder famously crafted 16 Goals for Success which he used with his football teams over his decades of coaching. Goal #13 stated, “Expect to win… and truly believe we will.” According to Coach Snyder, one of the root causes of success was belief itself.

In my white paper Nine Ways to Be the Boss Everyone Wants to Work For, the very first best practice I share is “Belief in the cause.” As a leader, it’s not enough to simply perform the work itself. It’s also not enough to hold only private beliefs. Public beliefs allow leaders to give others around them something to aspire to.

What types of belief should a leader have? Here are a few for starters.

The Mission and Values of the Organization

It should go without saying that leaders ought to believe in the mission of the organization. After all, they represent the organization to those they lead. There is a huge difference between passive indifference to the mission and responsible ownership.

It’s true that not all missions (and mission statements) are created equal. Either way, effective leaders share their belief by vocalizing “what is it we stand for around here.”

The Product or Service

Some organizations serve people in the midst of their most vulnerable moments. Others create commodities. Some products and services are more exciting then others. But all leaders have the opportunity to rally their teams around the outcome of their work.

A simple way is to ask teams to consider the outcome of a flawed product – or a poor quality or service experience.

One company I worked for installed insulation. The product wasn’t exciting, but it provided leaders with the opportunity to insist that, “a house with poorly installed insulation can’t possibly be a home – it can only just be a house. We help build homes, not just houses.”

The Right Way to Do the Job

Each of us possess a certain amount of expertise, including leadership expertise – as my book Ignite Your Leadership Expertise explained. Even though we may be in charge, we’re all on a growth journey.

Regardless of their own levels of expertise, effective leaders possess a POV for how their field ought to operate and the right way to perform essential tasks. For the sous chef, this means insisting on the exact time and temperature for the signature dish. For the auto mechanic, it means having a precise method to perform a safety check. The focus isn’t micromanagement, but effectiveness.

People Matter

An unfortunate trap execution-focused leaders can fall into is believing (either consciously or unconsciously) that people are a means to an end. People aren’t the means to an end. People are the end.

Retired General Electric CEO Jack Welch observed that, “If you don’t like people, leadership stinks!” He estimated that 70% of his job was developing people.

How would you like to be the employee of a leader who believed people don’t matter? How would you like to be the customer?

If it’s been a while since you shared (and showed) how important your team members and customers are in your work, it’s probably time.

“People aren’t a means to an end. People are the end.”

We Can Overcome… Together

If you’ve watched any of Coach Bill Snyder’s teams play – or any sports teams for that matters – it probably didn’t take long before you saw an incredible game-winning comeback. Against all odds, one team overcame an enormous deficit to win the game.

Obstacles, challenges and resistance aren’t unique to athletics. They exist in every area of work and life. It’s the nature of the response that determines the outcome. As Henry Ford famously stated, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.”

The highest performing, most resilient teams embody the belief that they can overcome any challenge… together.

The value that stood out the most was “believing the best” about other people. Think about that one for a minute. What does believing the best actually mean? How often when we talk or relate with someone do we believe or assume the absolute best about the other person? What could happen if we did? What would it take to get there?  I believe there are three areas we can all improve that will make the difference.

How We View Ourselves

It’s impossible to believe the best about anyone else if we are unable to believe the best about ourselves. Think about it – it’s on the inside that our beliefs are formed and held. Our standard usually starts with us. Zig Ziglar says, “It’s impossible to consistently behave in a manner inconsistent with how we see ourselves. We can do very few things in a positive way if we feel negative about ourselves.” If we’re going to believe the best about anyone, we need to start with the way we think about, talk about, and believe about the person we see in the mirror everyday.

How We View Others

Joyce Landorf Heatherley gives a simple illustration in her small book Balcony People that spoke volumes to me. She differentiates between two types of people: people who evaluate and people who affirm. We’ve all been around people who tend to critique our words, actions, and even our existence as a person. It’s like we are being compared to some unspoken ideal or standard. Nobody appreciates this. It’s near impossible to stay authentic and positive around people who always meet us with scrutiny. Take affirmers on the other hand. These are people convinced that we are up to something good and would love to hear about it. They are incredibly interested in our lives and often take the opportunity to suggest that we are capable of much more than we think. In short, they always believe the best.

Here’s the word picture that Heatherley uses. She calls the affirmers “balcony people” and the evaluators “basement people.” Basement people (whether they realize it or not) are always pulling us down to their level. Ultimately, they fear the worst about themselves. On the other hand, balcony people stand tall and lift you up (where they are). They are smiling down on us encouraging us to press on. Sometimes they are even hollering and cheering!

How We Relate and Communicate With Others

So how can we become balcony people and show that we believe the best about others? Samuel Johnson once commented that, “the applause of a single human being is of great significance.” Wouldn’t it be unfortunate to never take the opportunity to significantly influence the lives of others? Here are some approaches we can use:

Be proactive. Speak up. Any word of encouragement is better than no word at all. Your first attempts may be awkward, but each new time you will become more articulate in communicating that you believe the best.

Be specific. This goes beyond merely catching someone else doing something right. When you notice someone doing something especially well, instead of just stating the obvious, point out what about the particular action you noticed and the benefit it brought to you or someone else.

Assume and affirm noble motives. When you encourage someone, make sure to place the most emphasis on how it reflects a part of their character, not just their actions. Don’t just appeal to the noble motives, like Dale Carnegie said. Call them out when you see them.

Embracing the value of believing the best can potentially accomplish a number of things. It develops discipline to see the positive instead of the negative. It increases our capacity to genuinely care about others. And in many circumstances, when we are “hearty in our approbation,” others are inspired to reach for greater heights than they previously thought possible.

Whose balcony can you step into today? How can you take time to creatively communicate it?

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website or   follow him on Twitter.