“I believe in you.”
Four words. Simple, ordinary even. But in the vocabulary of a leader, they may be the most powerful words you can speak.
When said with sincerity, those words are like Miracle-Gro for people and organizations. They don’t just affirm someone’s current abilities, they plant the seed of who that person can become. They give permission to step into new challenges, to take risks, to see potential in themselves that they may not yet see.
And here’s the thing: speaking belief costs us almost nothing. It requires no budget approval, no strategic plan, no outside consultant. But the impact? The impact is immeasurable.
Think of it like dominoes. It takes just .024 joules of energy to push over the first small domino. But by the time you reach the 13th in the sequence, the gravitational energy released is two billion times greater than what it took to start. One small act, a push, a word, a spark, unleashes a force of exponential impact.
“I believe in you” is that first domino.
I can trace my own journey back to leaders who spoke those words to me. A coach who told me I could lead when I only thought of myself as a player. A teacher who looked past my dyslexia and said, “You’re a reader, and you will go to college.” A mentor who handed me a leadership book and said, “This is for you.” Each moment was a small push. Each one set a chain reaction in motion.
Every leader has this same power. When you tell a team member, a colleague, or even your own child “I believe in you,” you’re not describing the present, you’re creating the future. You’re handing them courage, confidence, and capacity they didn’t know they had.
So here’s my challenge: this week, speak those four words to someone in your world. Say it to the rising star on your team, to the student who doubts themselves, to the entrepreneur with a fragile dream. Say it not casually, but intentionally and watch what happens.
Because leadership isn’t just about strategy, it’s about multiplication. And belief multiplies faster than anything I know.
“I believe in you.” Start there. Watch the dominoes fall.
Always Forward.
