And the Oscar for best leading performance goes to . . .🎥
I love the Oscars. I don’t care that they are long, overly politicized, and representative of a glam life that I don’t really care anything about. I love them. I look forward to cozying up on the couch, watching the red carpet, seeing the outfits, rooting for my favorites, and of course, hearing the speeches. (Who doesn't love the speeches?!?!) And while the achievement itself is meaningful for sure, it’s the stick-to-itiveness and belief in oneself that really get me.
After all, when you get down to it, each of the super-talented performers in attendance started out their careers as a kind of one-person small business, with only talent, persistence, and faith to fuel them. And now, here they are on that Oscar stage, in front of millions. But perhaps even more catapulting than believing in yourself, is knowing you’re not flying solo on the journey. That you aren’t forced to drum up faith completely on your own, because someone else, behind the scenes, has a steadfast belief in you too.
This year’s nominated film King Richard is a perfect example. Will Smith starred as Richard Williams, father to tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams. The movie told their origin story by focusing on Richard’s iron-clad faith in his two girls when they were barely teenagers. He had a vision. He pictured so clearly what they were capable of, and believed in them unequivocally when no one else would. Nothing stood in his way; neither setbacks nor nay-sayers shook his belief. You will succeed. Whether you put Richard Williams on the side of crazy or dedicated (or maybe crazy-dedicated), there is no debating his transformative belief in Venus and Serena’s ability to be, quite literally, the greatest.
And as King Richard depicted, truly believing in someone doesn’t always look like rah-rah cheerleading. It can feel harsh and unrelenting. Take actress Amanda Peet: before running her own successful show on Netflix (The Chair), she tentatively showed a draft of her nascent script to her husband, David Benioff himself an acclaimed writer and producer (to the tune of Game of Thrones). His response? “Fairly harsh,” Peet said, but she took his criticism “as a huge compliment. It felt like he thought I had potential. If he didn’t, then he would’ve just sweet-talked me.” He believed in her enough to offer the feedback she really needed to succeed.
We’ve seen some recent corollaries of the power of belief in the sports arena too. In an interview after leading his team through an exceptional OT comeback over the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes offered with a shrug, “I mean, when your coach believes in you that much …” As if the lesson was obvious. And then of course today’s NCAA game with super underdog Saint Peter’s is turning everyone into a believer.
At the core, don't we really want both? To have someone believe in us, and to have something else to believe in for ourselves.
It doesn’t take the glitz of Hollywood or the glory of the sports arena for belief to be powerful. One of Steve Jobs’s former execs, Naz Beheshti, talked up the power of high expectations to “unlock hidden potential.” Beheshti herself had experienced it working under Jobs, and now she uses that kind of focused belief to empower and motivate her own teams. Business managers often mistake what motivates people in favor of material baubles. Branded sweatshirts, no matter how soft, can't compete with the deep, personal rewards of knowing your boss believes in you.
Long after Oscars night parties and March Madness have come to a close, the evergreen effects of believing in someone abound. So maybe take a moment to consider who around you could most benefit from your belief?
