Handling people well has always been at the heart of good business. Whether you are a Boss motivating your employees, a Sales Chief intent on keeping clients engaged and happy or a Department Manager maintaining a group of people on a steady track to success, your skill is to get the best out of those you command. From Worship to War, leaders need to demonstrate confidence if they are to achieve success in their jobs. Ask Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
What I have said so far is pretty obvious. So why is it always forgotten by those who are being interviewed for a job? If the interviewer wanted a robot they’d switch on Chat. The reason you are being interviewed is because you have the ability (a) to make judgments and (b) to sell. Whether you get the job or promotion depends on you proving that with modesty, skill and engagement. The Command you need to show applies however simple or advanced the work. Nobody wants a strong potential leader going to the opposition.
The normal rules of being interviewed apply as always but there is an additional need to demonstrate ‘The Confidence of Command’. Exactly how will vary from one situation to another. It was reported that 800 top military Generals, Admirals and Air Marshalls sat in stony silence as their political boss in Washington dished out threats about their competence, weight and loyalty. They were showing The Confidence of Command. He was showing the stupidity of a pompous amateur willing to risk putting all America’s thinking military assets in critical danger.
The best way to demonstrate your confidence is to ask questions about the business or the part of it you are aiming for. Not selfish questions about your rights and rewards but about the market and the future of the business. It doesn’t matter if the interviewers won’t tell you the answer, perhaps because they regard it as secret. If asked modestly your interest will impress them. You must read them all the time, of course. Your words and body language will reflect how you think they are feeling about you – and the interview – so far.
Look them in the eye. Not nonstop but much more than is your normal habit. SMILE, for goodness sake. You are at a potential celebration, not a dirge. Nod when they say something you agree with. An animated face is a welcome sign. Let them see it. Imagine you are going to ask them out for a coffee after the interview. You won’t do that, but behave as though you might do so one day. They are responsible for other jobs you might land.
Above all, keep your mind on your interviewers. They are the only people who matter in this discussion. Don’t forget that ‘all communication is an act of seduction’. Selling yourself, like any selling, means that you focus on the buyer, not on yourself. The most successful sales are made by those who remember there is a tomorrow if they don’t succeed today. So, in your effort to be enthusiastic and positive you must be careful not to appear desperate.
Because you aren’t desperate. You are a gifted and able human who can contribute to the success of any enterprise.
Besides, you have The Confidence of Command.
Nothing reassures an employer more than that.
Good morning
John Bittleston
If you have a story about command we’d love to hear it at [email protected].
14 December 2025
