Before anything succeeds, someone must believe.

A successful person, leader, product, cause or any entity is created and born through belief.

And this is especially relevant to an individual’s career. No significant leader ultimately lacks belief in their self. It might appear that anyone can possess such self-assurance. Yet, this is not what we see.

Enter any room or gathering of business professionals and you will typically find very few individuals that truly stand-out and impress. This is often even after an exchange of many perfunctory words and discussions over an extended period of time.

In industry, leaders tend to coalesce around tangible products, business models and ideas. Focus your discussions in this same room (as above) on one such topic and a real leader will often quickly emerge. They will offer passion, insight and vision surrounding the subject. So now you’ve found a potential leader; someone who is thoughtful, forceful and articulate on this particular subject.

The outward expression of such confidence is fueled by self-belief; belief in one’s own knowledge and thinking. In some senses confidence and belief offer a chicken-and-egg scenario. Which precedes?

In my mind what should come first is self-belief. This can be achieved through hard work, study, natural demeanor, experience, or pure intellect. But this belief will ideally take precedence in helping a leader step forward.

Confidence should not be overbearing, nor built on weak foundations. Nevertheless it should slightly lead true understanding and spur on the individual, not lag and hold them back. This might cause some overreach, but rather this and occasional careful repair, than otherwise diminished progress.

It is hard to believe in yourself and step forward unless you have passion for what you undertake. This passion fuels your energy and interest as a basis for growth and understanding.

Circumstance and opportunity bring forth leaders. If there’s no visible victory to be had, cause to be championed, nor crisis to be addressed, how can great leadership skills even be that noticeable?

There are many opportunities for leadership in life. They exist in business, industry, service, politics, the military and religion. Great world leaders emerge from the nexus of major prominence, opportunity, events or importance.

Business is much the same. If you’re involved with an area in which you are passionate and it offers real growth potential, the sky can be your limit. But you still must lead with confidence, passion, vision while clearly and simply articulating your cause and ideas.And, all this should ultimately be built on solid foundations that include the ability to make your cause relevant.

Here’s to you finding and establishing your own, personal leadership niche!

Ian R. Mackintosh is the author of Empower Your Inner Manager Twitter @ianrmackintosh