Do you ever wonder how to boost self-confidence at work? For example, do you ever refrain from speaking in a meeting as you do not think you will be able to say anything useful? Or maybe you are sometimes not happy about how you look?
If so, you are not alone. According to research, about 85% of people worldwide have low self-esteem. Yet, according to a survey run by Indeed, self-confidence is extremely important in the workplace as 98% of their respondents said that they perform better when they feel confident.
The question this might perhaps plant in your mind is “How do I improve my self-confidence at work?”
In this article, I will try to help you by giving some ideas to help you identify why you might lack confidence and 14 effective tips and strategies that can help you build confidence at work.
What Is Self-Confidence and What Are Its Benefits at Work?
Self-confidence in the workplace is a feeling that you have the right skills and expertise to perform at work to the best of your abilities, to make the right decisions, and to contribute effectively to your workplace.
Self-confidence in the workplace is important because it can improve your performance, how you communicate with others, your ability to make decisions, and it can ultimately help your career prospects and your overall job satisfaction.
What Are the Signs That You Need to Boost Your Confidence at Work?
If you are wondering if you need to boost your self-confidence at work, here are some signs you may want to pay attention to:
- You are hesitant when trying to make decisions
- You try to avoid challenges
- You find it difficult to speak up or to contribute in meetings
- You often apologize for something
- You often feel that you need other people’s approval
- You try to avoid leadership roles
If you experience some of these issues on a regular basis, you may need to work on building your self confidence at work.
Reasons Why You May Lack Confidence at Work
Sometimes, you might ask yourself, “Why do I lack confidence at work?”.
There are various factors that may affect your ability to build your confidence in business and I have listed some of the most common below, which might apply to you.
- Imposter Syndrome: This is the feeling that you achieved your position at work just by chance and not because you are the right person for the job. This feeling is what is called “imposter syndrome” and it is a common phenomenon, which can deeply affect your self confidence at work.
- Personal Factors: These factors relate to your personal history, your previous experiences, if and why you failed at something, and how this affected you, etc.
- Skills Gaps: If you lack some of the skills and knowledge for the job, you will naturally feel less confident.
- Culture and Society: Cultural and social factors can affect your ability to feel confident, based on the expectations placed on you.
- Work environment: This is the general organizational culture. For example, is there a toxic environment at work? Do you feel safe to speak up? Do you receive enough support?
- Being a First-Time Manager: If you have just been promoted and have become a manager for the first time, you may feel insecure about your managerial skills and need some help on how to build confidence as a new manager.
Your strategy for how to boost self-confidence at work might depend on the causes of your low self-confidence and how you decide to address them.
You can address most of these causes with training, practice, and with the right strategies.
So, now let’s discuss how to boost self-confidence at work with some actionable tips.
14 Ways to Increase Your Self-Confidence at Work
1. Accept and Trust Yourself
This is about being kind to yourself, knowing your limits but also your strengths, and developing self-compassion.
So, if you make a mistake, do not be too critical of yourself. Instead, recognize that we can all make mistakes and that these are opportunities to learn and do things better the next time.
So, if you are thinking about how to boost self-confidence at work, accepting and trusting yourself is the first step.
2. Have a Sense of Control in Your Career
This means reminding yourself that you are in control.
Quite often, you have a choice when it comes to how to react. If you lack confidence in your job, you can do something about it.
You can seek new opportunities, attend training to develop skills, network, seek a mentor, organize your own self-development plan, and take action to change the things that make you feel insecure.
3. Know Your Strengths and Weaknesses
This point is key. We all have our strengths and weaknesses and, in your quest to boost self-confidence at work, it is vital that you know what yours are.
Your strengths are the things you need to leverage to enhance your performance and get recognition. You need to make the most of your strengths and build on them.
Your weaknesses are the things you will want to work to improve. When you identify your weaknesses, do not feel discouraged by them. Instead, take on the challenge of overcoming them through training, work, and using the right strategies and actions.
So, you need to:
- Identify areas of weakness so you can address them
- Focus on your strengths to build on them and use them as positive reinforcement (i.e., a reminder that you can do things well and succeed)
For this, a tool called SWOT analysis can help you.
4. Have a Positive View of Yourself
This means changing your perspective on how you view yourself.
Instead of focusing on your faults, mistakes, and failures, remind yourself of what you do well.
Focus on your successes and achievements, while seeing any mistakes or faults as opportunities for growth and development.
This includes using positive self-talk. So, for example, instead of saying to yourself “I will never be able to make it”, say something like “If I try hard enough, I will succeed”. This is part of what is called a “growth mindset” (i.e., seeing everything, including setbacks, as learning and development opportunities).
5. Set Realistic Expectations and Goals
This point is vital because, if you set yourself goals that are unrealistic and beyond your reach, you will set yourself up for failure (which is likely to undermine your confidence).
Instead, set what are called SMART goals, so that we can make the goals clear, with a deadline (timeline), and ensure that they are realistic and can be measured.
Also, break down larger goals into smaller and more achievable ones and plan your actions in a step-by-step way, focusing on one step at a time. This is more likely to help you succeed and therefore, improve your confidence in the long term.
6. Communicate Assertively
Being assertive is not always easy but it is a skill that you can learn and practice.
Communicating assertively means expressing your ideas clearly, confidently, and respectfully, without feeling that you need to be aggressive in any way.
Assertiveness also means setting boundaries (always respectfully), so that other people know where you stand and what you are able or not able to deliver.
7. Be Able to Handle Criticism
When we feel criticized, the first instinctive reaction can be going on the defensive.
This is particularly true when you lack self-confidence because any critique can feel very personal and it can undermine your self-esteem even more.
Instead, realize that criticism is often nothing personal. Try to unpick what valid points the other person may have and take it as constructive feedback.
What might you learn from the criticism that might help you improve? If you are wondering how to boost self-confidence at work, being able to learn from criticism and not take it at heart is a key element.
A confident person is able to take negative feedback on board and turn it to their own advantage.
8. Seek Feedback
This point is linked to the previous one, in that, to improve your confidence, you may want to also actively seek feedback. This may be positive and constructive.
You can then use positive feedback to understand what you do well and do more of, while constructive feedback is an opportunity to learn from your mistakes.
This approach to feedback is likely to boost your confidence.
9. Face and Overcome Challenges
When you think about how to boost self-confidence at work, remember that challenges are to be welcomed rather than feared.
Everybody can feel overwhelmed when faced with challenges, it is a natural reaction.
However, you if start facing challenges and turn your natural fear into excitement, this can help you build your self-confidence.
The first time it will be hard but, after experiencing more challenges, you will find your confidence growing.
If you succeed, this will naturally boost your confidence. If you do not succeed though, do not despair because, at the very least, you will inevitably have learned something from the experience.
Be aware that anyone who is successful will have experienced failure during their journey to success. The important thing is that they were able to learn from their failures rather than feeling discouraged and giving up.
10. Practice and Master a Skill
This point is about learning and practicing. If you know that you lack certain skills, do whatever is needed to acquire these skills.
However, attending training is not enough. You also need to practice. Practice and you will see your confidence build.
This process, in turn, is likely to boost your confidence as you see your abilities improve and your skills grow.
11. Use Positive Self-Talk
When you are not confident, you are likely to think negatively about yourself and about what you can and cannot do.
For example, you may say to yourself things such as “I am not good enough to do this”, “I always mess things up”, “They are better at this than I am” or “I will never get this right”.
When you catch yourself thinking something negative like the examples above, replace the negative thoughts with a positive equivalent. For example, say instead “I have the skills and determination to succeed”, “Everyone makes mistakes and I learn from mine”, “I have my unique strengths and I can learn from others” and “I will take this one step at a time and I will improve with practice”.
12. Surround Yourself with Support
As you plan how to boost self-confidence at work, remember that support is essential.
We are social creatures and we need a support network and there is no shame in asking for help.
Seek a support network such as colleagues, mentors, and friends. Having a supportive environment around you is likely to make you feel more self-confident overall.
13. Overcome the Fear of Rejection
The fear of rejection is natural in humans. As a social species, we need other people to survive, and being rejected is an existential threat.
However, this is often an irrational fear these days. Your confidence will develop if you accept that if nothing else, rejection will still teach you something.
Think about the potential gains of overcoming your fear of rejection and plan for a potential rejection. So, maybe you can have a plan B ready just in case needed.
In any case, remember that rejection is not a reflection of your worth, but just another learning experience.
14. Celebrate achievements
Last but not least, remember to celebrate your achievements. While failures are learning experiences, do not underestimate your achievements.
Even small achievements are worth celebrating, because every time you succeed, you will get a boost to your confidence.
Moving Forward
I hope this post about how to boost self-confidence at work has been useful for you.
Remember though, building self-confidence is a process that is gradual and requires time as well as practice.
So, as you implement the tips I gave, you, do not feel discouraged if you do not gain confidence immediately. Keep working on your confidence and you will reap benefits.
We all have our ups and downs and, while some days you may feel extremely confident, feeling doubtful on other days is to be expected and just part of the process.
Keep the final goal in mind and how self-confidence can lead you to better career prospects and better job satisfaction. So, enjoy the process knowing that each step forward is a step toward a more confident and fulfilling professional life.
If you found this post on how to boost self-confidence at work helpful, you might be interested in the training and teaching materials on self-confidence, below if you are a trainer or teacher.
Owner at Symonds Research Training Materials
Valeria has a PhD in Sociology, has 25 years+ working in education, has taught at the University of Bath &Cardiff Metropolitan University, & Hankuk University (Korea) & worked as a researcher for Exeter University, & has many years of industry experience including with Cardiff University in management roles. She now creates training course materials courseware.