Learn to Boost Your Confidence at Work

Let’s face it. Our work environment can be intimidating. We have bosses with certain standards and competitive colleagues who always seem to know what they are doing and where they are going. They probably do. These people somehow seem to be one step ahead, often exuding an intangible quality that says they’re cool and got things all figured out. That quality, that thing you can’t put a finger on, is... work confidence.

We were all not born with confidence. We entered the world in ignorance and naiveté; so on the heels of these, self-doubt. Our confidence (or lack of it) was gained through the years as a result of our experiences. In other words, we acquired it. Our level of self confidence varies according to where we are in life. We may feel at home partying with 100 people but completely out of our depth at a company pow-wow for new strategies and ideas. For this, we need to acquire a little more belief in our work selves.

Now unless you were hired through lottery or deception, you need to recognize that the company you now work for saw some value in your credentials. This is why you’re in and your competition at the job interview isn’t. So relax a little; but, take these confidence building steps as a personal priority project, once that may hoist you up the higher rungs of that corporate ladder.

You won’t build your confidence overnight or even over a week...well, unless you’ve got loads to begin with and you’re simply doing some tweaking. If you are like a lot of us with some major “I can’ts,” let’s learn to walk the confidence talk first before the going off on a run. Gain self-assurance by changing the little things until you are ready to take on greater risks and challenges.

Taking the Baby Steps

1. Kick a bad habit or begin a good one. What can be more of a great kick-starter than achieving a small victory over yourself? Developing good habits could be as small as consistently keeping a tidy workspace or as mundane as smiling a good morning to everyone you meet (despite being deprived of your morning caffeine fix). Conquering a bad habit even as small as breaking that daily soda craving can help you feel empowered. It’s a wonderful feeling to actually realize that you do have control and you do have choices. Know these and you are on your way to kicking up some major “can do” attitude.

2. Dress for success. Yep, it’s a cliché; nevertheless, true. Image is all...well, a huge chunk of our social relations. Just knowing you look good and presentable will make you feel more assured and positive about yourself. Notice that people gravitate to or have more respect for those who have taken the time to groom themselves and have placed some thought into their workaday look.

3. Cut the negative self-gab. Don’t beat yourself up all the time. You’ll just grind your self-esteem to the ground. Know you are bound to make mistakes. Instead, develop a mindset of a lab scientist...experiment, make a mistake, learn why it is a mistake, and approach the problem in a different way. Once you know the social and work ropes, you’ll be winging your way with your head held higher.

4. Be positive. Cut out the “I cant’s,” “maybes,” and “buts” from your thoughts and see where this leads you. As the iconic Nike slogan aptly says, “Just do it.”

5. Know your strengths. Be aware of what you are good at, and bolster these. If you can placate some irate customers, refine your skills so you can put a smile on their faces when they leave the store. It’s better to be highly skilled at something you are good or even promising at, rather than be content to stay at a mediocre level.

6. Update your skills or learn something new. If you think you need help with customer relations, time management, or website design, read or take a course on the subject. You can’t keep banging yourself against a wall you don’t know how to scale. You need to improve your skills in order to be more effective at work. Once you see some self improvement, watch that confidence meter rise.

Taking Longer Strides

When the baby confidence-building steps have given you a good bit of self positivity, you are prepared to lengthen your strides:

1. Find allies. Work is competitive and in a way, a survival run. Rare is the job where you can work by yourself without much social help. Cultivate good relationships with people who will have your back when you’re low or need to defend your actions. Sadly, some of your workmates can make work life difficult. The more friends you have though, the less afraid of circumstances you will be. Of course, this goes both ways. You must prove yourself a good ally as well.

2. Get professional feedback. This does not mean always positive feedback. You need to know how you are really doing and where you truly stand. Get the opinions of a trusted boss or colleagues whom you know will dish out the real score. Beware the sycophants or the hypocrites who will give you false information. Hence, the first advice: find allies.

3. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. It is better than failing at an assignment simply because you were afraid to clear things up. Besides, no one will shred you because you dared ask work-related questions. Asking questions may even signal your boss or supervisor to the fact that you are interested in doing your best because you take the time to clarify what is expected of you.

Running the Race

At this point, you may be ready to take on challenges and risks. Your confidence level should be high enough to take the victories and weather the pitfalls. You are ready to run…

1. Speak up. Putting yourself out there at a department meeting could be pretty intimidating; but, if you do believe you have something to contribute, be heard. You do run the risk of your idea being smirked on, but what if the majority see your light? If you consistently share your talents and good ideas, you won’t be a nobody for long.

2. Dare to differ. Sure, that tag line seems to be getting a lot of thumbs up; but, you think it’s tacky. You don’t have fake agreement to go with majority. Stand out by giving your own opinions. Just don’t come off as arrogant; instead, be constructive with criticism. If you have a better suggestion in mind, share it. Again, speak up. You might be surprised; there may be a lot who had the same opinion but just didn’t have the guts to say so.

3. Go the extra mile. Can you beat the deadline two days earlier? Do so. Can you suggest a process that could cut down on time? Even better. In line with updating your skills in the baby step phase, try to think or learn of ways of how to improve an idea, a process, or a product. Think out of the box. Yep, the company has probably been doing the same thing for five straight years; but, maybe little tweaks here and there could gain it some edge over competition. Companies need innovation. Contributing to that would definitely garner you a wagonload of professional respect.

4. Dwell not on the problem but on the solutions. Take the bull by the horns and find several ways out of that dilemma. You can hone your leadership skills (and work confidence) by being a problem solver.

There are lots more to do in running that confidence marathon. Confidence building is a matter of purging self-doubt and building up your own internal assurance. It is important to know that there is a fine line between arrogance and self-confidence. Your self-possession can take a major beating if you let it morph into puffed-up pride in the long run. Remember, work means getting along with other people’s egos, too; so “do (or don’t do) unto others…..” and you’ll be more than fine.