If you’re looking to boost your confidence in the workplace, here are our top 4 actions to help you build your self-esteem.
One thing which can hold us back in life is the fear of failure, but how are you going to climb the career ladder when you don’t believe in yourself?
If you’re looking to boost your confidence in the workplace, here are our top 4 actions to help you build your self-esteem.
1. Get to know yourself
If you find yourself lacking in self-belief, a real confidence booster can come from discovering and focusing on your strengths. After all, knowing where you add value can be hugely empowering.
Action: Think of something you have excelled at in the past: how long did you think about it for?
Now think of the last time you failed at something: how long did you spend thinking about it?
You will realize that you probably spent far more time thinking about the failure than your achievements. Over the next few days note down all the positive events in your life and your accomplishments. Whenever you’re feeling low on confidence, read it back!
2. Think positive
This might sound a little cheesy but thinking positively is something which you’re able to achieve one action at a time. Remember, no one in the world is confident all of the time. So next time you want to do something the best thing to do is to just get started on a positive note and give it a go rather than waiting for the ‘right time’.
Action: Proposing an idea to your manager with a positive vibe is much more likely to get the go-ahead as it appears you’ve got everything in hand. Highlight any risks with a backup plan as it puts a positive spin on any apprehensions.
3. Preparation
Sometimes you have no control over your feelings, but preparation can be the key to success. It’s a lot easier to come across confident in a conversion if you’ve done a little ground work.
Action: If you have a meeting with your manager or a presentation coming up, prepare yourself with questions you know they’re likely to ask. This way you’re less likely to be caught off guard, it’s also worth taking in some notes on your proposed action plan or next steps to prove you’ve got the situation in hand.
4. Get out of your comfort zone
Lacking self- confidence can lead to being stuck in a career rut, and sometimes you really have to take the bull by the horns and take a jump into the deep end.
Action: There are so many great opportunities to get noticed at work, speak up more during meetings and offer up your suggestions. There is no such thing as a bad idea.
Volunteering to manage a new task or project is a great way to do something different and branch out with your skills. It may be a struggle getting to that point, but after you’ve done it you’ll be looking for the next opportunity.
