How To Improve Confidence In The Work Place

BY Dr. Tangier Scott | April 6, 2022

There are many reasons you can lack confidence at work. Maybe you’re in a job that requires skills you don’t have, or you’re less experienced than anyone around you. Or you’re new to the company and feel uneasy about your ability to succeed. Or you feel threatened by colleagues, fear losing your job, or are simply too hard on yourself. Public humiliation and errors in judgment can also do the trick.

There’s just one most common reason, though, says Lynn Taylor, a national workplace expert and author of Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: “Overall, the most common reason that employees lose confidence is very simply because of a bad relationship with their boss. That insecurity will last as long as the relationship is strained.”

Negative peer relationships also often disrupt confidence, especially if there’s a pack mentality, she adds. “A group may feel threatened, for example, and try to undermine a worker. But since managers hold the cards to the employee’s future, the state of that rapport has the greatest impact on confidence levels.”

Do you fear the prospect of making a mistake at work? Perhaps you’re worried about getting something wrong or upsetting a colleague with honest feedback. While it’s natural to feel this way, a lack of self-confidence could actually hold you back in the workplace and prevent you from reaching your full potential.

After all, having insecurities at work can make it hard to focus on your development and future success. On the other hand, being confident in yourself and your abilities helps you to feel good, increases your job satisfaction, and builds up your all-around happiness in your role.

So, if you want to improve your self-confidence at work, check out our advice below.

Be kind to yourself

We’re often our own toughest critic. But if you’re constantly thinking negative thoughts about your abilities and success, it can be hard to improve. So don’t put yourself down! Cut out negative language about yourself, focus on all the great skills you have and milestones you’ve reached, and think about what you can do instead of saying “I can’t.”

Most importantly, remember that it’s perfectly OK to make mistakes. In fact, mistakes help us to learn and improve. Next time you have a slip-up, instead of criticizing yourself, think of it as a learning experience you can use to avoid this happening again in the future.

Fake it ’till you make it

Feeling truly confident can take time, so hold your head up high, smile, and fake it ’till you make it. The right attitude will go a long way towards helping you think more positively.

Be sure to act like you know your stuff. Even if you’re feeling slightly doubtful, remember that your knowledge has gotten you this far already — and will get you further in the future. If you continue to tell yourself that you’re confident, in time, it will help you genuinely feel more confident. What’s more, others will see this self-assurance in you and they’ll believe in your abilities too.

Evaluate your performance

Seeing visible improvements in your work will increase your confidence in your abilities, and a great way to recognize this is to evaluate your performance. If you know your strengths, you can utilize these in the future, and, likewise, you can work on your weaknesses to help you improve in your role.

Every time you complete a task, ask yourself if there was a better way you could have done it. Think about how you could be more productive and get better results, and then write down the actions you’ll take next time.

Boost your skill set

Learning new skills can help you become better at your job — whether it’s soft skills, such as working on your communication with colleagues or hard skills related to your role, such as data handling.

When you’re performing better, you’ll feel more confident about your abilities and find new ways to work. Through this, you should be less likely to make the same mistake twice and be able to advance your career.

Challenge yourself

When you push yourself out of your comfort zone, it helps you to learn what you’re capable of. Naturally, this isn’t always easy. It’s understandable that you’d want to stick with what you’re good at, but challenging yourself is important for learning new skills and improving your self-confidence.

When you achieve this, you’ll feel much more self-assured and see that you’re able to do more than you thought was possible. In the future, you’ll feel more confident in taking on new tasks and trying out new roles. As a result, you’ll be able to propel yourself forward in your career.

Stay informed

When you know your stuff, you can speak more confidently about it, so make sure you’re on the ball with what’s happening in your industry. To do this, keep on top of the latest trends by researching news and updates, which could help you to identify new ways of working, as well.

Don’t forget the information that’s on your doorstep either. Question senior colleagues about their expertise to help you expand your knowledge. What’s more, consider undertaking regular training and development courses to ensure that your information is up to date. If you’re clued up, your colleagues will turn to you for information, which can help you to feel knowledgeable and foster your self-confidence.

Improving your self-confidence at work

Confidence is important in the workplace not only for success, but also for feeling happy and satisfied. So make sure you embrace yours to ensure this isn’t holding you back. If you’re finding this difficult, remember you can always fake it until you make it to help you inject some positivity into your work life.

Natasha Jamal is a Senior Consultant and Culture Transformation Practice Manager at Gallup.

Teresa Tschida is a Consulting Subject Matter Expert at Gallup.