5 Quick Ways To Boost Your Confidence At Work

Confidence has such a huge impact on all that we do. How we show up, what decsions we make, how we move forward and can really impact our overall happiness and wellbeing when we’re struggling or doubting ourselves too often. 

No surprise therefore that it forms a consistent theme in the concerns clients come to me with.  

It can look like lack of confidence to speak up and voice an opinion, lack of confidence to admit they need help, lack of confidence that they’re good enough already, confidence to stand up for themselves, lack of confidence in the work they deliver and so much more. 

Building confidence can take time because very often the causes are long standing and very deep rooted, often from childhood years. But there are some simple, quicker tricks that you can try to give yourself the boost you may need, and reinforce that you have every right to feel confident in who you are and what you do. 

Give these a try and see what resonates with you… 

1. Read over or reflect on a previous compliment you received

Think to a time when someone said something nice to you, thanked you for your help with something, or a time when you felt good about yourself. You may be able to read over previous work reviews, customer feedback, a nice email or text message you received. Read or remember as many as you can and relish in that feeling of confidence that that can give you. Another useful tool is reading over your own resume, remind yourself of everything you’ve learned, achieved and accomplished. It’s easy to take these things for granted and forget them. So grab a cofee and have a read.  

2. Give someone else a compliment

If you think about it, there are probably positive thoughts you’ve had lately about a connection that you haven't shared with anyone, let alone the actual person. So dig out your phone and call them, send them a message and let them know what you saw and what you thought. I remember a time when I had been admiring from a far how an old colleague was seeming to perform in her new role – I would see social media posts on Linked-In showing awards and promotions and think to myself ‘wow, she’s doing so well’. One day I messaged her and let her know. And she was blown away with pride and elation that I did.  It made her feel amazing, and that in turn made me feel amazing. A real confidence boost for everyone. 

3. Do something you know you’re good at 

When confidence is low, it can be too easy to start thinking that we’re no good at anything. We can focus so much on what's not working, or areas we’re struggling with that we begin to believe we’re no good at anything. Self-doubt can have a very powerful override effect. And so, think to something that you know you can do easily, something that comes naturally, no matter how small or insignificant you think it may be and go and do it. If you can, offer to help someone else with this thing. They will appreciate your help, but you will get a confidence booster as a result. A win-win. 

4. Ask someone you trust for feedback

I understand it’s not always easy to approach someone and be vulnerable but if you choose someone you trust they will understand what you need in this feedback. Tell them you’re needing a boost and need to hear some reminders about the things you’re good at, or the strengths in your character. If you are comfortable, tell them the feedback you need is positive only, tell them today is not the day for constructive feedback. People love helping others, many of us get a real buzz from it, so consider that you’ll be doing them a real favour.  

5. Ask yourself what gives you confidence

When we pause for a second and reflect on this, we will usually be able to find at least something that we know boosts our confidence. For many that I work with it’s some form of exercise where they get the endorphin kicks, for others it’s making sure they eat well for the day and avoid junk food as best as they can. For you, it may be spending time with your kids and tuning into the bigger picture of life. Or it may be tuning into your life priorities and values and identifying where any misalignment may be and hence what opportunities you may have to feed your values more of what they need. If you’re not sure on what your life priorities and values are you can use my Free Discovery Sheet here. No matter what it is, put time aside to do it and benefit from the knock on effect.

If a lack of confidence is affecting your career too much and you’re in need of broader support to overcome some potentially deep rooted challenges don’t hesitate to reach out and learn more about how my career coaching solutions can help. It’s one of the most common concerns I work with. You can book a time to talk directly with me here.