8 Tips to Boost Confidence at Work

I often get asked, how can I be more confident in my surroundings? When I ask, what do I mean, they say… “like you. You’re confident!”. And the funny thing is, its all relative. There are times at work that I certainly don’t feel confident. But I appear confident as I have learnt how to manage my stress and anxiety about what others think. That in itself is a thing to be mastered!

Studies show that confident people tend to be more successful at work, are happier, and are not afraid to go for a promotion or face new challenges.

Earlier in my career, I certainly wouldn’t describe myself as being confident. I let my inner critic dictate what I should and shouldn’t be doing and I always worried about what others would think. But, as I learned to accept myself for who I was, my confidence naturally shone through. And yours can too!

Wouldn’t it be helpful if you were able to boost your confidence in your skills and workplace abilities? We all have the ability in us.

Why not try these tips at work to increase your confidence:

Cut out negative self-talk. (That pesky inner critic!)

A positive mind set will help you learn more easily and ultimately help boost your confidence. When you find yourself speaking negatively or criticizing yourself, immediately switch it to something positive, instead.

For example, instead of criticizing your lack of knowledge about something, tell yourself: It’s great that I can learn what I need quickly and easily so that tasks like these become a cinch to do!

Instead of saying, “I can’t,” ask yourself, “How can I?” This takes your focus off the negative and puts it in the realm of the can do! In this mindset, you may come up with the solution you need to enable you to do the thing that you thought you couldn’t.

Increase your knowledge. Knowledge is power (over yourself and your limiting beliefs). When you take the time to learn a new skill or piece of knowledge, you can be certain that what you’re doing is correct. You may want to look at online courses, or perhaps attend a seminar, designed to enhance your skills.

Watch what others in your workplace do successfully and try to copy them.

Practice makes perfect. No one is good at everything. And it is very rare that most people can pick up things on the first or even second attempt, especially if the task or concept is hard. When you practice at a certain task, you will get better at it in time as you are able to correct any mistakes that you make.

Each time you complete a task, ask yourself whether there is anything you could do differently to improve the process the next time you do it.

Work on your strengths. A proven way to boost confidence in the workplace is by focusing your attention on excelling at the skills you are already good at.

Doing something excellently, rather than just adequately, can do wonders for your confidence!

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. If there is something you don’t know or understand, speak up! After all, the knowledge you seek could be the information you need to finish your task quickly and accurately.

Focus on your past successes. An easy way to boost your confidence is to think about past projects that you’ve completed successfully. Did you complete a task within the deadline? Perhaps received praise from your boss?

Focus on the positives rather than the negatives.

Sounds simple but act confidently. If you’re approaching a new task, or perhaps an entirely new job, then chances are you won’t know exactly what needs to be done. In these situations, it’s completely normal to feel under-confident. However, if you act confidently and put on a positive frame of mind, you may surprise yourself.
Not only will you gain the trust of your work colleagues, but your own self-confidence will increase too, with the knowledge that you are capable at your job with valuable skills to offer.

And most of all, have fun. Taking yourself too seriously in the workplace will leave your self-esteem in tatters when you encounter setbacks. Of course, you want to be good at your job, but this does not mean that you need to be serious 100% of the time.

You are allowed to have fun and doing so will allow you to laugh at yourself and any mistakes you make. Take any criticism directed at you with good humor and you won’t suffer any knocks to your confidence.

Just remember, a little extra confidence can go a long way toward helping you reach your career goals. Think of these tips the next time you’re feeling doubtful about your skills or abilities, and you’ll be able to bring your confidence back up again in short order.