Rise and Shine: Young Professional’s Guide to Workplace Confidence

Who doesn’t like the spotlight in the workplace? Every one of us works hard to earn that. right? But I have a colleague who doesn’t like those spotlights. This article will take you through her and the reason behind her actions. 

Ashna and I have been working in the same office for about 3 years. Ashna has always had great ideas than mine but she doesn’t speak them out in any open forum or during discussions or even during meetings. When asked, she would say “What if my idea didn’t work?”. She doesn’t like herself being noticed. When approached she told me that she has been the same since her college days. So, when a leadership coach once visited our office, we spoke and the coach told us that the problem Ashna had wasn’t a big issue rather it was because of her low confidence or confidence-related issues. 

Though not a big deal, yet lack of confidence might lead to certain disadvantages as well as take away certain offerings. 

The further article will guide you through those aspects. 

Confidence is simply the state of trust or belief one holds onto. Confidence is one of the major cornerstones for an individual striving towards success or achievement. Only when an individual has confidence, he or she would take up risks, create and utilize opportunities, expand and explore oneself beyond the barriers and all of these would eventually pave the way towards growth and development. 

Read More: 15 Interesting Ways to Be Productive In Life

Why do some people lack Confidence? 

There are certain reasons as to why some people lack confidence. 

• The central and most significant reason for lack of confidence could be because the individual values oneself less or has a negative self-image. This may lead to self-doubt, which could be why these individuals shy away from spotlights. 
• The next could be because of prior experiences. Few individuals tend to glue with their past experiences like any kind of failures, rejections or criticisms. They tend to have a very strong core connection and memory of those memories which puts them in trouble moving forward.
• Lack of support and guidance is yet another cause. Gaining support from parents, siblings and friends is instrumental for gaining confidence in life as well as in work. The motivation they provide can boost the individual’s self-confidence and it also gives them a sense of warmth. 
• Most often we get compared with others for anything and everything we do. Not everyone possesses everything. When individuals make comparisons, they start lowering themselves as well as their confidence. 
• At times, it’s the culture and the society that makes us as an individual. These influences definitely can lower an individual’s confidence level. 

Read More: How to Improve Self-Esteem: 8 Tips to Give You a Boost

1. Self-awareness – Getting to know oneself is one of the key elements when it comes to boosting confidence. This would help in knowing one’s strengths, weaknesses, threats, potentials and what can make the individual grow or hinder the growth. Understanding more about oneself can improve the confidence of the individual. Connecting with oneself is one of the significant strategies to build one’s confidence. 
2. Setting goals: Individuals should start with short, attainable and clear goals. You may have to break down the greater or larger objectives into smaller ones. This would help you with achieving each set goal thereby building up confidence. 
3. Skills and Abilities: When the individual finds a lack of skills and abilities, they may have to learn and gain knowledge regarding the skills and abilities and build upon the same. Maybe individuals can focus on attending workshops and self-enhancing classes which would help individuals gain confidence. 
4. Embrace Positive self-talk- the way individuals talk with themselves is very important. They may have to converse with positive affirmations to themselves rather than with self-doubts. This would help individuals overcome their self-doubt and challenges which would help build confidence.
5. Accepting Failures: Individuals should start accepting their failures. They should start understanding that failures are a part of the individual’s growth and development. They may have reframed their thoughts and given space for a growth mindset which would pave a path of confidence. 
6. Seeking Feedback: Whenever the individual tends to feel low about oneself, one has to seek feedback from friends, colleagues, and supervisors to gain knowledge about the individual’s work-related performance. Having a supportive environment to lean towards whenever needed can build confidence in the individual. 
7. Body language: One must start focusing on their body language. Having a warm smile, using warmth in your voice, having standard eye contact, and keeping an individual’s head up can eventually build confidence in the individual. 
8. Positive Environment and Avoid negative self-talk: Having people around who would spread positivity is very much essential for building confidence in the individual. Also, Individuals should consciously avoid self-deprecating talks and behaviours.
9. Get out of your Comfort Zone: One has to start facing fears and things that cause fear to the individual. Most often individuals can boost their self-confidence when they start exposing their fears. 
10. Individuals can start becoming experts in whichever field they are good at. This would boost their confidence. 

And, the one that they should focus on is to practice confidence-boosting techniques like 

• Practice of gratitude– Being thankful for the positive aspects of life can further quantify and cultivate a more Positive mindset which in turn can eventually boost confidence. 
• To hold onto a proper body posture 
• Practice mindfulness meditation- which involves focusing on oneself and one’s happenings through deep breathing exercises

Read More: Mantra Meditation: A guide to Inner peace and Tranquility

• Have more frequent positive self-talks– visualize and prepare for more positive self-talks which can boost confidence among individuals 
• Focus more on positive affirmations 
• Individuals should start preparing to practice self-compassion. Being a bit more kind to oneself can foster confidence in the individual.
• Individuals should also celebrate the little successes they have achieved through their efforts.

Take Away

Confidence is one of the major key factors towards growth as well as success. It’s not something that is inherited or cannot be learned. In the same way, it is not something that can be earned overnight. Building confidence is a step-by-step and gradual process that can help, build and sustain self-confidence in an individual throughout their lifetime. 

References +

• Howell, A. (2021, December 13). How to build confidence at work. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2021/08/how-to-build-confidence-at-work
• Lcsw, A. M. (2024, January 26). How to be More confident: 9 tips that work. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/how-to-boost-your-self-confidence-4163098
• Zenger, J. (2021, September 17). Research: Women score higher than men in most leadership skills. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2019/06/research-women-score-higher-than-men-in-most-leadership-skills