Many people believe that confidence is something you either have or you don't.

In fact, it's a behavioral competency that can be developed, much like your abilities to  communicate or lead others. 

A great place to start is by taking some time to challenge your rationale, and force yourself to consider alternative, more positive possibilities. This type of thinking helps you gradually change your perspective by becoming more optimistic and less self-conscious.

Here are four tips to help you build your confidence at work.

Strengthen your skills, abilities, and experience at work by seeking out:

• Additional projects to get involved in.
• Challenging roles that you normally would avoid.
• Educational courses available in local universities or online courses.
• Seminars, conferences, and/or workshops.
• Mentors or leaders who may be willing to provide advice and coaching on a regular basis.
• Trade journals, magazines or newsletters specific to your business and at least one general business resource (Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Forbes, etc.).

Force yourself to join and actively participate in projects that require you to work with co-workers or as a team rather than individually. Often we lack the confidence in a group setting.

Evaluate where you may lack confidence in your job (e.g., presentations, working with higher ups). Seek out advice and feedback from trusted co-workers, supervisors, family members, and so forth to help strengthen your skills and therefore your confidence in this area. If you take the initiative to talk with co-workers about your insecurities, you may be surprised to find how common it is and how others have dealt with it.

Challenge your current thoughts and rationale about your lack of self-confidence or your insecurities:

1. First, write down what it is that gives you anxiety or makes you feel insecure at work. Maybe you feel like you fail or screw up every time you speak or present in front of a group. Maybe you feel like your boss doesn’t like you.
2. Now, challenge these. Write down other possible realities or truths to your rationale. For instance, is it possible that you really didn’t do that bad at the team meeting? Is it possible that just because you didn’t get a standing ovation that the presentation was still a success? Is it possible that your boss is just busy or maybe going through a personal crisis and isn’t available to chat with you?

Get feedback on important competencies like confidence – and the resources needed to improve. 

The ThinkWise 360˚ Survey provides a clear picture of strengths and opportunities for improvement and links them directly to learning resources. Your employees will be more engaged in their own development and you'll create an alignment between the organizational vision and your people.   

Click the button below to download a 360˚ Survey sample report to see how easy behavioral skill development can be. 
Make sure you look at the 5/5 Focus section - where we provide links to 10 Quick Tips learning resouces.

Jump start your employee development today!