Self Confidence at Work

Whether you are an accountant, lawyer or teacher, having confidence in yourself is very important to your success. However, many folks have no idea that they are experiencing any lack of self confidence at work. While clear feelings of self-doubt may occur, it is not always so obvious. Here are some of the signs that you may have missed -

• You may find yourself passing on assignments that you are scared are beyond your reach, while creating unrelated excuses for why you cannot complete them.
• You may procrastinate until you run out of time to complete a project.
• You may sabotage yourself by not putting the necessary effort into a task because you figure that you are not going to succeed anyway.

Of course, this does not mean that that every work problem is caused by or a sign of low self esteem, but it can often be the underlying cause of larger problems.

If you lack self-confidence, then those feelings of low self-esteem can be apparent to others. If you do not believe in yourself, why should your boss or co-workers believe in you? If you are not sure about how your self-confidence is viewed by your co-workers, have a talk with a trusted friend. He or she may be able to help you put your image in perspective.

When others at work notice your lack of self-confidence, it can create a vicious cycle. You do not feel confident, and your boss senses these feelings or sees the results of procrastination and other symptoms. He or she begins to give you less important assignments and puts less trust in you. You notice this lack of trust and it sends your own self-confidence plummeting even further.

However, it does not have to end this way. Once you have admitted that you are having some self-confidence issues at work, where do you go from there?

One of the best ways to feel confident on the job is to be prepared. Whether it is a daily interoffice memo or the big year-end presentation, being well prepared will result in more confidence. This extra confidence comes both from putting yourself in a more stress-free position and from pride in a job well done.

Procrastination is a tricky beast. Procrastination is the direct opposite of being prepared. There is no way that you can be completely and absolutely prepared if you put off doing something until the last minute. If you feel rushed and frazzled when you are completing a project, your confidence in that project, and by extension your own abilities, will be low. 

At the same time, while procrastination can cause a lack of confidence, it can often be a symptom of low self-confidence. If you do not feel secure in your ability to accomplish a task, you are going to keep putting it off. If you do not feel capable of completing a report, you will continuously tell yourself that you will write it as soon as you finish checking your e-mail, then as soon as you return a few phone calls, then as soon as you eat lunch, and the excuses go on and on. 

Oddly enough, one of the best ways to build your self-confidence is to admit that you are having trouble with something. If you do not admit your problems, you will never learn and grow. As you gain new skills, you also gain confidence. 

If your confidence is low, you can build it up by starting small. Focus on one thing that you think you can do particularly well. This is not the time to single-handedly take on the firm's biggest client. Instead, if you are artistic, create a great new business card, or if you are skilled with words, write a thought-provoking article for the company newsletter. It does not matter exactly what task you choose. The important thing is to build your confidence by doing things you are good at. From there, you can slowly build your way up to difficult tasks that you previously dreaded.

Self-confidence is such an integral part of your success at work that it pays to be aware of your confidence levels and to take steps to improve them whenever necessary.