You received a link to this article in your email because you signed up for Grow with Indeed Flex.
“Skill and confidence are an unconquered army” – George Herbert
Definition:
Confidence – noun
The quality of being certain of your abilities or of having trust in people, plans, or the future: She has the confidence to walk into a room of strangers and immediately start a conversation. He’s completely lacking in confidence. Ask any professional coach, and they’ll tell you that skill and talent alone are not enough to succeed. Confidence and belief in your abilities make the average exceptional. They’ll also tell you the hardest thing to develop in anyone isn’t skill or talent– it’s confidence. Confidence is having belief in yourself. It’s the ability to be able to recognize your successes, trust your abilities, and be resilient enough to bounce back from bumps in the road. It can manifest in various forms such as self-esteem, self-assurance, self-reliance, and self-possession.
Why Confidence Matters in Your Career Opportunities. Confident people are more likely to take on new challenges and pursue opportunities that can lead to career advancement and growth. Research shows that perception of your confidence also indicates their perception of your competence. Workplaces look at who they believe is most competent when deciding whether to offer an opportunity. Inspiring belief in others encourages them to offer opportunities to you.
Decision making. Growing with Indeed Flex helps you build your self awareness, but that’s only one part of a successful career. You must convert your ideas into action for them to make an impact on your life. Taking action requires bravery and decisiveness. Developing confidence can help you to make better decisions as you trust your abilities, judgment, and experience more.
Resilience. A squiggly career is all about change. The world of work is evolving more rapidly now than any other time in human history. Your ability to cope with change, or ‘bounce back’ enables effectively navigate challenges while learning from failures. Confidence helps you to handle pressure in any workplace and bounce back from setbacks.
Confidence Myths Career experts Helen Tupper and Sarah Ellis describe barriers to confidence as your ‘confidence gremlins.’ These are self imposed stumbling blocks that can stop us from reaching our potential. One example may be a fear of public speaking, which could stop you being offered a promotion opportunity if the role requires speaking publicly. Before embarking on a plan to ‘cage your gremlins,’ Helen & Sarah say it’s important you don’t let some commonly held beliefs about confidence hold you back.
Myth 1. Extroverts are confident and introverts are shy
Extroversion is often coupled with confidence while introverts are often assumed to be shy. In basic terms, extroversion and introversion rely on where you draw energy. Extroverts draw energy from spending time with others while introverts draw energy from spending time alone. Being an extrovert or introvert bares no impact on your confidence or how confident you can become.
Myth 2. Confident people are arrogant
There is a difference between confidence and arrogance. Arrogance is about having an exaggerated idea of your abilities. People who are arrogant often lack self awareness and fail to understand the impact they have on others. Confidence is about certainty in reality with a high sense of self awareness. Developing confidence will not make you arrogant.
Myth 3. Confidence is something you are born with
Confidence is a skill which can be learned, practiced, and improved. Some people may have more of a natural talent for confidence, but this doesn’t mean they don’t have moments of doubt. Everybody finds themselves in situations where they lack confidence. The successful continuously work to develop their confidence as a skill. Explore the materials below to help understand your confidence gremlins and develop coping strategies. Learn to recognize your successes, evaluate and build your support system, so you can continue to build your confidence and success.
Recommended Read: You Coach You – Helen Tupper & Sarah Ellis
Recommended Watch: 6 Behaviors To Increase Your Confidence (10 mins)
Recommended Listen: Building Up Your Self Belief (17 mins)