Four ways to make your confidence match your potential

With COVID having changed the way many of us engage with our employer and colleagues, the digital sphere cracking open the possibilities for work and connections, and the working world in a constant state of flux, it is easy for our confidence to feel less than tip top.

The Prince’s Trust investigated the impact of the pandemic on young people’s self-esteem and confidence in their future careers. The results show that up to 60% of young people feel their confidence has decreased. In a parallel study, the University of Glasgow concluded that 75% of women admit they lack confidence at work, and Gartner identified that 45% of managers do not feel confident in their ability to develop their teams’ skills.

With evidence like this stacking up and in the face of what we see from candidates every week, confidence, or strictly speaking the lack of it, is an increasingly prevalent issue in the working world. So, to help give workers back their mojo, we thought we would give you a few simple tips to start the journey back to full self-belief.

FIND YOURSELF A MENTOR

First up, find yourself a mentor. Each of us at Kendrick Rose has benefited from having a mentor in our career and we cannot stress the benefits highly enough. A great mentor can relate to your situation, understand your ambitions and your challenges, provide you with an alternative perspective and see past your limits even before you do. This will also keep you accountable, which is crucial for your success! Changing how you think takes practice and without support, you will never stick it out. A mentor gives you a chance to remain in the game, upgrade your thinking and offers lived experience to learn from again and again.

MANAGE YOUR SELF TALK

We may have grown up listening to the phrase ‘self-praise’ is no praise’! Well, we are here to break the stigma and let you know that realistic self-praise is an essential element of your life journey. Of course, it’s a wonderful thing to be humble, but there is a fine line between being humble and reinforcing low self-esteem. Our thoughts are often running on automatic, and we truly are hardwired for negativity. Try your best to catch your thoughts and ask yourself ‘Is this really true?’. You’ll find that most of the time, it’s not or it is not the whole truth. Asking yourself empowering questions can break down negative thinking and increase your self-confidence, courage, and belief in your abilities.

SEE THE GOOD, THE POSSIBLE, THE POSITIVE

A key piece of advice we would offer is, search for the good, the possible, the positive. Our brains are programmed to risk-assess and avoid danger and rejection. It’s been this way for many years, as our prehistoric ancestors managed avoiding sabre tooth tigers! But it is possible to rewire our brains. When you go for a job interview dwell on what is possible. When you start your first day of a new job, focus on the positive. When you find yourself stressed out, search for the good in the situation. It’s not easy, it’s not always natural for us but it truly is the secret to a more confident you.

CALMNESS LEADS TO CONFIDENCE

There are many challenging situations at work and at home. Faced with a crisis our natural reaction is ‘fight or flight’, but the immediate response may not be the best one. Unless it really is a matter of life or death; stop, walk away, take advice, and think calmly about the issue – you will make better decisions and be more confident in making them. Plus, your calmness will often help to defuse a difficult situation.

Why not challenge yourself to upgrade your thinking today? Each small step can bring you closer to gaining more confidence. Believe us when we say you can do it. If you believe it too, you can!