Picture this scenario; you have a friend named Rahul. Rahul gets a promotion and is excited about his new position and status in his team. He is highly enthusiastic about this new role and is looking forward to taking up the senior role. He prepares himself mentally to be a savvy professional. However, somehow, he feels he is losing it and is not able to meet the new challenges.
Does this feel familiar to you? If it does, don't be alarmed. Feeling underconfident every now and then is something that happens to all of us. Here we analyse a few everyday situations in the workplace where you may have trouble exhibiting confidence and explore a few small steps to build your confidence there:
Feeling underconfident in meetings
Your colleagues may appear more knowledgeable, more professional, and more vocal to you. They even seem totally relaxed and enjoy the small conversation that is an integral part of most meetings. Appearances, however, can be deceptive. Look objectively at the situation. There is no real reason for you to feel intimidated. You are just as worthy as anyone else in that room, and your contribution is just as valuable.
Keep this fact in mind throughout the meeting and avoid trying to blend in with the background. Once you have successfully raised your points and enjoyed some positive feedback from your colleagues, your confidence will grow. It will be much easier next time.
Holding back in general office conversation due to lack of confidence
This situation can change if you take a step back and look at your position within the group. If you think that everyone else's conversation is much more intelligent than yours, think again. The best way to tackle this self-doubt is to stop comparing yourself with others. Everyone can offer a unique point of view, and everyone's thoughts are valuable.
Lack of confidence in your academic credentials
Remind yourself that in today's business environment, academic achievement is being used less and less for evaluating people's intelligence. Instead, communication skills are more critical. The ability to strike a rapport with people, negotiate compromises and smooth over difficult work situations is far more relevant. In addition, if you show people that you respect them for the above qualities, they will reciprocate. This will boost your confidence in your ability to interact with colleagues.
Absence of positive feedback crushing your confidence
Lack of positive feedback often stems from the pressure of work and everyone having a heavy workload. It is not a personal issue and does not mean that you are not good at your job. In quieter moments, take the lead and ask for constructive feedback from your boss or colleagues. More importantly, make a point of mentally praising yourself at the end of every single working day.
Regularly taking work home in an attempt to stay ahead
Recognise that you are not "slow" or uninformed. It is more likely that you have unrealistic expectations of yourself. If you tend to take work home with you, it could be that you are simply a perfectionist, demanding too much of yourself. Alternatively, others could be just expecting too much of you. Your confidence will improve once you accept that no worker can be perfect. You are doing your best, and that is certainly good enough.
Remember, we can always improve our confidence. However, we have to make an effort to do so, and if that effort is well directed, we can make tremendous improvements in our confidence and, thus, our sense of well-being. As a result, we can get more enjoyment out of our lives, more fulfilment and satisfaction. That is worth working for!
Here are a few tips to boost your self-confidence:
When you need to boost your self-confidence or self-esteem, find 3 things that make you feel good. These could be memories of good times, your achievements, a song - use photos if it helps. Make a conscious effort to think about them and bring them to your mind.
Self-consciousness is the No.1 enemy of self-confidence. If you feel self-conscious in a social situation, usually it is because you don't have enough to do! Focus on what your purpose in the situation is. It's easy to feel self-conscious if you have nothing to do and much more difficult if a task occupies your attention.
Building self-confidence is not just about thinking good of yourself; it's about not thinking bad about yourself for no reason! Also, a certain amount of humility or the occasional hint of self-doubt is not necessarily a bad thing. It can often work to your advantage, provided that it is kept in perspective. It can indicate that you are really thinking about what you are doing.
It's important to understand that even the most confident-looking people have bad moments too. If you're saying things to yourself like "You're no good at anything", then rest assured, your confidence will go down. Just because you feel under-confident, it doesn't mean other people can tell.
smisin on 02 Nov 2018, 16:00 PM
appraisal should be linked to performance and not future revenue associated with the appraisee for the appraiser\reviewer. An associate does not join the team knowing his\her billing rate and If an associate is mis-fit in current team and wants to think about his\her career then it should not impact appraisal. Appraisal should be fair with only based on work given and accomplished.savithagowda on 30 Jun 2017, 17:35 PM
It should be 360 degree appraisal to avoid discrimination between appraise and appraiser. Every team member should have rights to express their feedback on respective supervisors. it should not be one way feedback and all should know as a supervisor he/she is managing well or not within team. More connectivity, continuous feedback to be given, empower team , support team when they mistake, do not ever demotivate. Please make it 360 degree appraisal to make every employee is responsible to their role and task and listen feedback from team members before supervisors rated on their performancevijaykumarkanugula on 27 Jan 2017, 15:38 PM
It would have been better if you had said how to tackle the things, every employee or manager experiences more or the less same. no need to explain the feelings once again on the paper. if you have mentioned how to manage such emotions, this article would have been useful.rajasivalingam on 09 May 2016, 05:33 AM
Dear Subhash_jsr the article says that comparison is not the right the way between two employees. Please refer the What does the manager go through? again it says "Being careful that they are not comparing two employees." Moreover comparison is not the right way to evaluate and employee, each and every individual is different from other either in their work or behavior or in their character. The article also says the same thing what you have been perceived .GowthamKotha on 15 Apr 2015, 08:35 AM
Appraisal is not comparative or superlative activity. It should be an relative activity, to check what is in you and how it has performed. You can always object and clarify if someone making it comparative.subhash_jsr on 08 Nov 2014, 01:10 AM
appraisal or comparison between two employees ? and how far is that right ? are two employees has same potential, knowledge, attitude and similar job and job load ? this is not explained to us while recruiting.