Some just have it. And some don’t. Right?

I’m talking about employee confidence at work – the belief in oneself, in the skills and abilities one brings to the workplace.

As a leader, you can learn how to build employee confidence at work – to inspire your team members to believe in themselves, and in their own skills and abilities.

When professionals have self-confidence, they show up with the moxie to face daily work challenges.

When employees lack self-confidence, they don’t fully leverage their developed strengths nor do they adopt the growth mindset needed to cultivate new ones. 

Naturally, this negatively affects individual performance and career advancement; it also limits team contribution and challenges employee retention.

It takes work to build and maintain self-esteem. Many of us incrementally develop self-confidence as we get on the proverbial horse, fall off it, and get back on it. 

But in pressured, fast-paced work environments, most professionals need a boost from managers, sponsors, and mentors.

It’s up to leaders to help build employee confidence at work.

In this article, we’ll explore the importance of workplace confidence and the ways in which confident employees stand out professionally. We’ll also take a look at a number of methods to inspire confidence and turn ho-hum professionals into high potential employees.

The Importance of Building Confidence at Work

Every employee needs a big dose of confidence to turbo-charge their career. A positive self-image goes hand-in-hand with productive behavior.

Self-confidence also breeds followership. We all recognize confidence in others. We’re instinctively inspired by and attracted to those who exude a strong sense of self, or a compelling personal brand.

When a professional is given permission to show up authentically, as their best self, they share their unique value generously. 

Whether it’s a junior intern or a senior manager, we respond to how they speak up in meetings and demonstrate pride in their work.

Confident Employees Build Better Relationships with Their Colleagues 

Because confident employees show up authentically, they are approachable and trustworthy. When confident employees speak, their colleagues are eager to hear what they have to say and happy to listen. 

This is an incredible boon for workplace happiness and team satisfaction, too. A manager’s confidence influences team enjoyment and cohesion.

Confident Employees Earn Respect and Recognition

Confident employees are active contributors in meetings, voicing their opinions assertively. They are also perceived as driven to achieve results and have impact. 

With a strong work ethic and steadfast values, confident employees have strong personal brands and impressive reputations in the workplace. They’re noticed and recognized.

Confident Employees Are Better Positioned for Promotion 

High self-confidence is linked to positive outcomes. Confident professionals are typically more productive. 

They are also assertive and proactive. Confident employees are more likely to take career-building risks, putting themselves forward to take on extra tasks or new roles. They take the plunge, with courage.

Now that we’ve underlined the importance of confidence in the workplace, how can you inspire it in your employees?

Boosting Employee Confidence: 10 Ways of Building Confidence in Your Team

Let’s explore a number of powerful methods for developing your team members’ confidence and encouraging them to show up with leadership presence.

1. Acknowledge Strengths and Weaknesses 

Research (and common experience) reveals that extreme attention to either positive and negative behavior does little to inspire growth.

On the other hand, offering objective feedback about where employees shine and where they have opportunity is absolutely motivating.

Instituting a process for employees to get the real scoop about how they perform and how they are perceived is a key to unlocking the building blocks of confidence. 

Tools such as the 360Reach Personal Brand Survey are ideal in this regard, and can help employees discover how their personal brands are truly perceived.

Transparent feedback that focuses on both strengths to leverage and opportunities for development initiates a blueprint for professional up-leveling.

2. Encourage Curiosity 

Nurturing an employee’s professional curiosity is a good step in building confidence in the workplace. Curious professionals are more likely to feel powerful than powerless, more likely to feel influential than inconsequential. 

Professional curiosity reflects both the willingness to admit what you do not know and the drive to learn. It involves stepping outside of a comfort zone, positioning oneself for confidence-building growth. 

To encourage curiosity, create a culture that formally integrates into the workflow the practices of asking questions, seeking out fresh perspectives, and challenging assumptions.

3. Push Employees to Learn

Learning is essential not only for skill development, but also for confidence-boosting. When we learn something new, we feel a sense of achievement, which in turn builds our self-esteem. 

Learning helps employees grow professionally and allows them to apply those new skills to their work. Learning increases a sense of mastery, which is directly linked to motivating drive. 

Allocate professional development budgets and – equally important – allocate time for team members to upskill. This might include attending classes, participating in online certification programs, or engaging with professional coaches. 

4. Guide Employees Through Mistakes

Failures, along with the strategic pivots they trigger, are an inherent chapter in every success story we’ve heard. And mistakes are a natural part of any learning process, strengthening the muscle that solves problems and course corrects.

For employees with low confidence, small errors can be destabilizing, and sometimes, devastating. Normalizing mistakes by helping employees understand that each one is a stepping stone toward achievement is a confidence-building management tool. 

Guide employees through any mistakes they do make. Skip admonishment. Choose a coaching approach to help them see the link between their choices and consequences. 

Help them generate potential alternatives and solutions for the future. 

5. Teach Employees to Set Professional Goals

Healthy self-confidence grows with achieving meaningful goals. Setting goals is one of the key building blocks for developing a strong personal brand, as my colleague William Arruda expresses: 

Knowing where you want to go with your career will point you in the right direction when you start implementing brand-building activities. If you are unclear about what you want to do, your brand will flail about like a half-raised sail billowing in the wind.

William Arruda

With a defined goal and measures of success, a professional is more likely to put in the effort to adapt and grow. 

Help every professional create a professional development plan with tangible action steps. It will provide an energizing confidence boost, putting them on a path of focus and achievement.

6. Allow Employees to Speak Their Minds

Speaking up authentically, or sharing our thoughts and feelings openly, boosts our sense of self. 

Conversely, when we hold back our opinions, we feel inauthentic, bottled up, or downright false. When who we are is not aligned with how we show up, we easily become frustrated and resentful.

Create an atmosphere that welcomes respectful dialogue and debate. When employees share perspectives, they build deeper relationships with their colleagues and feel more connected to the workplace.

7. Acknowledge Employee Improvement

Acknowledging growth, improvement, or even a baby step of progress, is a powerful motivator. It influences both attitude and output. 

With the simple act of saying something nice when seeing something nice, moods improve and positive performance is amplified.

Stay attuned to staff work, and in particular, to positive change and incremental progress. A personal message or a callout in a meeting works magically in making employees feel seen, valued, and appreciated. 

8. Cultivate Employee Purpose

Top performance is correlated with self-confidence. It’s also closely tied to a sense of purpose. When we feel that our work is purposeful or we feel passionate about it, we increase the amount of effort we exert.

Discovering our passion or purpose is an integral to strengthening our personal brands. It can come from many angles – for example: from learning, excelling, helping others, or being creative.

You can help your team members discover their personal brand and what energizes them at work with a tool like BrandBoost. When they understand what makes them unique and find their work meaningful, they will work harder and feel happier!

Your personal brand is based on authenticity. It’s real; it’s genuine; it’s what makes you unique. It includes your values, passions, “superpowers” and even quirks.

Stand Out: Boost Your Personal Brand, Ora Shtull

9. Provide Specific Feedback

Providing specific feedback to an employee once they complete a task is a great way to reinforce positive behavior and boost their confidence.

“Good job” won’t cut it here – you need to be detailed in your assessment. Precise praise, shared authentically, will pump up an employee’s self-esteem.

In addition to naming the specifics of behavior you’re praising, remind employees how their individual contribution plays a role in the team’s collective success. They will feel competent and valued.

10. Celebrate Success

Celebration uplifts both an individual’s soul and a team’s spirit. 

It feels good to be recognized and to cheer for others too. In a work environment with multiple priorities and aggressive goals, we often don’t pause long enough to celebrate a milestone or achievement. 

We miss the opportunity to appreciate team members and to supercharge the team’s commitment to the mission.

In the light of exceptional performance, pause to privately express gratitude and to publicly celebrate. That’s a double-dose of confidence-boosting celebration!

Start Building Confidence at Work

Self-confidence waxes and wanes. In order to amp it up and keep it high among employees, it demands attention from leaders in the workplace.

With intention and encouragement, leaders, managers, mentors, and sponsors can help employees bring the best version of themselves to work and grow their self-esteem. 

When professionals are pumped up about past achievement and future potential, they stand out, make their mark, and pump up their career success.

Are you ready to help your team build confidence, develop their brands and stand out in a competitive market? Reach out to us – me (Ora) and William – for a private consultation.