Welcome to the Stop Sabotaging Your Success Podcast, episode eighty-three. I’m your host, Cindy Esliger. This is the podcast focusing on what we can do today to take control of our careers and overcome the inevitable barriers to success that we encounter along the way. 

Self-confidence is a crucial factor in determining your success in any career. It is having the belief in your own abilities and having the courage to take risks and overcome challenges. People with unshakeable self-confidence possess the necessary mindset to achieve their goals, no matter the obstacles that may arise. 

In this episode, we explore why building unshakeable self-confidence is critical to success in the workplace. It allows us to take on new challenges, be assertive, and perform well under pressure. These are all good things when you’re attempting to build the career of your dreams. When we struggle with self-confidence, we may experience imposter syndrome and a lack of motivation, which can ultimately hinder our ability to achieve the success we’re looking for. 

Self-confidence in the workplace refers to having trust and belief in your abilities and being able to take risks and handle challenges with a positive attitude. It involves having a growth mindset and being open to learning and improving.

Too many people struggle with low self-confidence and let self-doubt hold them back from sharing their ideas or seeing the possibilities for themselves in their career. Self-confidence is as much a skill as it is an outlook, and the good news is that you can learn to be more self-confident if you’re willing to put in the work. 

Maybe some of these sound familiar: 

• You’ve lost your enthusiasm
• You’ve lost focus
• It’s hard to find motivation
• You keep forgetting things
• You’re making mistakes
• You’re questioning whether you are really the right person for the job
• You’re wondering why everyone else seems to be coping well except for you

First, it’s essential to become aware of your own confidence-killing beliefs and habits because only then can we put things in place in order to avoid or overcome them. Here are four of the most common confidence-killers in the workplace: 

1. Being a perfectionist
2. Being micromanaged
3. Being disengaged
4. Being afraid to fail

High performers tend to put pressure on themselves to maintain ridiculously unrealistic high standards, and they can sometimes become discouraged when they fail to achieve them. I’m putting my hand up here. This was me for many years and if I’m honest, I still struggle to keep my perfectionist tendencies in check, so you’re not alone if this is something you need to work on as well. 

I also struggle with being told exactly how to complete a task and then having people nitpick how I’m doing it or hovering over me while I’m doing it. It makes me feel like no matter what I do, I’m not good enough. I also don’t particularly like being told what to do, so if that’s necessary, then you certainly don’t get to determine how it gets done. I need some autonomy, on some level, or you might as well just do it yourself. In most cases, this kind of micromanaging has more to do with their insecurities in delegating than it does with your level of competence. That’s good to know if you are struggling with a micromanager in your midst. 

Are you feeling disengaged? Everyone has talents and abilities, but when your work doesn’t leverage your skills, you can feel disconnected from what you’re trying to accomplish and start to question your ability to do the job. If you’re feeling indifferent towards your work, it might be time to try a new perspective or a different approach. Switch things up. What can you do differently that might make your job more enjoyable, that better utilizes your strengths? Try incorporating one small tweak at a time and see if that improves things for you. 

We all want to get it right in our work, but the fear of failing might be standing in the way of you trying something new. There’s a good chance that things will not turn out as planned, and in reality, they rarely do. But even if things don’t follow your plan, there’s still a lot of value in doing the planning ahead of time. Here’s a little secret, not everyone completes projects on time and on budget as often as they claim. As long as you learn something from the experience, you haven’t truly failed. 

There are several benefits of building and maintaining self-confidence in the workplace. Here are four of the most common benefits: 

1. Improved communication
2. Increased productivity
3. Greater job satisfaction
4. More positive outcomes

People with self-confidence are more likely to express their ideas and opinions clearly and assertively. This helps improve communication and collaboration within teams, leading to more creative problem solving and timely decision-making.

When people have confidence in their abilities, they are more likely to take on new challenges and take initiative in their work. This can lead to increased productivity and efficiency, as they’re more willing to tackle difficult tasks and find innovative solutions. A project manager with self-confidence can effectively delegate tasks, prioritize critical items, and manage deadlines without falling victim to second-guessing themselves, or better yet, other people second-guessing them. As you can imagine, this will more than likely lead to a successful project completion. 

Developing your self-confidence can also lead to greater job satisfaction. When you feel confident in your abilities, you are more likely to take pride in your work and feel a sense of accomplishment in your achievements. This can lead to a more positive attitude toward work, which is always better than joining the complainers who can’t find anything good about anything.

Building self-confidence can also lead to more positive outcomes in the workplace, such as promotions, salary increases, and career advancement. Those who are self-confident are more likely to be recognized for their contributions and may be given more challenging and rewarding assignments because they more readily showcase their talents. When you believe in yourself and your abilities, it’s easier for others to also believe in you. Confidence is contagious. 

On the other hand, those who struggle with self-confidence in the workplace may experience significant negative consequences. They may hesitate to take on new challenges or speak up in meetings, leading to missed opportunities for career advancement. They may also be more susceptible to imposter syndrome, a psychological phenomenon where individuals doubt their achievements and feel like frauds, despite evidence to the contrary of their expertise. This can lead to feelings of inadequacy and a lack of motivation, ultimately hindering their future growth. 

Furthermore, low self-confidence can also impact how others perceive us in the workplace. If we lack confidence in our abilities, it can be difficult to convince others of our skills and competence, which can lead to fewer opportunities, lower salaries, and stunted career growth. It also makes us more vulnerable to many forms of malicious manipulation and bullying in the workplace. Since we’re already doubting ourselves, it doesn’t take much to push us over the edge, making us an easy target. 

So, how do we build this unshakeable self-confidence? Here is one strategy you can start implementing today: Put more significance on how you see yourself instead of worrying about how others view you. 

Valuing your own opinion and beliefs over external validation is crucial for developing unshakeable self-confidence in the workplace. When we place too much importance on external validation, we may become overly dependent on feedback from others, leading to self-doubt and a lack of confidence in our own abilities. 

Here are five reasons why valuing your own opinion and beliefs is essential for building unshakeable self-confidence: 

1. Increases self-awareness: Valuing your own opinion and beliefs can help increase your self-awareness and improve your understanding of what you’re good at and where you still need improvement. This can lead to increased self-confidence as we become more aware of our strengths along with our weaknesses, and develop a better sense of our own abilities at this moment in time. We are all a work in progress and there’s always room for improvement, so don’t be afraid to acknowledge where you see yourself coming up short. 
2. Fosters self-acceptance: When we value our own opinion and beliefs, we are more likely to accept ourselves for who we are rather than constantly seeking validation from others. This can lead to increased self-acceptance and self-compassion, which can contribute to a more positive self-image and increased levels of self-confidence. 
3. Increases self-reliance: When we trust our own judgment and opinions, we become more self-reliant and less dependent on that external validation. While it’s still nice to occasionally be praised, we get to a place where we are no longer seeking that praise to feel good or being devastated by the criticism. This can lead to increased self-confidence and a greater sense of autonomy in the workplace. 
4. Facilitates decision-making: When we trust our own judgment and opinions, we are better equipped to make decisions that align with our values and goals. This can lead to a more effective decision-making that helps us achieve our version of success, where our filter for evaluating alternatives is calibrated from within. 
5. Encourages authenticity: When we value our own opinion and beliefs, we are more likely to express our true selves in the workplace rather than trying to conform to external expectations. This can help build trust and respect with colleagues and contribute to increased self-confidence. 

Sometimes, we feel insecure about our work performance. If you’re good at your job, arrive on time every day, and do your best to get along with your coworkers, then you should be celebrating your perseverance and strong work ethic. It’s important to be objective about your work performance and recognize your value to the company. It’s okay to remind yourself of how good you are at your job, and sometimes that’s exactly what you need, rather than waiting for someone else to take notice and commend you. 

Take time to reflect on your measurable progress and achievements and use these as a guide when putting together your career goals for the future. This can help you develop a greater sense of self-awareness and increase your confidence in your current abilities, as well as your confidence to take on additional challenges. 

Seek feedback from people whose opinions matter to you. While all feedback can be helpful, it’s important to be selective about whose feedback you pay attention to. Choose people who are supportive and who have your best interests in mind, rather than those who may be overly critical or unsupportive, as their opinions might be a little skewed in the other direction. 

Building unshakeable self-confidence is key to achieving career success because it requires us to take a step back and have an objective look at our results. Cultivating this realistic self-image involves learning to embrace our strengths while also identifying and challenging those negative opinions and beliefs that hold us back. 

Seeking out opportunities to build skills, knowledge, and experience can increase our sense of competence and mastery. This may involve taking on new challenges, pursuing further education or training, seeking out feedback and mentorship, and developing a strong professional network. By building a strong foundation of skills, knowledge, and experience, we can develop the confidence we need to take risks and pursue challenging opportunities that will help propel us forward. 

Another important aspect of building unshakeable self-confidence is recognizing that it’s not a static state, but rather a dynamic and ongoing process. This means being willing to embrace our challenges, learn from failures, and continually push ourselves to grow and develop. By doing so, we can cultivate a sense of resilience and adaptability that can help us navigate the ups and downs of our career with confidence and grace. 

Setting small goals can help create momentum as we are building our confidence, leading to bigger accomplishments over time. It’s important to break larger goals into smaller milestones, to make progress more measurable and achievable. This will also keep our minds from creating more resistance to getting started. It’s these objective results that provide the irrefutable proof of what you have achieved and can be used to increase your belief in your abilities. 

Building self-acceptance and self-compassion can help us value our own opinion and beliefs over external validation. This can insulate us against the high we might get from receiving praise, as well as the low we might experience from any criticism. Practicing gratitude and positive self-talk can help us build the much needed self-acceptance and allow us to have compassion for ourselves more readily, leading to greater self-confidence and career success. 

Experimenting with this strategy for getting clear about how you see yourself and putting more significance on your beliefs and opinions of your own abilities can lead to greater success and fulfillment in your career. When you are solid in your level of proficiency, you build the unshakable self-confidence needed to overcome setbacks and achieve your professional goals. 

The best part is that whether other people appreciate your talents or not makes very little difference. Trust your own judgment and do the work to improve from there. 

And that’s it for this episode of Stop Sabotaging Your Success. Remember to download your Guide to Building Self-Confidence at cindyesliger.com/podcast, episode eighty-three.

Thank you to our producer, Alex Hochhausen and everyone at Astronomic Audio. Get in touch, I’m on Instagram @cindyesliger and my email address is info@cindyesliger.com.

If you enjoy listening to this podcast, you have to come check out The Confidence Collective. It’s my monthly coaching program where we dig a little deeper into what’s holding you back in your career, and we find the workarounds. We help you overcome the barriers and create the career you want. Join me over at cindyesliger.com/join. I’d love to have you join me in The Confidence Collective. 

Until next week, I’m Cindy Esliger. Thanks for listening.