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10 Ways to Build Confidence with Your Executives

June 3, 2023

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An executive assistant sitting in a boardroom with her executives. She is exuding confidence and speaking with clarity.

Confidence in the workplace is central to your overall success. Self-confidence is having a sense of trust in your own abilities, skills, and knowledge. It means you have a generally positive attitude about yourself and what you contribute to your team. A person with confidence is usually aware of their strengths and weaknesses. They also take on new challenges and goals, even if they seem daunting at first. 

Self-confidence does not come easily or naturally for everyone. However, this is a strength that can be built upon and improved. Do you struggle with self-confidence? 

Building Self-Confidence 

Developing self-confidence and a positive attitude about your skills and abilities will come with time. Once you begin to have confidence in one area of your life, you will inevitably see positive results in other areas of your life, too. 

Here are 10 ways you can build confidence with your executives and other colleagues at work. 

Learn Something New 

Learning a new skill is a great way to improve your confidence at work. We all feel better about ourselves and our abilities when we have new skills and ideas to contribute to our team. Whether it’s improving your typing skills or strengthening your knowledge of software like Microsoft Excel, learning a new skill is a confidence booster. 

Push Yourself 

To become more confident, you have to step out of your comfort zone. This is not always easy for some people. However, it is vital for building confidence and growing in your career. For example, if you hate public speaking or giving presentations, push yourself to overcome this fear. Examine where you are holding yourself back due to fears, apprehension, or shyness, and push yourself to overcome them. 

Be Presentable 

We’ve all heard the saying, “First impressions matter.” However, what about daily impressions? Daily impressions matter just as much as first impressions do, if not more! Dressing professionally is an immediate confidence booster. When you look good, you feel good about yourself. Make it a point to be presentable and refrain from dressing too casually at work. 

Spot Confidence in Others 

A great way to build self-confidence is to spot confident traits in others and emulate them. Think about someone at work who is successful and confident. Then, consider what traits this person has. How can you incorporate these traits into your own character? 

Know Your Strengths 

Identifying your strengths and weaknesses is necessary for building confidence. We all have strengths and abilities to contribute to our team. So, identify your strengths and focus on them. If you are having a bad day, or a day where you are lacking confidence, make a list of your strengths. 

More Ways to Harness Self-Confidence

Always Have a Goal 

Goal setting is essential for continued growth and happiness in your career. Both long-term goals and short-term goals are necessary. Even if you are in the role that you want, don't stop setting goals for yourself. These can even be goals outside of work. Running in a local race, learning a new skill, or completing an unfinished project are all great examples. Achieving goals, both big and small, help to build self-confidence. 

Be Mindful of How You Speak to Yourself 

Language matters! How you speak to yourself is just as important as how you speak to others. Therefore, refrain from calling yourself names or engaging in negative internal language and thoughts. Try not to be critical of yourself. Instead, practice daily self-affirmations and remind yourself of the positive qualities you bring to your team.

Use Mistakes as a Learning Opportunity 

We all make mistakes. Don’t be overly hard on yourself if you make an error at work. Instead, use mistakes as a learning opportunity. Mistakes are inevitable, especially if implementing a new service, product, or business process. Learn from these mistakes rather than beat yourself up about them, and you will become a more confident team member. 

Speak Up and Ask For Help 

Being confident doesn’t mean knowing it all. In fact, being able to admit when you don’t know something is a trait of confidence. Be aware of what you know and what you do well, but also of what you do not know. Also, be sure to speak up and ask for help when you need it. This will help you to learn new skills and strengthen your weak areas, so you can become even more confident in your abilities.

Never Stop Training 

Continue to build your skill set and workplace knowledge. Achieving a new certification or becoming more efficient in your job are great ways to improve your self-confidence. Here at ASAP, we offer a variety of training resources to help administrative professionals strengthen their skills. Don’t stop training in your field. Instead, become an administrative expert with ASAP’s help. 

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