Today’s topic is a biggie

 

I’m talking about the role of confidence in your career,

 

Why it’s important and how you can get more of it when you need it

 

Listen in to Episode 38 and I’ll tell you the 4 things you need to know about confidence

 

how you can enjoy what you are doing day each day at work

 

and how to build a great career along the way.

 

Hello again everybody

 

Thanks for joining me again on the podcast

 

And, in this episode, I’m going to be talking about confidence and the role confidence plays in your career.

 

Everybody wants more confidence of course, and I’ll be talking about that …

 

As well as the essential things you need to know about feeling more confident

 

So, that’s coming up very soon … 

 

But first, and as usual, on these solo episodes, it’s time for the news section …

 

 

So, the news this week relates to how we are supported in our careers by our employers.

 

A recent report suggests that our long-term career ambitions are not being supported by the employers we work for. This is according to new research by CWJobs. Link in the show notes.

 

Only one in five respondents in the survey say their company is delivering clear career progression.

 

And, this is despite nearly two-thirds of the respondents (63%) saying they are more future-focused than ever.

 

The research, which surveyed over 1,000 tech workers and 500 IT decision-makers, examined the additional support that workers want from their employers to further their careers. The top five support requirements include:

 

Training opportunities (51%)

Professional qualifications (38%)

Career coaching (36%)

Regular feedback from leadership (34%), and

Annual reviews (31%)

 

 The research found that, overall, nearly a third of workers say their employer is not delivering what they are looking for at work. 

 

So, why I think this is interesting is that it’s showing professionals to be more ambitious and future focused than pre-pandemic, and that they are now looking for more support from their employer to make sure they are set up for long-term success. 

 

This tends to fly in the face of the idea that there is some sort of Great Resignation going on post pandemic.

 

Of course both these can true, some of us are feeling more ambitious and future focused whilst others are looking at careers that better align with our values.

 

What do you think? Are you feeling more career focussed post pandemic and is your employer supporting you in your career or is there a gap?

 

So that was the research from CWJobs, and I’ve put a link to the report in the shown notes.

 

Ok

 

So, today’s topic is all about the role of confidence in your career,

 

Why it’s important and how you can get more of it when you need it.

 

Career coaches see a lot of requests from people who say something like.

 

"I’ve just been promoted and I’m moving up to a more strategic role and feel nervous about getting it right. I need support to feel more confident."

Or

 

"I'm unsure if I want to stay in my current career or whether I should make a change. However, I struggle with confidence, and this is interfering with my decision making."

 

Those were two real examples. There were many more.

 

So, this is a very important subject.

 

And, when it comes down to it, confidence is a vital element in career management, 

 

allowing you to pursue exciting career options and excel in those roles. 

 

On the other hand, those who lack self-confidence tend to play it safe in their career and can find it difficult to feel comfortable as their career progresses. 

 

Confidence can also inspire others, and of course, gaining the trust of those around us can be beneficial in our careers. 

 

Everyone has their own definition of confidence. Often that definition is somewhat vague, and we don't usually give it much thought. 

 

Therefore, the first step to feeling confident is having a clear understanding of what being confident means to you.

 

Confidence is often described as feeling good about what we are about to do or feeling a level of certainty, or even feeling good about ourselves and what will happen next.

 

So, confidence is a feeling, and it's not something you have or don't have. Also, it’s not a skill.

 

To add to the confusion, sometimes people who seem confident on the outside don't feel confident on the inside.

 

Let’s dig a bit deeper …

 

I’m going to give you 4 things you need to know about confidence, and

 

These points will help you sustain long-term confidence in your career and life.

 

The first thing is, it’s important to …

1.   Get Clear on your Values

It's clear from the earlier definition that confidence is an inside job. Sustained confidence isn't something we get from outside ourselves, it's a feeling, and the way to a long term sustained feeling of confidence is to first get clear on your values.

 

Values are the operating principles that guide every decision you make, how you live and what's important to you. They are your qualities of living and describe your character both in and out of the office and don't change whether you are at work or home.

 

Values are a core part of who we are and how we see ourselves. By getting clear on your values, you understand who you are and what you stand for. You can think of values as a compass you can use to set direction and help you to stay on track during the journey.

 

Values play a significant role in developing confidence and enhancing performance as they provide the inspiration and motivation to do what we need to do. They also sustain us on the journey.

 

So, suppose your values at work or in your career are to be engaged, efficient, productive, caring, making a difference to those you serve – those values will be there in your current role, the next one and the one after that, even when things don't go as planned at work.

 

Conversely, if you are unclear on your values, you are much more likely to be influenced by other factors, such as the views of others or an overfocus on superficial goals.

 

The reason that values are so important when it comes to confidence is that they motivate and inspire you, and that helps you to feel more confident and perform at higher levels.

 

This leads to the next important thing when it comes to confidence, which relates to your skills.

2.   Skills

 

Once you are clear on your values, you can focus on developing the skills you need to deepen and improve your performance in those areas. Whilst confidence isn't a skill, as we explained earlier, if you don't have adequate skills to do the things you want to do, it can be difficult to feel confident. Conversely, you are likely to appear (and feel) confident when you are skilled in a particular area.

 

So, if you lack confidence because of a skills gap, this is an area you should focus on. For example, interview skills, presentation skills, negotiation skills and communication skills are all learnable. Are there any relevant webinars or events you could attend to learn these skills? Is there a course you could take? Or perhaps you could find a mentor.

 

Next, we will deal with the impact of fear on confidence.  

 

But first, it’s time to discuss today’s resources.  

 

 

 

I have a great resource for you today.

 

I was contacted by Hannah Smith from the online learning platform FutureLearn about sharing something with you that they’re doing that I think you will be interested in.

 

FurtureLearn partners with universities, institutions and industry leaders to create world-class courses to help people with their careers.
 
They’ve created a FREE course with Leeds University called the Essential Skills for Your Career.

 
Featured in the UK government’s Skills Toolkit collection, this course helps learners to take their careers to the next level. 
 
You will learn how to navigate the process of applying for jobs and interviews, consider the importance of transferable skills and creating the right professional networks.

 

This is a self-guided course so you learn at your own pace and I can highly recommend it.

 

I’ve put the link in the show notes, or you could just google essential skills for your career and FutureLearn (all one word) and that should get you there as well.

Ok, let’s get back to the show.

 

Ok, in the first part we talked about the first 2 things you need to know about confidence.

 

And in the second part of this episode, I’m going to give you 2 more things you need to know.

 

So, the third thing relates to the impact of fear.

 

3.   The impact of fear

 

We all face some fear almost in every sphere of our daily life. Fear is a normal part of our psychological behaviour. Fear showing up is nothing more than an evolutionary response to uncertainty. Fear, however, can prevent you from feeling confident. Even if you're competent, skilled and knowledgeable, being afraid can rob you of confidence. 

 

It's essential, therefore, to accept and recognise fear and try to normalise it. 

 

 

So, this is vital to know, as is the fact that, and this is my final thing you need to know,

4.   The actions of confidence come first; the feeling s of confidence come later

 

It's important to understand that not feeling confident is normal, particularly in unfamiliar situations. Most people say, "When I feel more confident, I'll take action". But confidence is not the starting point. Confidence increases with experience. When you take action, pushing through the resistance, anxiety and fear of what lies ahead, your confidence will build.

 

Ultimately, confidence comes in the doing. Try something new and do it more than once. Act, reflect, modify and do it again. Confidence comes from making an attempt, whether you win or lose.

 

So, there you have it, the 4 things you need to know about confidence.

 

Get clear on your Values

 

Develop your Skills

 

Handle the Impact of Fear

 

Confidence follows Action

 

I hope you have found these words helpful.

 

So, I hope the content today was thought-provoking, helpful and that it helped you think a bit more clearly about where you are right now in your career.

 

Please let me know what you thought about the content

 

As this is a new podcast, feedback really does help me to shape future episodes, and make the content as relevant and helpful as possible.

 

You can email me at mark@bravocoaching.co.uk and you can find the show notes at bravocoaching.co.uk/podcast

 

If you are interested in working with me, you can book a free discovery call on my website, here:

 

And to remind you that you can download your free Should I stay or should I go guide at

 

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I will speak to you all again in 2 week’s time 

 

Bye for now.