Confidence.Necessary!

It is so easy to undermine the value you bring just because you’re surrounded by people with more experience than you. We all have a role to play where we are, and while we learn we can make significant contributions and changes because we have a fresh mind.. You are still fresh and can come up with innovative ways to get work done.

So… stop doubting yourself!

It is obviously not that easy. I say- Fake it till you make it (There is a balance 🙂

So I worked on my confidence a lot when I joined a corporate environment. Below are some of my confidence boosting tips:

PREPARE FOR MEETINGS/ENGAGEMENTS

Growing up I used to “wing” it through class at times. Where you really don’t know what is going on, but you are able to put together some English words to make the Lecturer or teacher think you have this all figured out. This is NOT a good idea at work. (I tried it). You don’t want to be under prepared for meetings.

If there is material to be discussed at a meeting or with a colleague:

• Read it prior to the meeting (not 5 minutes before);
• Make notes where you don’t understand/require clarity/ have a suggestion

Why is this important? When you are a step ahead of everyone / at par with everyone because you prepared, you feel less like an imposter or a fraud, you feel like you are in the right place and that you really can do the job.

Confidence 1 level up!.

ASK ONE QUESTION OR MAKE A COMMENT IN EVERY MEETING YOU ATTEND

Yes. Don’t be the quiet and invisible person in the room. But! DO NOT ask “obvious” questions just to tick a box. No one likes to repeat what was just said because you wanted to say something in the meeting.

Pick the right moment to say something – don’t interrupt the entire meeting unnecessarily.

So, if you have pre-planned and read ahead of the meeting you can formulate questions in advance. Also, as the meeting progresses some of your questions might be answered and this will help you better understand that new project being discussed. *confidence boosted*

I like to ask questions, or comment with ideas or suggestions. The best confidence booster when you are starting this out is when someone says to you, “Thats a good question”.

You stand out in the room when you say something like, “When I read the documents shared prior to the meeting, I thought it would be a good idea for us to take this route….”Often the next question is, does anyone else have any thoughts on this…. (Silence in the room). In most cases no one reads material prior to a meeting. You have again, by doing the bare minimum scored some confidence boosting brownie points.

Try it.

OFFER TO TAKE MINUTES IN MEETINGS

Not my favourite thing to do!!!! BUT! By doing this you have already shown an interest in what is being discussed and the team or whoever is leading the meeting knows they can depend on you.

Taking minutes helps you:

• maintain concentration (no time to check your WhatsApp stories)
• “disrupt” the meeting by asking for clarity so you capture the point correctly- (this way they explain something in more detail for your benefit).
• overcome the fear of talking to people or talking in a meeting- often the chairperson will ask you questions to check if you were able to capture the issue correctly.

At the end of the meeting, ask to read out action items or key points to summarise the meeting. This gives you an opportunity to practice speaking in the meeting.

Confidence boosted. Everyone in the room is depending on you in this moment to share the juice discussed in the meeting.

PREPARE PRESENTATIONS FOR THE TEAM AND VOLUNTEER TO PRESENT

Yep!. If no one wants to stand in front of the top tier management to present something- TAKE IT! You can do it. Also, even if you aren’t the best public speaker the fact that you took it up despite your imperfections helps you work on it.

Preparing helps you apply yourself more to the task and enables you to make the presentation to a high standard. The pressure (or fear, lol) drives you to do well.

Alternatively, you don’t take up the whole presentation, volunteer to prepare or present 1 slide. As time goes you might do the whole thing!

Be part of the action don’t hide away. Hiding will cause you to doubt yourself when you have to make a contribution or are asked to present when you aren’t prepared for it.

VOLUNTEER FOR AN ACTION

This applies for recurring meetings with action logs. When we have meetings that require actions to be done, I often volunteer for at least one activity outside my usual line of work or that involves collaborating with people I don’t usually work with or know personally.

I have to break through barriers to speak to people I don’t know and get work done. Dealing with dependencies can be a nightmare.

Doing this helps you learn new things, meet new people and complete a task that no one EXPECTED you to take up. It may not be much to others, but this will boost your confidence. It boosts mine as I learn a lot of things through these sort of actions. It makes you a versatile person. (Do not overburden yourself!). The last thing you want is to get back to a meeting with the action incomplete.

Once the action is complete do not wait for the next meeting- send an email detailing completion. In the next meeting, when your colleagues haven’t met their deadlines you’ll get a confidence boost by being thanked for doing what you said you would do.

again, sometimes doing just the ordinary stuff- what you said you will do, will make you stand out and boost your confidence.

What I have learnt is that, all the small things we sometimes avoided doing when we were still in school are sometimes the little things that we need to re-learn and apply to be able to believe in ourselves at work.

We doubt ourselves often because we don’t really know what we are doing and why we have been trusted with so much. I mean!!!… Do these people know who I am? They are letting me do this by myself? Yes. They are and that is because you can actually do it really well.

So, fake it till you make it. Believe in yourself even when you have no clue what you are doing. Ask for feedback- you will be surprised by how highly people speak of you.