How Workplace Training in Confidence Works
If you want to bolster your team’s confidence, help is at hand. Whilst a common narrative around confidence is that it’s something you “have” or “don’t have” (like a magic key), the truth is that confidence is a state that can be strengthened and grown, just like any muscle you work at the gym.
Neuroplasticity describes our brain’s ability to adapt and grow new connections. When I work with organisations to improve confidence there are two key questions I return to:
- What are the current patterns of thinking, feeling or behaving that are holding people back from feeling confident?
- What new habits of thinking, feeling or behaving can strengthen feelings of confidence?
What’s holding you back?
In a workshop on confidence, I’ll always spend time exploring with delegates what holds them back from feeling confident in a way that feels safe, at a depth that is appropriate for the workplace. All sharing is optional or can be made anonymous which helps people open up.
Whilst acknowledging what holds us back can feel confronting, it’s an essential part of growing confidence. The most common individual blocks to confidence that I’ve encountered at trainings are:
- Physical feelings of nerves or stress that undermine performance and confidence.
- Not knowing how to set healthy boundaries.
- Catastrophising or fearing the worst.
- Comparison with others.
- A ‘fixed mindset’ i.e. a belief that you have a set level of capability and that feelings of discomfort must be a sign that you’re incompetent or something’s wrong.
- A harsh and judgemental inner critic.
- Unrealistic and unhelpful beliefs around failure.
What grows confidence?
Having explored blocks to confidence, I offer a variety of tools to grow confidence including psychoeducation, mindset shifts and practical techniques to feel more confident.
Psycho-eduction
I teach the basics of how the human brain works and how it can sabotage our performance, as well as our feelings of confidence. This creates a foundation of a) normalising our experience and b) understanding that lapses of confidence or feelings of stress are not personality flaws, but a natural by-product of our brain’s unique circuitry. This realisation can bring about a huge amount of relief for those who struggle with confidence.
Mindset Shifts
What if there was no failure, but only feedback?
What if feelings of discomfort were a sign that you were learning something new and growing your capability?
What if confidence was less about being the loudest person in the room and more about knowing you can trust yourself to deal with challenges?
These are the kind of mindset shifts that can reframe what it means to be confident and set delegates up with a healthier relationship to failure or setbacks.
Practical Techniques
All my trainings incorporate simple yet powerful ways for delegates to connect to themselves and feel more confident. For some, it’s using self-regulation tools that help them feel calmer and clearer which makes the difference. For others it’s practising and strengthening positive self talk. Using body language and confidence cues is another powerful way delegates learn to present themselves confidently.
My lengthy career as a Therapist and Coach means I’m uniquely placed to draw on the cutting-edge tools that work and to tailor them to your group (because there’s no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to growing confidence).
What about how the organisation impacts confidence?
My focus in most confidence trainings is growing confidence on an individual rather than on an organisational level (both are important). Nonetheless, delegates will naturally reflect on how their workplace might support or undermine the confidence of individuals and potentially pave the way for wider change that supports confidence building.
If I’m working with leaders, more time can be spent facilitating discussion on how they can lead in ways that grows the confidence of those who work for them. The most common themes I hear from delegates about how the workplace knocks their confidence are:
- Unsupportive line managers who don’t listen.
- Lack of clarity or feedback from senior leaders.
- A culture of secrecy, where failure is never admitted or acknowledged.
- Unrealistically high workloads.
- Micromanagement.
- Lack of training or information (particularly when promoted).
- Lack of praise or appreciation.
Confidence Training in the Workplace: The Results
When confidence training is delivered in a way that feels safe, supportive and empowering, delegates learn to connect to confidence, even when the odds feel stacked against them.
The kind of confidence I teach isn’t about becoming arrogant, complacent or thinking you’re better than you are. It’s about having a grounded, realistic perspective of your strengths and capabilities and knowing what you need to do to make sure your brain doesn’t sabotage your potential.
What could this kind of confidence mean for your organisation?
If you’re interested in discussing confidence training, contact me and we can see if I can help.