By Jonathan H. Westover, PhD
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Abstract: This article examines strategies for building and sustaining confidence in the workplace. It defines workplace confidence as an individual's inner belief in their ability to competently achieve work goals while feeling assured, motivated, and resilient. On an individual level, confidence is developed through focusing on strengths, setting goals, positive self-talk, visualization, reframing mistakes, and self-care. Organizationally, leaders can provide training, mentorship, autonomy, constructive feedback, recognition, and foster a sense of community to support employees' confidence. The article analyzes examples from Cleveland Clinic, which implemented competency tracking to boost clinicians' confidence, and Anthropic, an AI startup using "confidence coaching" for engineers. In conclusion, confidence can be purposefully developed when organizations complement individual strategies through training programs, mentorship, autonomy, feedback, and recognition. Sustained commitment to evidence-based approaches helps create psychologically safe environments where employees can maximize potential.
Confidence is a crucial attribute for success in any career or role. However, maintaining confidence can be challenging, especially in times of workplace uncertainty, stress, or change.
Today we will explore research-backed strategies and practical tips for building and sustaining confidence at work. By understanding how confidence develops and leveraging proven techniques, individuals and organizations can cultivate psychologically safe, energized work environments where people feel empowered to contribute their best.
Defining Workplace Confidence
Before addressing how to build confidence, it is important to define exactly what is meant by the term. For the purposes of this paper, workplace confidence refers to an individual's inner belief in their ability to perform competently and achieve work goals. Confident employees feel assured in their capabilities, motivated to take on challenges, and resilient when facing setbacks. Some key components of workplace confidence include:
Self-efficacy - One's belief in one's ability to execute courses of action required to deal with prospective situations.
Self-esteem - The value one places on oneself and one's work. Confident employees see themselves positively.
Self-empowerment - The belief that one has the power, ability, and resources to succeed and influence important outcomes.
Resilience - The ability to recover readily from difficulties. Confident people bounce back from failures or criticism.
When employees feel confident, they operate from a place of psychological strength that allows peak performance, creativity, and a drive for continuous learning and improvement. However, developing confidence is an ongoing process that requires conscious effort from both individuals and their organizations.
Building Individual Confidence through Self-Belief
On an individual level, confidence begins from within through building a solid foundation of self-belief. Research has shown several effective techniques for strengthening self-efficacy and related factors:
Focusing on Strengths: Individuals build confidence by spending more time noticing their strengths rather than weaknesses. Practicing gratitude for abilities helps reframe mindsets. For example, keeping a weekly "win journal" to record achievements, however small, enhances self-esteem over time.
Setting Smart Goals: SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound) activate self-efficacy by providing a structured plan and sense of progress. Celebrating milestones keeps motivation high.
Positive Self-Talk: Replace unsupportive internal dialogue with affirming self-talk, such as "I've got this" instead of self-doubt. Over time, positive thought patterns become habits.
Visualization: Visualizing success, such as a smooth presentation, helps convince the brain it is achievable. Combined with deep breathing, visualization activates the parasympathetic nervous system for a calm, focused mindset.
Reframing Mistakes: Seeing failures as learning opportunities, rather than personal judgments, protects self-esteem. Saying "I learned from that experience" shifts the perspective.
Self-Care: When employees feel healthy, rested, and supported emotionally through difficult times, their capacity to cope with setbacks increases. Prioritizing basic needs nourishes inner confidence reserves.
Organizational Roles in Developing Employee Confidence
While individuals must take accountability for their self-development, organizations play a strong supporting role. Leaders and managers directly influence subordinates' confidence through various strategies:
Provide Structured Learning: Training programs that combine challenging new skills with achievable short-term goals raise self-efficacy over time. Google, for example, offers rotational programs to help employees build confidence across different roles.
Offer Mentorship: Having an experienced mentor to provide guidance, feedback, and encouragement builds confidence through social models of success. Many top firms pair new hires with senior "buddies" for at least 6 months.
Enable Autonomy: Giving teams independence to solve problems innovatively, within boundaries, activates employees' intrinsic belief in their abilities to succeed. At Netflix, very few processes are centrally controlled.
Give Constructive Feedback: Regular, specific, and balanced feedback - focusing first on strengths and next on areas for growth - helps employees develop self-awareness and efficacy. Deloitte promotes a "feedback culture" through coaching.
Recognize Contributions: Public and private recognition of wins, no matter their scale, reinforces self-esteem and resilience. Southwest Airlines makes a point to personally thank each employee weekly.
Foster Community: When coworkers support each other through challenges, the whole team's confidence improves as individuals see their value within a strong collective. This psychological safety breeds daring innovation, as at Pixar.
Industry Examples: Building Confidence in Healthcare and Tech
The following case studies illustrate how specific organizations in healthcare and technology have strategically cultivated employee confidence:
Healthcare Example: Cleveland Clinic
As a leading hospital, Cleveland Clinic aimed to boost clinicians' confidence through a system of structured competency tracking. Doctors progress through five career levels requiring mastery of clinical skills and non-technical abilities like leadership. Mentors guide advancement with feedback. Now over 10,000 physicians have participated, feeling more empowered in their practice through ongoing learning supported by the organizational culture.
Technology Example: Anthropic
This AI safety startup focuses on building internal confidence from day one for engineers through a "confidence coaching" program. New hires participate in fortnightly sessions to set goals, track progress, reframe mistakes, and visualize success - supported by data from performance reviews. By addressing both technical and "soft" skills, the program helps ensure engineers can expertly manage complex projects from the beginning of their careers at Anthropic.
Conclusion
Confidence, though often perceived as innate, can be purposefully nurtured in organizational settings. When leaders, managers and the culture support individual confidence-building strategies, employees feel psychologically equipped to maximize their potential and handle challenges. Regularly evaluating programs through engagement surveys helps optimize efforts over time. Ultimately, organizations that foster confident, resilient workforces reap benefits like higher retention rates, more innovation, and stronger performance - positioning them for sustainable success. With commitment to evidence-based strategies, both individuals and companies can develop environments where confidence truly thrives.
References
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman & Co.
Wood, A. M., & Tarrier, N. (2010). Positive clinical psychology: A new vision and strategy for integrated research and practice. Clinical Psychology Review, 30(7), 819–829. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.06.003
Jonathan H. Westover, PhD is Chief Academic & Learning Officer (HCI Academy); Chair/Professor, Organizational Leadership (UVU); OD Consultant (Human Capital Innovations). Read Jonathan Westover's executive profile here.
Suggested Citation: Westover, J. H. (2024). Building Confidence in the Workplace. Human Capital Leadership Review, 13(1). doi.org/10.70175/hclreview.2020.13.1.9
