Why Lacking in Confidence Will Affect Your Career Chances

Confidence is one of the most important qualities you need for a successful career. Confidence at work can give you the courage to take on new tasks, address difficult situations, or go for that all-important promotion. Confidence gives you the ability to lead others, feel positive about your skills, values, and knowledge.

It is no surprise then that lacking in confidence can have a negative impact on your career. Many times, people who don’t feel confident tend to be quiet during meetings, suffer from low productivity, or be afraid to step out of their comfort zone.

If you feel that a lack of confidence in your abilities is affecting your career chances, what can you do about it?

In this article, you will find out how to tackle self-confidence issues to help improve your chances of success in your career.

What is confidence

Confidence is described as the having belief in your powers or abilities. Confidence is actually related to trust because a confident person trusts in themselves to get a job done.

So, having confidence is connected to both feelings about yourself and actions to perform tasks. 

Lack of confidence vs. low self-esteem

It is also good to know the difference between low self-esteem and a lack of confidence.

Low self-esteem is connected to how you value your abilities and appraise your own worth. Your self-esteem very often determines how you act towards yourself and others rather than having trust in your abilities.

Therefore, it is not uncommon that a person who is very confident can suffer from low self-esteem.

The article focuses on the ability to trust in your abilities, or, in other words, act with confidence.

How confidence can affect your career

Confidence is very important to your success at work and in moving up the corporate ladder. A study by the University of Melbourne found that people who felt confident in school were more likely to be successful adults.

Confidence increases your productivity

One of the reasons why productivity is connected to confidence is because you trust in what you can and can’t do. A confident person will be able to use their strengths, knowing that their work will be of high quality.

A person who doesn’t lack in confidence will also learn to improve on their weaknesses and boost their chances of success. After all, if you feel that you lack the needed skills for a particular task, you will have the confidence to go about getting those

Confidence boosts communication skills

Trusting in yourself also gives you the confidence to speak up. A confident person is able to get their thoughts and ideas across to others. A person who lacks confidence usually has difficult formulating their ideas and end up rambling.

Confidence also affects how you feel about your subject and those feelings will rub off on others.

Confidence gains you respect from your employers and peers

It comes as no surprise that a confident person is able to earn respect from their colleagues and employers. One of the reasons why you gain respect is that self-confidence already helps you perform your job well.

Another reason why being confident boosts your career chances is that you also learn to respect others. For example, confident people don’t feel threatened by the success of others. Also, being confident doesn’t lead to self-doubt if you receive constructive criticism.

Dangers of being too confident

When it comes to developing confidence in your own abilities, it is also important to realise the dangers of being overly confident.

Confidence is a healthy attribute when it aligns with your actual skills, knowledge, and abilities. However, confidence can become a problem when your self-perception is greater than what you can actually do. This can create tensions in the workplace, lead to burnout, or affect your ability to deliver on your promises.

Being overconfident can also negatively impact on your career chances because it can distort your perception of your abilities. Overconfidence can impair self-improvement, make you lazy, or arrogant. In time, employers see overly confident employees as a liability rather than an asset.

Benefits of being confident at work

Developing confidence will influence the way you view yourself and how others view you. Confidence is also crucial to your success in the workplace as it will make you a valuable and trusted employee.