How to Build Confidence

Very few people succeed in business without a degree of confidence. Yet everyone, from young people in their first real jobs to seasoned leaders in the upper ranks of organizations, have moments — or days, months, or even years — when they are unsure of their ability to tackle challenges. No one is immune to these bouts of insecurity at work, but they don't have to hold you back.

What the Experts Say
"Confidence equals security equals positive emotion equals better performance," says Tony Schwartz, the president and CEO of The Energy Project and the author of
Be Excellent at Anything: The Four Keys to Transforming the Way We Work and Live. And yet he concedes that "insecurity plagues consciously or subconsciously every human being I've met." Overcoming this self-doubt starts with honestly assessing your abilities (and your shortcomings) and then getting comfortable enough to capitalize on (and correct) them, adds Deborah H. Gruenfeld, the Moghadam Family Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior and Co-Director of the Executive Program for Women Leaders at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Here's how to do that and get into the virtuous cycle that Schwartz describes.

Preparation
Your piano teacher was right: practice does make perfect. "The best way to build confidence in a given area is to invest energy in it and work hard at it," says Schwartz. Many people give up when they think they're not good at a particular job or task, assuming the exertion is fruitless. But Schwartz argues that deliberate practice will almost always trump natural aptitude. If you are unsure about your ability to do something — speak in front of large audience, negotiate with a tough customer — start by trying out the skills in a safe setting. "Practice can be very useful, and is highly recommended because in addition to building confidence, it also tends to improve quality. Actually deliver the big presentation more than once before the due date. Do a dry run before opening a new store," says Gruenfeld. Even people who are confident in their abilities can become more so with better preparation.

Get out of your own way
Confident people aren't only willing to practice, they're also willing to acknowledge that they don't — and can't — know everything. "It's better to know when you need help, than not," says Gruenfeld. "A certain degree of confidence — specifically, confidence in your ability to learn — is required to be willing to admit that you need guidance or support."
On the flip side, don't let modesty hold you back. People often get too wrapped up in what others will think to focus on what they have to offer, says Katie Orenstein, founder and director of The OpEd Project, a non-profit that empowers women to influence public policy by submitting opinion pieces to newspapers. "When you realize your value to others, confidence is no longer about self-promotion," she explains. "In fact, confidence is no longer the right word. It's about purpose." Instead of agonizing about what others might think of you or your work, concentrate on the unique perspective you bring.

Get feedback when you need it
While you don't want to completely rely on others' opinions to boost your ego, validation can also be very effective in building confidence. Gruenfeld suggests asking someone who cares about your development as well as the quality of your performance to tell you what she thinks. Be sure to pick people whose feedback will be entirely truthful; Gruenfeld notes that when performance appraisals are only positive, we stop trusting them. And then use any genuinely positive commentary you get as a talisman.
Also remember that some people need more support than others, so don't be shy about asking for it. "The White House Project finds, for example, that many women need to be told they should run for office before deciding to do so. Men do not show this pattern of needing others' validation or encouragement," says Gruenfeld. It's okay if you need praise.

Take risks
Playing to your strengths is a smart tactic but not if it means you hesitate to take on new challenges. Many people don't know what they are capable of until they are truly tested "Try things you don't think you can do. Failure can be very useful for building confidence," says Gruenfeld. Of course, this is often easier said than done. "It feels bad to not be good at something. There's a leap of faith with getting better at anything," says Schwartz. But don't assume you should feel good all the time. In fact, stressing yourself is the only way to grow. Enlisting help from others can make this easier. Gruenfeld recommends asking supervisors to let you experiment with new initiatives or skills when the stakes are relatively low and then to support you as you tackle those challenges.

Principles to Remember
Do:

• Be honest with yourself about what you know and what you still need to learn
• Practice doing the things you are unsure about
• Embrace new opportunities to prove you can do difficult things

Don't:

• Focus excessively on whether you or not you have the ability - think instead about the value you provide
• Hesitate to ask for external validation if you need it
• Worry about what others think — focus on yourself, not a theoretical and judgmental audience

by Linkedin Sources

Hey, Managers – Quit Sugarcoating

A common mistake managers make is that they are too soft with their team members, says Chandrasekhar Sripada, head of human resources at International Business Machines Corp.’s India and South Asia units.

Mr. Sripada says that instead of setting realistic expectations and being straight about bad news, managers are often tempted to be excessively tactful with their employees. But sugarcoating can backfire: It can give employees false hope and if things don’t work out, they will resent their managers for it. “The employee doesn’t like them for it,’ says Mr. Sripada.
He knows what he’s talking about: Mr. Sripada has been at the helm of IBM India’s HR team for two years. With around 100, 000 people on its payroll, IBM is one of India’s largest private employers.

From his office in Bangalore, Mr. Sripada spoke with India Real Time about common mistakes managers make, how to calibrate employee expectations and what managers can do to keep their employees engaged.
Here are edited excerpts:

IRT: What are common mistakes “people managers” make?
Mr. Sripada: One common shortcoming is the inability to manage expectations.  We have a surfeit of expectations today. Too many people want too many good things to happen in too short a time.
Most managers are very soft and diplomatic. Instead of spelling out what is possible and what is impossible and setting it straight from the beginning, they often give hopeful signals. You shouldn’t fuel hope that you can’t manage. In a high-attrition market, managers constantly live in the fear of losing people if they are straight and firm with them. But I think that if you are straight and firm, people will like it.

IRT: What is the most common complaint employees have about their managers?
Mr. Sripada: Employees can never have enough of their manager’s attention, particularly when it comes to their career development. People often think that their managers can pull a career path for them out of their pocket. But that’s not how it works.


IRT: Are managers reluctant to help their employee grow, since that may mean they’ll leave their team?
Mr. Sripada: Young managers, or those who take a very short-term view, tend to hold on to people. But more mature managers understand that if they don’t lose the employee to another team within the company, they are likely to lose them outside the company. That will be worse.


IRT: How do you keep your employees engaged?
Mr. Sripada: Employee engagement is a manager-owned, manager-driven activity. People stay because they have good managers, people leave because they don’t. The human resources team encourages managers to connect with their employees in simple, non-work related interactions. It doesn’t have to be a party, it doesn’t have to be a bash – all you need to do is to touch base. Employees should feel their managers care for them and that they are concerned about their development. Half an hour a month for each employee is sufficient. We give managers reading material on how to be effective in such sessions.
Second, we emphasize learning. Employees are happy when they feel that their manager cares about their professional growth. Among other things, we advise managers to encourage employees to avail of training programs.
Finally, we emphasize career development. We organize various types of events aimed at explaining what career possibilities there are in IBM. There are presentations on what it takes to migrate from one business unit to another, for instance. We also ask senior officials share their experiences.

 

IRT: How often would you encourage employees to change their roles?

Mr. Sripada: As a rule of thumb, once every three years. There are exceptions, such as for jobs that require interacting with clients or for jobs that require specific technological skills. In these cases it takes time to build capabilities. For most other jobs, however, people should begin exploring new roles every three years. Proactively looking for such opportunities is a process and a culture at IBM.

by Linkedin Sources