How to build confidence and self-esteem for career success
The surprising thing is that we hardly talk about self-esteem as adults, but we talk a lot about "confidence". Is there a difference? Confidence is a measure of faith in your abilities, and self-esteem is about your sense of self. It involves both your thoughts and emotions. It influences how you perceive others and interact with the world.
As a health care professional, when growing yourself and your career, your sense of self; what and how you think about yourself; your abilities make a case for you to invest some energy in this area and give yourself a boost in your self-esteem. Your self-esteem and confidence need to be cultivated and nurtured because negative self-talk can easily creep in at any time.
Many promising health care leaders at the front line have remained stuck in their careers because negative self-talk has crept in, and low self-esteem is causing a vicious cycle, making them feel worse than the situation is. These feelings can lead you to feel unmotivated to change your circumstances and move into a new and exciting job role that pays you what you need and serves your purpose as a professional. As damaging as this cycle can be, there is a way to get unstuck.
First, let's talk about the benefits of having high self-esteem as a professional. Having a healthy dose of self-esteem can help you to:
1. Effectively communicate your value to others in the team and organisation.
2. Effectively communicate with team colleagues and collaboration partners.
3. It makes you more decisive about your needs and the teams' needs.
4. It earns you the respect of your colleagues and allows you to maintain your integrity
Increasing your self-esteem and confidence will benefit you in so many ways. As you continue to invest some time and energy to build it, you will empower yourself to achieve your personal and professional goals.
“These techniques will help you give your self-esteem a boost for career success”
1. Acquire a new skill.
Your confidence grows as you embark on learning a new skill and work to get good at that skill. This is true if the skill benefits something you already do or is looking towards in another job role.
2. List all your achievements so far.
Forgetting all of the things you've achieved in your career so far is easily done – This includes things you have achieved in your personal life. Remind yourself of these accomplishments from time to time by reading them out to yourself. You'll feel much better about yourself, which will renew your hopes and aspirations in growing your career.
3. Set aside some creative thinking time.
When we spend time thinking creatively, a process which is said to be supported by our ability to imagine the future and what we would like it to be, we benefit by raising our confidence and esteem in the process as we begin to look forward to what our future career could look like. Take at least 10-15 mins a day to just sit with yourself and creatively think about the future career and job role you want to be in.
4. Set values for your life.
What are your values? Does your current personal and professional lifestyle reflect your values? Take action to make the necessary changes you need to make if this is not the case. Knowing who you are and what you stand for and living your values out at work and home will increase your confidence. When you work in an organisation that shares your values, you feel more confident to do your best work.
5. Positive thinking is essential.
When you are stuck in a career rut, any new workplace challenge can seem like an impossible task. When faced with what seems a difficult task, try to think positively, reframe it as a challenge that you can overcome. What can you learn from the experience? Take pride in your accomplishment and note it down in your learning journal for revalidation and your statement.
6. Stretch your comfort zone.
Try new things. Ask to shadow other teams within your webs of care you provide as a team. It doesn't have to always be at work. Go to new places online and offline. Meet new people online and offline. As a result, you will notice your confidence grow.
7. Mentor someone else on your team or in another department.
When you mentor someone else, you'll feel a sense of achievement and enjoy higher self-esteem.
8. Try to heal from any past workplace drama.
Issues or drama in the workplace can prevent you from moving on and growing as a person and as a team member. Healthy conflict between team members is essential for making good decisions for team projects and improving care quality. An unhealthy conflict that becomes toxic is not suitable for anyone in the team. Suppose you feel you can't move past an interpersonal conflict in the workplace. You may want to speak to your organisation's occupational health team counsellors or externally to a career coach to talk through any issues you may have.
9. Avoid worrying about what others think.
Many people in the workplace will have an opinion of you and your performance. When you regularly get feedback from people you trust in the team and organisation, you can form a healthy view of yourself and your work performance. It's important to remember that the one person whose opinion of you matters is YOU! Do what you feel is best, with balanced feedback, feel confident that you did your best, and your self-esteem and confidence will soar.
10. Read something inspirational.
Stories of other professionals you can identify with who have overcome dire situations in the workplace and lead successful careers can inspire you to do the same. Such inspiration will make you feel optimistic about your future career.
11. Stay away from negative people.
There will be people in your life and work who always seem to put you down and leave you feeling bad about yourself. It may be best to try and stay clear of those people. Surround yourself with those positive colleagues and who will lift you and make you feel good about yourself. These kinds of colleagues are likely to be the ones that will provide you with balanced feedback.
12. Take care of your appearance.
When you feel stuck in a career rut but know that you have so much potential to progress your career, you may begin to neglect yourself, your confidence and esteem is low. Taking care of yourself and your appearance will make you feel good about yourself and brighten your mood.
13. Focus on what you can change.
Knowing that some things in life are out of our control is powerful. Your energy is better spent on the things you can control about your career progression, and you will realise that you can take deliberate steps towards your future role.
Incorporating these tips into your daily personal and professional life will help you grow your confidence and self-esteem. It's not an overnight success, but with time you will undoubtedly see an improvement. You will soon be back on your journey to an epic career you have always dreamed of having.
Beaulah Chizimba is a Career Coach, Leadership Facilitator and Trainer
She writes about career and leadership development strategies for personal professional and team performance