Confidence is not fixed: it rises and falls with meetings, roles and the way feedback lands. Penny Haslam shares research with Northumbria University showing measurable gains from confidence training, plus three memorable tools to challenge self-talk. Lasting change needs commitment, support and timely reminders so belief becomes action at work.
Many people think confidence is something you either have or don’t, and that it’s simply part of your personality. It doesn’t work that way: one day, you can feel capable and clear, the next, you’re second-guessing yourself, staying quiet or avoiding a decision you’re perfectly qualified to make.
A difficult meeting, a presentation, a new role or a more senior audience can knock the self-belief out of anyone. Even me, a confidence and communication specialist! As a former BBC business news presenter, I had to display confidence every day. You wouldn’t trust my take on the financial markets or house prices, for example, if I didn’t come across as fully competent and in control.
My self-belief left the building
But despite displaying confidence, I didn’t feel confident. I thought getting some feedback (aka reassurance) from my boss would be useful. I asked him: “Is there anything I can do on air, to improve as a presenter?” The senior manager barely lifted his eyes away from his monitor before saying: “I dunno. Do you actually know what you’re talking about, or are you just some bimbo who reads the autocue?”. And with that, my self-belief left the building.
Ever since, I’ve been fascinated by confidence at work: how it grows and goes, and whether or not people can rebuild it when it’s shaken. Low confidence in individuals and teams slows decision-making, silences creativity and innovation and it affects how we act under pressure. As well as performance being about skills and knowledge, it should also be about confidence levels.
Researching confidence
So, what approach can L&D take to help people build personal self-belief and overall workplace confidence, and make sure it sticks? To find out, I worked alongside Northumbria University’s Organisational Psychology Department, to research whether confidence training has a measurable, lasting impact.
Five hundred people were invited to take part in an evaluation immediately before my 90-minute Building Workplace Confidence, immediately afterwards and again three months later.
Can training build belief?
Our research showed significant gains, with a 12% increase in confidence for delegates and a 14% uptick in job satisfaction. Manager and colleague ability was also affected positively. Before my intervention, just four in ten people felt they could build trust and confidence in their teams and those around them. Scores rose 40%, to six in ten, immediately after the session.
One of the biggest shifts we saw was around the negative perceptions people have about themselves. At the start of the session, 16.4% of people agreed they could challenge their limiting self-beliefs. At the end, 89.4%, a fivefold increase, were happy to question their thinking in matters around personal and professional development. This is an important shift, because once people are able to challenge their limiting beliefs, they have a better chance of speaking up, trying something new or taking useful action when confidence drops. “I can’t” thinking becomes “I could” action.
Does workplace confidence stay for the long-term?
Three months later, people not only remembered the learning and were using it in real situations but, in some cases, passing it on to colleagues and people they met in everyday life. This goes to show that confidence isn’t only a personal development topic but a team capability. When people understand that confidence isn’t something you’re gifted with by chance, but something you can learn and then practice, performance is elevated.
Confidence conditions
So, can self-belief be taught? Yes, but only under the right long-term conditions. Learners revealed barriers to implementation were unsupportive managers, workload pressure and organisational uncertainty, alongside an easier to fix issue: forgetfulness – people need tools they can remember when it matters, not just use in theory (see examples below). But the research suggested confidence training was more likely to stick under three conditions:
- A personal commitment to use the learning
People said they had to choose to challenge negative self-talk and practise the techniques. An ‘accountability buddy’ could support here. - Support to keep using it
Where line managers or colleagues offered encouragement, participants found it easier to put the learning into action. - Reminders to keep the learning alive
Using real-world, delegate-relevant references in the session supported the transfer of knowledge back to the workplace. Some learners said everyday tasks or opportunities gave them a reason to use what they had learned.
Three ways to build confidence at work, for you and your colleagues
1. Use ICE on negative self-talk
Standing for Identify, Choose, Evidence, ICE is a simple tool for dealing with the inner critic before it derails you:
- Identify the thought
What is the voice in your head actually saying? “I’m not ready.” “I’ll look stupid.” “I’m not senior enough to challenge this.” - Choose how to respond to it
Is it true? Is it helpful? Or is it a voice from the past, that’s no longer relevant? - Provide evidence
Take that thought to court, recall the many times you’ve been successful when speaking in a meeting or trying a new thing and build the case against it.
2. Be a yeti
This tool is as simple as adding the word “yet” to a limiting belief, transforming a dead end into a possibility. Instead of saying, “I can’t present to the board,” say “I can’t present to the board yet.” Then think of what the next steps might be: “I can’t present to the board yet so I’m going to watch a video on it, read a book, ask a colleague for guidance.”
3. Your ‘val-yous’
Know your personal values. Not corporate values on a website, but simply what you stand for, what you’d stand up for. For example, ‘fairness’ might guide you to advocate for an overlooked colleague. When presenting, ‘service’ might shift your focus from nerves to being helpful to your audience. ‘Courage’ will remind you to do the right thing for you.
Over to you
Confidence isn’t a personality trait reserved for the lucky few, it’s a skill, and skills can be built. The research is clear, the tools are simple, and the only thing standing between where you are now and where you want to be is practice. Start small, start today, and start with you.
Penny Haslam is an executive coach at Bit Famous and author of the Workplace Confidence Newsletter on LinkedIn
