Would you like to feel more confident at work? Feedback conversations can have a magical influence on how confident you feel!
Let’s clarify the link between ‘confidence’ and Feedback:
Confidence is usually experienced as a feeling we have about our ability to do something or to perform a task or skill. For example:
How confident do you feel in your ability to lead a team, write a report, or perform your role?
How confident are you in your ability to tie your shoelace?
When someone asks you how confident you are, ask yourself and/or them, ‘Confident in my ability to do what?’ Asking this question is a reminder (to yourself) to link confidence to a task or skill.
Since most people experience confidence as a feeling, a great strategy is to rate your level of confidence out of ten. How confident out of ten do you feel about your ability to perform a particular task or skill?
When receiving feedback, it is normal for your feeling of confidence in your ability to do that ‘thing’ to change. You may feel more or less confident, depending upon the feedback. If your confidence decreases as a result of the feedback offered to you, that’s ok. It is normal for feelings of confidence to go up and down.
The wonderful thing about confidence is you can build it up again! How do you do that?
Ask for more feedback about that task or skill
Have the courage to be open to feedback
Implement the feedback
Invest the time and effort to try again
Make changes and adjustments
Persist.
You can improve your skill level and increase your confidence by being open to and asking for feedback.