Don’t trample my self belief

I recently met an ex-work colleague for an overdue catch up. When we worked together my colleague had loved her job – she had a real passion for the organisation we worked for and the work that she did. She was also very good at it – and always striving to improve what she delivered for her clients, and develop herself and her team.  So imagine my surprise to receive a less than enthusiastic response when I asked how work was going.  She is still working for the same organisation, and in a similar, albeit more senior, role. From an outsiders’ viewpoint it was difficult to think what could have happened to dampen the passion that used to be so evident.

As we talked, I reflected on the problems and challenges that were being described to me. And I realised that the difference stemmed not from changes to her role or the work itself, nor from her colleagues and managers, but from my colleague’s own levels of self belief.

In our research into high performing HR professionals, we found that having high self belief (confidence, commitment and control) is critical for success, and here was a prime example of a lack of self belief really affecting someone’s performance and enjoyment of work.

There were a number of reasons that had led my colleague’s levels of confidence, commitment and control to drop. But it became clear that she’d felt like this for a while now, and was trapped in a vicious cycle with her low self belief generating more negative experiences. She was achieving less, feeling that she’d lost her influence, and longing for each working day to end.  Ultimately her passion for the organisation was still there, but it was buried under the difficulties and drudge of each day.

And this got me thinking. Surely her team had noticed the change? Or her line manager must have realised there was a problem? Often when we think about self belief we concentrate on how we develop it in ourselves. But I believe there is an important role for each of us in protecting and developing the self belief of others.

What can we do to build this critical factor for success in our teams and organisations?

1. Notice it.  Recognising other peoples’ trigger points in the same way as we know our own will help us to anticipate when someone’s confidence, commitment or control is threatened.
2. Look at ourselves.  Reflecting on how our behaviour might affect the self belief of those around us may mean we can alter our approach to ensure we have a positive impact.
3. Take action.  Having some practical tools and techniques at our fingertips to protect or boost self belief will be invaluable. But more important is raising awareness and understanding of self belief and its value amongst our teams.

Building an organisational culture that protects rather than tramples self belief might be obvious, but it’s easier said than done.  We believe that developing strong levels of confidence, commitment and control within your organisation will reap rewards in business performance, and it might just boost your own self belief too.