How to assert yourself and build confidence in the workplace

Assertiveness is one of the skills that can help you advance your career and achieve the professional goals that you want. Using the right amount of assertiveness in the workplace makes it easier to negotiate a salary, earn a promotion and build long-lasting relations with your co-workers. Some people are naturally assertive, but you can also learn to be assertive over time.

Workplace confidence is something every professional strives to have. Not only does it help you stay motivated and engaged with your day-to-day tasks, but it can help you develop and progress. Being confident at work means you are more likely to excel and progress in your role and your job satisfaction will be higher.

However, building workplace confidence can be challenging. It’s easy to set unrealistic expectations, compare yourself to others, and doubt your abilities. This can cause you to second-guess your efforts, leading to mistakes and reduced productivity, so knowing what steps to take to be assertive is the key to success. In this article, we share how to be assertive at work and explore how using it can help you succeed professionally by asserting yourself at work and building the confidence that will help you pursue a successful career.  

Reminding yourself of your strengths

Most of us find it quite difficult to sing our own praises. While it may not come naturally to you, it is important to remember your strengths and achievements and remind yourself of them often! List out your key achievements or strengths and skills you are particularly proud of. When self-doubt creeps in, you should revisit your list. It will act as a useful reminder of what you are good at and everything you have achieved in your career so far. Sometimes taking it back to basics and remembering the things we are good at is a quick and easy way to boost confidence and give us the kick needed to take on the next challenge.  

Set clear goals and stick to them 

Setting clear, achievable goals gives you direction and a sense of purpose in the workplace. Break down your long-term objectives into smaller, manageable tasks and celebrate your progress along the way. This helps you build momentum and fosters a sense of accomplishment. As you meet these milestones, your belief in your capabilities strengthens, which is a key component of workplace confidence.

It’s important to remember that you won’t get everything right all the time. There will likely be setbacks but, rather than let this impact your confidence, aim to learn from any mistakes you have made and put those lessons to use when you try again. Resilience really is key when it comes to confidence!

Lean on your professional network for support and feedback 

One of the best ways to build on your skills and professional development is to learn from your peers, so don’t underestimate the power of a strong professional network. From work colleagues to mentors, be sure to lean on your professional contacts to help grow your confidence.  

You may find that in your team there are people who have worked in different industries or at different levels. Utilise their knowledge and learn from their experiences.  

Many professionals’ benefit from mentoring. This outside perspective can be super valuable, helping you view situations differently and giving you a safe space to voice concerns or seek advice. They can also offer you valuable feedback that could help you grow your confidence.  

If you are looking for feedback on an idea or piece of work, you could share your thoughts with a relevant community group like LinkedIn. This is a great way to get feedback from a diverse group of people. Good feedback will reassure you that you are on the right track, while constructive feedback should be used to help you improve your work or think about it from a different perspective – either way, both types of feedback can be extremely useful.  

Be sure to listen 

Confidence doesn’t always mean talking the loudest. Listening is an underrated skill and can support you on your quest for confidence. Active listening in the workplace can help you understand team dynamics and is a good way to assess the situation before contributing your insights. You are then more likely to contribute something of value and have a positive impact, a great boost for your confidence.  

Listening will ultimately help you learn more, and the more you know the more confident you are likely to be.