Confidence is a choice... here's how to choose it!
Confidence is a tricky beast. We all feel it when things go well or when we've got strong belief in ourselves, but we can all suffer from those moments of self-doubt and anxiety that bring us down. And while we might think that our personal confidence level is innate within us, and that some people are just more confident than others, the reality is actually very different.
That's because confidence is subjective. It depends on context, who you're with and what you're doing. It's hard to pin down and precisely define. Everyone suffers from low confidence at some point or other, even the most successful and high-performing people we can think of.
The good news is that confidence, like so many things in life, can be increased with a bit of effort and practice. Much like building strength in the gym, you can also build your confidence muscles so you can flex them more of the time.
But it takes some self-reflection, some focus on noticing what sort of situations make you feel most confident, and some effort to change your mindset to embrace your strengths and be kinder about your weaknesses. Ultimately, confidence is a choice, even if it doesn't always feel that way...
You can read more about how to supercharge your confidence on the?Voco blog
What's been happening at Voco...?
The big news is we closed a funding round earlier this year, welcoming some amazing angel investors to the Voco team. We've since been busy thinking about all the ways we can make Voco as valuable as possible for our members as they navigate the highs and lows of work... there'll be more to come on that soon!
We've continued to focus on carefully building an engaged community of peers who can support each other, and are delighted that over?500?people have signed up to join Voco. Many hundreds of conversations have also now taken place between our members. ????????????????????????????????????????????
And it seems our members are enjoying those conversations, as the average rating across all Voco meetings have remained consistent at 6.5/7 stars for the last few months.... hurrah!???????
Finally, we absolutely love it when members refer friends, family, colleagues and contacts to Voco... just give them the code?FRIENDxAPRIL?to join the community!???
Monthly career inspiration ??
LinkedIn is undeniably pretty vital to our professional lives and progress but how to present breaks from work has always been something of a dilemma. Careers have become increasingly nonlinear over recent years, with more and more people taking time to step off the ladder to focus on other things. LinkedIn has now made it easier to highlight time out with a new ‘Career Break’ category on its profile - hopefully helping to normalise career breaks and more squiggly routes through the world of work.
We all know that trust is vital to a happy and cohesive workplace, so it’s important to keep an eye out for the words and phrases that can undermine employee’s trust in their managers. Luckily, FastCo has published a handy summary of the seven expressions to avoid if you want your team to trust you, from ‘sorry, I changed my mind’ and ‘I didn’t say that' to ‘copy me in on everything’. So remember to always choose your words wisely!
LISTEN:?Cold Call
Want the inside track on how the biggest businesses have weathered scandals, kept true to their cultures and values, or taken advantage of new innovations, then listen to?Cold Call. Bringing?HBR’s famous case studies?to audio life, this pod looks at how business leaders have approached some pretty big challenges and opportunities; like how Etsy’s CEO saved the company financially without sacrificing its soul, or how TikTok turned its rapid rise into sustained global success, despite regulatory threats and fierce competition.
LISTEN:?Boot Camp for the Brain
Remember Derren Brown? The guy who guessed all the lottery numbers? Yep, we’d forgotten about him too, but now he's back with a podcast called?Boot Camp for the Brain. It might sound intense, but don’t let that put you off, as he delves into the psychological reasons that people suffer from issues such as anxiety, and aims to make us happier with insightful interviews and exercises for the brain.
WATCH:?Human Resources
If you need a humorous break from reality, then check out?Human Resources, the new spinoff from Netflix’s hit Big Mouth series. Following a bunch of animated monsters navigating the challenges of the workplace, this sitcom looks at everything from sensitivity training and office romances, through managing client relationships, to firings and workplace feuds! It’s work but not as you know it…
Five food-for-career-thought questions to ask yourself... ?????