Why a lack of confidence could be the biggest hindrance to your career

Confidence is a complex thing; it ebbs and flows over a lifetime and it’s hard to pinpoint why. Boosting women’s confidence in themselves and their business ideas is the greatest challenge to closing the pay gap, promoting more female executives and encouraging female entrepreneurs. According to the recent Facebook campaign #SheMeansBusiness, 25 per cent of women said that a lack of confidence was stopping them starting their own business, which as a female entrepreneur and investor myself is so disheartening to hear.

As women, we can sometimes betray our lack of confidence in small unknowing gestures. We all need to be aware of these gestures and habits, as they can have a huge subliminal impact. If you’re not naturally confident in a certain situation, you need to draw on your reserves. You need to have a deep understanding of your strengths and your goals in order to remind yourself why you’re in the position you are and where you want to be. You’ve got to be the best, and that starts with believing you are.

Everyone, even the most competent, pulled-together-looking woman, suffers crises of confidence. Which is why Anna and I have dedicated an entire chapter to this in our first book, Believe, Build, Become. In this extract we reveal our fool proof 10-step confidence plan.

Preparation: You can’t fake it if you don’t know your stuff. Study ahead of time.

Own your space: Fight the urge to want to disappear into the background. Instead, act confidently and own your space. Adopt a modified version of a power pose and own your voice, don’t start a sentence with an apology.

Deep breathing: Taking a deep breath is a simple form of meditation that will calm you down, as well as strengthening your brain’s fight or flight centre. By practising your breathing work, you’ll find you can also be more calm in the future.

Connect with your audience: Direct attention away from yourself and any nerves you might have by focusing on your core message, and what your audience really wants.

Banish imposter syndrome: We all feel it, but remember it’s manageable. Take the sting out of its tail by sharing your feelings with someone in your network and treating your inner critic with compassion.

Career breaks: Coming back from any time off can dent your confidence. But remember that you’ve been working far longer than you’ve been off – you will remember how to do your job again.

Increase your knowledge: A lack of confidence comes from a fear of not being good enough, so upskill yourself. There is a plethora of courses that can help plug any gaps.

Take risks: Risks are essential to growth, personally and for a business, and when you pull them off, they are huge boosts to your confidence. You have to be prepared to fail and see it as a by-product of experimentation. And know that’s OK.

Find your cheerleaders: Use your support network to test out your ideas, practise a presentation and to cheer you on when you need a boost.

Believe, Build, Become is available to purchase on Amazon now 

The AllBright Academy helps smart women gain the skills, confidence and network needed to achieve their career ambitions through a free 10-week digital programme. Find out more, including how to apply, here.