No matter what your job, whether you’re a teacher or an accountant, self-confidence is imperative to success.

How can you tell if you’re experiencing a lack of self-confidence at work? While clear feelings of self-doubt may occur, it’s not always so obvious. You may find yourself passing on assignments that you’re afraid are beyond your reach, while creating unrelated excuses for why you can’t complete them. You may procrastinate until you run out of time to complete a project. You may sabotage yourself by not putting the necessary effort into a task because you figure that you’re not going to succeed anyway.

This isn’t to say that every work problem is caused by or a sign of low self-confidence, but it can often be the underlying cause of larger problems.

If you lack self-confidence, then those feelings of low self-esteem can be apparent to others. If you don’t believe in yourself, why should your boss or co-workers believe in you? If you’re not sure about how your self-confidence is viewed by your co-workers, have a talk with a trusted friend. He or she may be able to help you put your image in perspective.

When others at work notice your lack of self-confidence, it can create a vicious cycle. You don’t feel confident, and your boss senses these feelings or sees the results of procrastination and other symptoms. He or she begins to give you less important assignments and puts less trust in you. You notice this lack of trust and it sends your own self-confidence plummeting even more.

However, it doesn’t have to end this way. Once you’ve admitted that you’re having some self-confidence problems at work, where do you go from there?

One of the best ways to feel confident on the job is to be prepared – it’s not just a motto for Boy Scouts. Whether it’s a daily interoffice memo or the big year-end presentation, being well prepared will result in more confidence. This extra confidence comes both from putting yourself in a more stress-free position and from pride in a job well done.

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