Confidence: The Workplace X Factor
By Bonnie Low-Kramen
Confidence: A feeling of self-assurance arising from one's appreciation of one's own abilities or qualities.
Imagine a workplace where you are confident and free to be who you are. Confident to do the work you want to do with people who value and respect you. You are absolutely certain about your abilities and your influence to affect change.
If that sounds great but you are not there yet, how do you become confident?
As I travel the world, I see that confidence is a powerful X factor that can make or break assistants.
It’s a new day. Ready? Here are 5 things you can do right now to build your confidence.
1. Ask yourself: Who is in charge of you anyway? Who dictates your behaviors and what words you say? Decide to be the CEO of You, Incorporated. Today’s the day. Take the power into your own hands to make decisions about your career, your livelihood, your life.
2. Make a list of your SMEs – subject matter expertise. What are you great at? What do people come to you for? Understanding your value is a key component of confidence.
3. Make a list of your top 3 challenges to tackle in the next year. Make a list of the logical first steps in achieving your goal.
Example:
Goal: New Job with a shorter commute
Realistic & Reasonable Actions:
a. Hire someone to help me revise my resume and Linkedin profile.
b. Research on paysa.com, indeed.com, and Glassdoor.com for open positions within a certain mile radius
c. Study for certification in one of the MS Office Suite
d. Buy a new interview outfit
e. Attend an IAAP networking event
f. Create a new business card on Moo.com
g. Exercise for 30 min/3X each week to help you sleep and feel better
4. You can’t be it if you can’t see it. We all need role models and I feel so fortunate to have had Olympia Dukakis and numerous others. No one you can name succeeds alone. Ask for mentorship from someone you admire about a specific question/challenge. Be sure to prepare for the meeting. Send a thank you note and a small gift afterwards.
5. Step into your discomfort zone. Do something that you’ve never done before. Go out to dinner alone. Drive down a road you’ve never taken before. Change your own tire. Cook something you haven’t tried. Take a long weekend trip by yourself. Proving to yourself that you can do it is the most important thing. Take a risk and when you experience what it feels like to achieve your goal, you’ll be empowered to do the next thing and the next.
We know that the world is filled with things that eat at our confidence. Rude comments. Snarky nastygram emails. Feeling left out. Feeling different and like an alien. If we permit them, these are the kinds of things that slow us down and stop us dead in their tracks.
I know these feelings because I lived it. I know it isn’t easy to tolerate the discomfort. Take baby steps that feel right for you. Do whatever it takes to give yourself a fresh chance to get to know the amazing person you are. You’re worth it.
When you succeed, the freedom and confidence you feel will be like a drug that you cannot live without that nobody can take away.
Bonnie Low-Kramen is the Founder of Ultimate Assistant Training and is one of the most respected thought leaders in the administrative profession. In May, 2019, her work was profiled in a Forbes cover story. For 25 years, Bonnie worked as the Personal Assistant to Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis and now travels the world speaking, teaching and consulting. The Be the Ultimate Assistant workshop that she teaches with technology expert Vickie Sokol Evans was named one of the Top 7 Conferences to Attend in 2019. . The bestselling author of Be the Ultimate Assistant, Bonnie is known for her passionate commitment the movement to transform the workplace in part by closing the wage gap between women and men and to ending workplace bullying. For more information: www.bonnielowkramen.com