Whether taking on a new position ourselves or welcoming new members to our teams, we all want to build strong relationships and feel confident in our roles and abilities. What most people don’t get right off the bat, however, is that doing so takes both time and commitment.
To help you get started on the right track, Arden put together some foundational tips for building strong relationships and boosting your overall confidence. Check them out below!
Confidence: Get into an Improvement Mindset
You can seek out all kinds of programs, techniques, and ways to build confidence, but the thing that improves confidence the most comes down to mind over matter—you need to accept the fact that as professionals and people, we’re always learning.
People who lack confidence don’t believe that it’s readily attainable. Getting into an improvement mindset means being aware of who you are now, and acknowledging that you’ll reach higher ground where others are later (and eventually even go beyond that!). However, right now, you’re here and growing, and that’s an empowering place to be.
Relationships: Make the Effort to Connect
We all know that the most fundamental way to connect with someone is to communicate, but too often small talk gets a bad rap for being dull and meaningless.
And to that, we say, don’t be dull and meaningless! If you’re not just saying something to fill the silence, but if you actually use small talk to make a connection, it can be an effective method for getting to know who people are outside of their day-to-day tasks.
Something as simple as chatting about what someone did over the weekend is all you need to start building a connection. Did they go play soccer, did they go to the movies? What does that mean about them? How can you connect?
Confidence: Fake It ‘Till You Make It
Don’t just walk into a room as if you have confidence—think like someone with confidence would. Ask yourself, if I were confident in my reading of this situation, what might I share in this meeting? Or, if I were confident about this part of the pitch, how might I phrase it differently?
Thinking like a confident person causes you to act like one, and people respond accordingly, as they would to someone who’s sure and certain about the subject matter and themselves.
Building Relationships Builds Confidence!
The beauty of working toward strengthening your relationships and building up confidence is that they go hand in hand.
Building a relationship builds self-confidence that people understand you and that they’re on your side. For example, when you step into a meeting with someone and you don’t agree with their plan or have an alternative suggestion, you have a relationship foundation already built and the confidence to respectfully offer your opinion for the good of the team.
Need help building meaningful relationships with your team? Check out this Arden post about the best methods for building team trust and give us a shout if you’re interested in team oriented training and coaching.