Coaching for Professional Confidence & Imposter Syndrome
Is lack of confidence or self-belief stopping you from really succeeding and fulfilling your potential?
Many people find they don’t have the self-belief or confidence to take the next step in their career or do what they’d really like to with their business. It can show up as taking a long time over decisions, overthinking, procrastinating or saying no to opportunities – because it’s sometimes easier to keep yourself safe, and avoid the possibility of having to confront failure, by not doing something at all. Right?
Feeling a lack of confidence in ourselves at work, professionally, may echo a more general anxiety in many areas of our life. But often it is work-specific, and rears its head only in certain situations, or periodically. When it does hit, feeling unconfident in our abilities to do something, or fearful of what might happen if we try and fail, can be a key trigger for anxiety and stress … because what if we aren’t good enough and are found out?
Even the most successful and outwardly confident of business owners may be hiding the kind of lack of inner confidence and self-doubt that accompanies the Imposter Syndrome.
Self-confidence isn’t a personality trait: something we have or don’t have. It’s not a behaviour either – it’s a frame of mind, or a feeling – which means we can change and develop it.
As a business owner, leader or manager, coaching can help boost your confidence and self-belief in a variety of ways. It might be about exploring and changing any limiting beliefs you may have, about helping you prepare thoroughly for situations you are facing that you’re feeling anxious about, or by helping you focus on and use your strengths rather than worrying about things you believe you’re not good at.
If you’ve found this page, perhaps one of the following describes you:
- You’re working really hard to cover up the fact you’re anxiously dealing with a certain, but secret, knowledge that you’re not as good or as expert as other people think you are, and that you’re about to be found out at any moment.
- You’re starting to feel resentful about things you’re agreeing to that you don’t really want to do, but without the confidence to say no to people
- You want to take a big bold step with your career or business, or find a new role, but are holding back because you’re afraid you might fail or that others might not think you’re as good as your CV suggests you are
- You are holding back on opportunities rather than pushing yourself forward, because you’re scared about what will happen if you can’t do it
- You aren’t following up business leads or career development opportunities because you’re afraid you might come across as pushy or aggressive
- You regularly find yourself unable to make decisions about things in case you make the wrong decision and regret it – and spend countless hours overthinking when you could be doing. Or sleeping.
- You know you know your stuff, but you aren’t achieving your full potential because you lack assertiveness and come across as un-confident to clients, customers or potential collaborators, and you wish you knew how to appear more confident…however you feel inside.
How confidence coaching can help
I love helping people develop greater belief in themselves and their abilities. I can help you overcome the anxiety you feel that’s stopping you achieve more, and discover a whole new sense of freedom and possibility as a result, leading to greater success. I will create a safe and confidential space for you to explore your fears and anxieties and face them head on. Confidence coaching with me can help you to:
- Overcome “Imposter Syndrome”, so you can believe in yourself and your abilities again, without the fear that someone is going to discover you’re a fraud.
- Overcome beliefs and fears you hold that are stopping you from doing and achieving what you really want to in your business
- Develop a more assertive approach when you need to (that’s assertive, not aggressive!)
- Learn how to say no to people, without being rejected and without appearing unkind
- Make decisions more confidently, so you can achieve more and waste less time procrastinating
- Prepare for a situation that you don’t feel confident about – for example, giving a presentation, “selling yourself” at networking events, approaching a potential client or dealing with a customer complaint