Self-doubt at the workplace is common but can be significantly dangerous to your performance if left uncontrolled. Know the hidden reasons behind it, how it affects you as an employee and strategies to cope. 

You might have heard about people experiencing low self-confidence, or you might be at this stage yourself now. We all go through a phase of low self-esteem at some stage in our lives, and this is normal. However, if this period extends and becomes out of control, it may even affect your professional life and other aspects. No matter in what industry you work or what position you have, it’s important to recognize your strengths and weaknesses in order to improve your performance at work and progress in your career. While this self-awareness is necessary, it is also as essential to manage it. Ignoring the strength you hold and concentrating only on your weaknesses can set you back and stop you from reaching your full potential at work. This is especially true if you are still at the beginning of your career ladder.

Self-doubt at the workplace can show up in several ways. If it’s minimizing yourself constantly or lacking self-trust that drives you to seek validation from others, the earlier you acknowledge this issue, the closer you are to having a more prosperous career. It’s impossible to cure all our insecurities, but the good news is that a healthy dose of self-doubt is a good thing from time to time and reflects how self-aware and competent someone is in looking at their own shortcomings. Overcoming self-doubt is possible and necessary to improve job performance. 

Effects of self-doubt on employee performance

Fear is the biggest reason we doubt ourselves—the fear of failure, rejection, or even success. Self-doubt can hold you back as a form of protection from that fear. Another reason for self-doubt might root back to childhood, where we might have received and internalized wrong messages about ourselves, like that we are unworthy. Believing these messages can make it harder to trust ourselves growing up, directly affecting your job performance and productivity, mental health, relationship with coworkers, and career success. 

Self-doubt in the work environment:

– It can leave you feeling anxious without the reassurance of others. 
– It can leave you feeling stuck when it comes to decision-making because you are afraid to make a wrong decision, even if you are a manager or a leader.
– It can leave you hiding your authenticity and stop you from expressing who you truly are.
– It can prevent you from generating new ideas leading to entrepreneurial inactivity. 
– It can make you easily used and manipulated by other employees.
– It can hold you back from getting the promotions you deserve.
– It can turn you into a workaholic because you believe what you do is never enough. 

However, besides its negative effects on employees, it isn’t always the case. A healthy dose of self-doubt can push you to take action and improve yourself until you feel more confident in your potential.

How can you cope with self-doubt?

Not knowing how to deal with self-doubt can stop you from performing well at work. While we can’t stop others from throwing random negative comments or judging our work at our workplace, it is possible to protect ourselves from the negative effects of these practices. Here are four strategies that can help you build your self-confidence and cope with self-doubt: 

Try Self-distancing

When you are so focused on your shortcomings, it becomes harder for you to overcome them. So, it is important to distance yourself from yourself by channeling an alternative personality or what is known as alter ego. This method helps you get out of your own way and be more productive by gaining perspective. For example, imagine taking the persona of a confident real or fictional character and how they would act in certain situations, like having a meeting with your manager. This can help you acknowledge your challenges instead of letting them control you. 

View Yourself Through Someone Else’s Point Of View

Being a self-doubter reflects high self-awareness, so it is helpful to view yourself intentionally through the lens of others around you. For example, try shifting your perspective and thinking about how your supportive manager viewed you. When you’re nervous about completing a certain task and start going back into the spiral of insecurities, remember what your manager would tell you, like “you’re amazing and always on top of your work”. The good feedback you get from your manager, client, or coworker is closer to reality than what your mind is trying to convince you about being unworthy, unproductive, or a failure. 

Filter Unwanted Feedback

Feedback is essential to help you improve yourself. However, not every feedback is valuable unless it’s constructive. If the feedback is other than that, learn to ignore it because not everyone’s perspective is important. You may be more available for judgments if you hold a visible position in your company, and others may try to teach you how to do your tasks in a better way. In order to protect yourself, start by labeling any unconstructive feedback as “noise” or “personal opinion”. Listen to the feedback, acknowledge it while staying calm instead of reacting aggressively, and realize that it wasn’t useful. This way, you protect yourself and become more comfortable receiving feedback since you can’t stop people from doing that.

Practice Self-compassion

We all talk to ourselves almost all the time. This unconscious internal voice has a significant impact on our performance. Negative self-talk can keep you locked up in doubt, so replacing it with positive words can help you move forward and take action toward improvement. For example, when you find yourself criticizing your abilities and actions, take a step back and talk to yourself as you would talk to your friend who might be facing the same situation or feelings as you. Talk to yourself with care, love, and compassion. 

Remember that you are worthy despite what you believe you are. No matter what career you are in now, confidence is your key to happiness and improved results at work. 

Self-confidence is the most important difference between successful and stuck employees while climbing the corporate ladder.