When you’re at school, most of the questions you get asked have a clear answer. For example 3 x 5, and even with essays they are looking for a certain sort or style of answer. 

And you are rewarded for it. You get it right; you get smiles from the teacher and an extra hour on the games console at home. You get it wrong; and it’s shaking heads and extra pressure to ‘try harder’. 

In our monthly Confidence Bootcamp, we start by asking attendees who they think is confident and why. The person can be anyone they choose, it's what they are seeing as confident that we’re interested in.  

The answers nearly always describe people that either speak up a lot, are successful, or loud. 

These people may well be confident but I’d also say that some of the loudest people I’ve met have been among the least confident I know.

You’re doing ok at work.

You get on with your boss and teammates. Your last appraisal said you were meeting expectations and you got the small single digit pay rise that goes with that.

While this isn't the job of your dreams, you think the job is ok.

But what might you be capable of?

Something a lot of managers who want to be ready to step up to the next level come to me about is personal branding. Its a phrase or name I don’t really like. 

Essentially, how do I act like a senior manager or in more simple terms, how do I give people at work a good impression of me.  

If you are good at your job, chances are you’ve been promoted. Well done you.  

The thing is in many vocations the higher you get up the corporate ladder, the less it becomes about the actual job itself; there’s a new set of skills you need.  

Most people lack confidence in one situation or another. It’s normal.  

Are you someone who sometimes lacks confidence at work? For example, in interviews or standing up in front of people and giving a presentation. Maybe it’s not something you've paid attention to because it hasn’t affected you too much. Perhaps you’ve grown with the company, maybe you’ve been promoted without going through a full interview process or you’ve benefitted from being an internal candidate. Perhaps the presentations you give have been good enough because everybody knows what a great job you do.