Do you want to learn how to show confidence at work without displaying arrogance? If YES, then I advice you read this article carefully. Confidence is a powerful quality that can make you successful. If you are confident, you will attract people’s attention and gain their trust and respect. Confidence makes you believe that nothing is impossible. It makes you take risks without hesitation (and most of the time you end up with a positive result).
People find it reassuring to work with confident people—those who show confidence in their work and their ability to achieve stunning results. But there is a very thin line between being confident and being arrogant. And the line is so thin that most people easily interpret confidence to mean arrogance.
Arrogant people behave as if they know everything. They believe they have nothing to learn, so they don’t listen to others. If you are arrogant, you will turn people off, you will miss out on potential opportunities, and you will have a bad reputation. When working with other people, you need to know where that thin line between confidence and arrogance lies. Here are some tips for maximizing your confidence at work without falling into the arrogance territory:
How to Show Confidence at Work without Displaying Arrogance
1. Accept your mistakes readily
One of the commonest qualities of arrogant people is that they believe they are always right. However, confident people are able to listen and learn more from people around them. Although it might seem that admitting your mistakes can reduce your confidence levels, it doesn’t. Understanding your limits as regards what you know and what you don’t know is the hallmark of confidence and is usually appreciated by other people.
2. Be approachable
Your confidence becomes something else if it makes you unfriendly. You must be able to enhance relationships with others. A good way to come across as being approachable is to make eye contact and use confident body language that inspires conversation.
When you are in social settings, always introduce yourself, offer a firm but not too tight handshake, and use other people’s names in your chats with them. This will increase rapport. And even when you are discussing business or work issues with other people, digress moderately by discussing relevant personal issues.
3. Dress smart, but not flashy
Confidence comes from within. And the best way to show it outwardly is to dress smartly, not in a flashy manner. If you have an expensive watch, don’t wear it to work or to your salary negotiation. Confident people know that their self worth isn’t based on how much their dressing is worth. But arrogant people want to show off their worth by dressing to kill.
4. Speak only when necessary
One of the hallmarks of arrogant people is that they talk too much. And most of the things they say are usually unnecessary. Confidence, on the other hand, is the ability to remain silent until whenever speaking is necessary. Confident people listen more and talk less.
5. Be sincere
Arrogant people feel too proud to compliment other people’s efforts, and when they do, they sound compelled or artificial. This is because they find it hard to comprehend the fact that other people deserve their compliment. So you must always ensure to genuinely acknowledge the hard work and successes of those around you. And avoid saying what you think others want to hear. Rather, say what you think is right.
6. Be humble
Being modest and confident is a good way to battle arrogance. To avoid arrogance, be humble whenever you are commended for a job well done. And admit any faults that may have come from your end.
In addition, if you are part of a team that achieves something extraordinary, always take time to share the praise and emphasize the contribution of other people. Only arrogant people try to show themselves off as heroes, while downplaying the contributions of other people they worked with to achieve a feat.
7. Be with confident people
Confidence can be contagious. Surrounding yourself with self-assured people make you feel like we can do it, too. So, identify confident people in your place of work, and keep their company as much as possible. With time, you will learn to be confident even when you are no longer around them.
8. Challenge yourself
A great way to boost your confidence is to challenge yourself to do things that you didn’t think are possible. Participate in projects and assignments that give you an opportunity to use your strengths and take on projects that stretch you. However, you must try to refrain from judging your performance too early in the process, or comparing your performance to someone who has been doing that activity for a much longer period of time.