Seven ways to boost your workplace confidence

Confidence may seem inborn but it can be learned. Alison Coleman offers a primer for execs.

Projecting confidence is essential if you want to allay people's fears and instil trust in your leadership, but not easy when the economy is in turmoil and you are actually feeling quite anxious yourself.

It's a skill that Virgin boss Richard Branson manages with ease - or unease if his media interviews are anything to go by. One of the world's most charismatic business leaders appears anything but confident during serious interviews, yet poll after poll of business leaders consistently ranks him the most admired CEO.

Branson may not project confidence in the conventional sense of the word but his ability to engage and influence people, and to empathise with them in times of crisis, is one that many business leaders looking to boost their own confidence levels, aspire to.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, it could be that the brash, no nonsense style of Sir Alan Sugar is more appropriate for rallying the troops and appearing supremely confident during a recession, but not everyone is convinced.

Top business coach Alan Leigh, director of Maynard Leigh Associates, says: "He actually lacks confidence, which is underlined by the rude and aggressive behaviour he falls back on to disguise that fact."

Other high profile business bosses have their own trademark methods of demonstrating confidence and winning trust in their leadership skills, from a quietly assertive Terry Leahy, the unapologetic Michael O'Leary, and an ebullient Phillip Green.

Honed by years of experience their behaviours and public personas are as much part of their brand as their company logo. While other business leaders and senior executives can never truly emulate them, there is chemistry to confident communication and it can be learned.

Here I offer tips on how any business exec can boost their assurance and poise.

Pay attention
Self confidence can be crippled by overt self consciousness, so take yourself out of the limelight. Give other people your full attention, in the process detracting attention from yourself, and confidence levels will start to rise.

Former US president Bill Clinton is a master of attentiveness, renowned for his ability to make people feel as if he has flown across the Atlantic just to see them, and a clear demonstration of the power of turning your attention to other people as a way of boosting your confidence.

Show interdependence
Projecting confidence is not a solo pursuit; it is a team game with a two-way movement of information and communication. Being sure of yourself and what you want to say will make you feel confident that your listeners will glean what they need from it.

Build rapport
Establishing an emotional bond or a rapport with another person is another eminently learnable skill. At the heart of rapport is respect for the other person, conveyed by listening more than talking and showing genuine interest in them. With a good rapport, confidence levels will climb.

Be yourself
People see through forced behaviours, so trying to emulate someone else's confident style could backfire. The real you is the kind of person you are at home, which may not translate well to the workplace.

Formal presentation and media training courses can help, as professional trainers will spot and immediately discourage any attempts at forced or false behaviour, and eventually your own personal style will look and feel natural and comfortable.

Know your stuff
Don't try to be all things to all people. Identify what it is that people actually need from you and focus on communicating that.

Dr Rob Yeung, a business psychologist with leadership consultancy Talentspace, says it is impossible to overemphasise the importance of knowing your message.

"It is simply about preparation and rehearsal and being clear in your mind what you are going to say, you will project confidence naturally," he says.

Choose your platform
Some people were made for public speaking, others are terrible at it. But if you are a senior executive with responsibility for communicating with fellow corporate peers, staff and customers, it is unavoidable.

With formal training you can acquire the skills you need to address people confidently but if the prospect of the big stage alarms you, choose a smaller platform. Spend time in different areas of the workplace speaking to people in small groups, where you can look and feel less daunted and more confident.

Believe in yourself
Mae West famously said "If you don't think you are wonderful, why should anyone else?" That applies to business leaders, to a degree. If you want people to feel confident in you, you have to believe that they have reason to.

In researching her book Fast Track to the Top leading psychologist and business coach Ros Taylor interviewed 80 of the top CEOs on the secrets of their success, including Channel Five chief executive Dawn Airey, whose response 'I'm just bloody good' was neither arrogant nor artificial.

"She just believed in herself. At the same time, a confident business leader should be able to demonstrate humility when it is needed. Contrary to what you might think, it is not a sign of weakness but rather reinforces a sense of authenticity; being yourself," says Taylor.

It seems that confidence is not something you have but something that other people see in you. And as Richard Branson already knows, the real key to projecting confidence as a leader is not making yourself more confident but making everyone else believe that you are.