A Research Paper By Julian Goodes, Executive Coach, AUSTRALIA
Understanding Confidence & How Coaching Can Help
No pressure, John. Could you please stand up and share a few introductory words with your new executive team.
Jane it would be great if you could speak up a little more in these meetings -don’t worry it’s easy!
Just a few introductory words…just speak up. But is it really that easy though? Self-confidence impacts us all in various ways and in various workplace situations. The causes run deep, yet they can often manifest for everyone to see.
In my 20+ years working as a trainer, facilitator, and coach, I have been incredibly fortunate to have supported thousands of staff, mainly in the APAC region. During this time, the number one common need and challenge have been issues related to confidence.
I strongly believe that this is an area which deserves more attention. We have all suffered a lack of confidence at some point in our lives. When we lack confidence we pass up opportunities and remain inactive. Inactivity means that learning and growth are unlikely to take place.
Confidence Unlocked
This research paper aims to shed light on the mystery of confidence. Self-awareness is the first step to improving confidence and I hope that this research paper can serve as a useful tool in building confidence.
To start, I will provide a definition of confidence. Only by having a clear definition and understanding of the barriers to confidence, can we begin to diagnose and eventually look into potential solutions to build it. Following this, I will introduce proven methods for building and maintaining confidence. Lastly, through the use of a case study, this paper will address the question: Can coaching help build confidence?
Confidence – Definition
According to the Oxford Dictionary, confidence is defined as
A belief (and an assurance) in one’s own abilities or the abilities of another
Therefore, a lack of confidence in doing something indicates uncertainty as to whether our efforts will be successful. Underpinning confidence is self-belief.
It is important to understand the difference between being confident and being optimistic. While optimism is about the future, confidence involves the uncertainty of giving something a try. Confidence revolves around taking action. We can be optimistic but lack confidence.
This definition highlights why confidence is not a quick-fix process. It’s origins – our beliefs, run deep. Various factors may contribute to an individual not taking action. Someone (a manager) simply instructing a peer to be more confident or speak up is highly unlikely to work. Confidence is not a switch you can turn on or off.
With a better understanding of confidence, we can now look into some of the reasons that impact self-belief. What prevents or blocks us from taking action? Below I will first outline some of the uncontrollable and then move on to discuss the controllable causes.
Genetics & Gender
Genetics and gender are often cited as significant influencers of confidence. It seems that some people are pre-wired or dealt a good hand, being born inherently confident.
Grevin a behavioral geneticist and her colleague Plomin from the Institute of Psychiatry argue that self-confidence is a genetic predisposition. Together they discovered that the correlation between confidence and genes could range from 25-50%.[1] However, it’s essential to note that the subjects in this study were 7–10-year-old twin children, and questions centered around “academic” confidence.
In terms of gender, many studies point to the notion that women are less assured than men, leading to terms such as the “confidence gap” as coined by Russ Harris. [2]According to the 2021 Women’s Confidence Report (the largest global study into women’s confidence), only 3.4% of women rated their confidence as 9-10 while 66% rated their confidence levels as low or very low.[3] Men, potentially due to environmental reasons or even nature itself (typically having 10% more testosterone which is linked to increased risk-taking and confidence) tend to be more confident – perhaps too confident! Research central to Katty Kay and Claire Shipmen’s book “The Confidence Code”[4]cites studies on risk-taking, with women preferring to take fewer risks, and even Christine Lagarde one of the most influential women in the world, admitted that her rise included confidence issues.
The above research points to the link between genetics/gender or “the hand you are dealt with” and confidence. While this is important to acknowledge, the good news is that these uncontrollable causes are just pieces of the overall confidence puzzle. Other controllable causes exist which are not fixed including;
The Power of Mindset, Self-Talk & Practice
Genetics may play a role in determining confidence levels but this does not explain how two identical twins, who would have similar DNA, can have completely different personalities and experiences with confidence.
This is where the power of mindset comes in. The good news here is that you do have full control over how you think. In Carol Dweck’s book “The Power of Mindset: Nurturing Motivation and Confidence”, [5]the growth and fixed mindsets were coined. People with a growth mindset can foster confidence with the attitude that we learn even when we make mistakes, as the goal is to become better. Failure is an opportunity to learn. Conversely, people with a fixed mindset avoid challenges and see failure as a personal attack or sign of weakness. Therefore, understanding your way of thinking and how you approach tasks plus shifting your perspective towards learning and discovery, will help.
Studies show that self-talk or inner voice dialogue in people is common. That inner voice can be present as much as 75% of the time for some people. That voice can be negative – ANTS (Automatic Negative Thoughts) or alternatively these can be positive PETS (Positive Empowering Thoughts). This transformation from negative to positive is challenging yet possible. Mohamid Ali would use self-talk and tell himself “I am the Greatest”. Later he admitted that the positive affirmation was said before he knew he actually was.
Having a positive outlook and fostering PETS are controllable areas that people can work on. “Power Posing” or standing in a posture of confidence, even when we don’t feel confident can also work according to Amy Cuddy in the most watched TED talk ever (70 million views and counting) “Your body Language may shape who you are”. [6]
A final controllable is practice. Once a task becomes not novel or not new to us then psychologically the unknown becomes more known. The more known something is and the more we repeat it, then the more confident we become. After driving a car in your own familiar surroundings, you are likely to feel confident. However, driving that same car on holiday in another country, especially on the other side of the road, may make you less confident.
The 10,000-hour rule, popularized by Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Outliers” [7]and research from Anders Ericsson around deliberate practice supports this view[8]
What about coaching? How big a role can coaching play in building confidence?
Confidence & Coaching
The coaching process seems ideally suited to support people with confidence issues. At its heart, coaching aims to support clients achieve a goal or objective. Coaching can look deep and shine a light by identifying the source of a confidence issue and bridging that open space between thoughts beliefs and actions.
Coaches align with clients to establish achievable and realistic goals. Due to the holistic nature of the coaching process, challenges in realizing these goals and barriers around taking action can be identified. A coach may work with a client to break goals into more manageable steps and help build a sense of accomplishment with positive habits being fostered. The power of these small habits or “Atomic Habits” is well documented in James Clear’s award-winning book.[9]
Similarly, by using powerful questions, a coach can identify anti-positive thoughts and words. These words “should”, “could” and “ought to” can then, in turn, be reflected back to the client and challenged during the coaching engagement.
As opposed to mentoring, or a manager telling a member of staff how to achieve a goal, coaching is client-driven with the belief that the client is the captain of their ship and fully in control. Positive affirmation and celebrating success together with this intrinsic form of motivation run central to achieving long-term goals and are documented in work by Angela Duckworth.[10]
The transformational change and success related to confidence, in conjunction with the utilization of my Power Tool, self-doubt vs. confidence[11] are illustrated in the case study. The tool is still a work in progress but has already achieved success and shown positive results in the business field.
Case Study
Situation
A China team, part of an American multinational company, faced challenges speaking up in weekly virtual global meetings. This lack of openness resulted in issues such as a lack of transparency, trust issues, communication problems, and low morale.
Despite the boss’s encouragement and company values emphasizing communication and collaboration, little progress was made.
Solution
The team first underwent a series of individual coaching sessions to align on the goal of speaking up and exploring underlying challenges. Deep-rooted issues linked to culture, lack of skills, and fear of being misunderstood were uncovered. Staff were encouraged to demonstrate how they felt in these situations. Managers were also asked to provide their own observations, input, and recommendations. It was during these sessions that staff experienced “aha moments” and began to understand their personal frames/blocks to speak up, many of which were linked to self-doubt.
Group-facilitated sessions were used to reinforce the benefits of action vs inaction. Training tools focused on structuring a point/opinion, providing the team with opportunities and skills to practice in demo global meetings.
Final individual coaching sessions followed real global meetings where team members reflected on progress and future action plans were made.
Outcome
Feedback from the project was extremely positive, leading to senior managerial recommendations for another four teams to undertake the program. Through heightened awareness and the identification of limiting beliefs, the Power Tool self-doubt-confidence successfully addressed the team’s challenges, fostering better communication, increased transparency, improved trust, and elevated morale within the organization.
Increased Confidence
Confidence will affect us all at some point in our lives. In its simplest form, confidence is a lack of self-belief to carry out a future task. Genetics or gender may play a role in confidence but it is certainly not the only piece of the puzzle and there are a number of controllable factors at play which can help with confidence building.
Coaching is well-placed to support people with confidence issues. As a discipline, it can help build a bridge between our thoughts (wanting to do something) and our actions. Several ways in which coaching can support include; building awareness, identifying confidence root causes, setting realistic goals, challenging negative self-thoughts, and celebrating a growth mindset.
References
Plomin, R & Greven C (2008), A Twin Study into the Genetic and Environmental Influences on Academic Performance in Science in Nine-year-old Boys and Girls, International Journal of Science Education
Harris, R. (2011) The Confidence Gap -From Fear to Freedom, Robinson Publishing
Women’s Confidence Report (2021) https://womensconfidence.report/
Kay, K & Shipman, C (2014) The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance – What Women Should Know, Harper Business
Dwek, C (2007) The Power of Mindsets: Nurturing Motivation and Confidence, Random House
Cuddy, A. (2012) Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are, Ted Talks
Gladwell, M (2008) Outliers: The Story of Success, Penguin
Ericsson A, Prietula M & Cokely E (2007) The Making of an Expert, Harvard Business Review
9 Clear, J (2018) Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, Random House
10 Duckworth A (2016) Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, Scribner Book Company
11 Goodes, J (2024) Power-Tool Self Doubt vs. Confidence, ICA Coach Campus https://ica.coachcampus.com/c/portfolio/powertool-self-doubt-vs-confidence