Speak So People Listen: Building Confidence in the Workplace

A successful career takes dedication, passion and professional achievement, but without confidence, those skills will only take you so far.

As part of our ongoing campaign to support women in senior finance positions, we invited a group of CFO’s and Finance Directors to an interactive event at Mews of Mayfair. This session focused on a key topic for success; ‘Speak So People Listen: Building Confidence in the Workplace’ with public speaking expert and Founder of Speaker Express, Annik Petrou.

Here are three of the key areas which we touched upon throughout the evening which you can immediately implement into your own daily routine.

You Can’t Please Everyone.

It’s simple. You can’t please everyone. If you aren’t ruffling feathers and making an impact in the office, you may be focusing more on what and who others perceive you to be rather than staying true to who you are. Take control and start embracing your authentic self. Your strategy should be to make a lasting impression without becoming disliked however, you need to always be aware that not everyone is going to agree with your methods or your thinking. When it comes to business, there is no ‘one size fits all’. Whether it may be a decision on finance strategy, structure or analysis, trust yourself and be brave in your decisions.

Choose your battles.

Whether you’re about to step into the boardroom to present a new idea, provide input during a weekly departmental catch up or even just introduce yourself to your new boss/colleagues, you aren’t always going to see eye to eye.

Candor is a trait that all successful leaders have under their belt so choose your battles and don’t dwell on the negatives. Judgement is something we will all experience throughout our lives however, being able to deal with such feedback in a positive way is a skill which takes practice. Consciously balancing the need to be liked with the ability to understand your colleagues’ opinions is the key to success. The truth is, no matter who you are or what you do, there will always be someone on the opposite side of the fence to you and that’s ok.

Progress Over Perfection.

The secret to success and building confidence in the workplace is to step out of your comfort zone. Numerous times. Whatever you find yourself doing, whether it’s starting a new job or taking a step up in the workplace to senior level, nothing is perfect at the beginning. Practice makes perfect.

Annik reminds us all that Einstein wrote over three hundred papers during his scientific career however only a handful made an impact and created his legacy. Take a deep breath and channel your inner Einstein. Instead of convincing yourself to ‘wait for the right time’ understand that to grow, you need to overcome whatever it is that’s holding you back, speak and be heard. There is no ideal time to run that great idea passed the Exec team. There is never the right time to grab the attention of your CFO to discuss a process improvement project. To grow yourself and your career, accept that it won’t be perfect and just do it!

Progress requires your attention more than perfection and over time, you will see amazing results.