You can assemble a highly skilled team of people, but skills alone will not guarantee success on the job. In order to be successful, people must feel confident in their abilities. Even a little bit of self-doubt can lead to poor performance. Confident employees are productive and are more like to engage in creative problem-solving than people who don’t feel self-assured. Use these strategies to instill confidence in your team.
Offer Ongoing and Specific Feedback
Annual performance reviews are not always effective motivators or confidence boosters because they rely on vague and outdated feedback. Offering specific, ongoing feedback throughout the year reinforces positive behaviors and strong performance, giving employees a roadmap for repeating those behaviors in the future. Telling someone exactly what they did will is an easy and effective way to instantly boost confidence.
Celebrate Improvements
No employee is perfect 100 percent of the time, and when someone hits a rough patch, it is important to coach them through to get back on the right track. When working with someone who needs to improve, celebrate their successes and improvements – no matter how small. Tell them you noticed their step forward and you are proud of their achievement. This will provide positive reinforcement that they are on the right track and will motivate them to continue.
Let Employees Take Ownership of Their Roles
One of the fastest ways to kill confidence is to micromanage an employee. While it is important to stay on top of your team and make sure they are on track, standing over their shoulders or constantly asking what they are doing can damage their self-confidence. Provide employees with specific directions on tasks and projects; then step back and let them do their jobs the best way they know how. By putting your trust in them, it will lift their self-esteem.
Focus on Failing Forward
Failures are inevitable in the workplace, but if employees are afraid to address failure, they can feel inadequate. Promote an environment that focuses on success, but doesn’t treat failure like a tragedy. When someone makes a mistake, sit down with them and figure out where things went wrong, and help them develop a plan to prevent the same mistake in the future. Ask what you could have done to help them, to take the pressure off their shoulders and let them know that failure is ok – as long as they fail forward.
Is Your Ag Business Looking for Confident Talent?
If you are looking for confident and productive marketing talent for your ag business, contact the agricultural industry recruiting experts at Morris Bixby Group. We can connect you to the impactful talent you need to achieve your strategic goals.