5 Books to Build Confidence at Work in 2022
Confidence is something that comes from being grounded in an unshakable sense of self-worth, humility, and the knowledge you can always persevere.
I truly believe to have confidence, not cockiness or conceit, we have to understand we are not perfect, we will fail, but it’s our ability and drive to overcome that will ground us in a confidence that doesn’t waiver through defeat, depression, or setbacks.
These books help frame our minds to not only arm us to have candid, caring conversations at work and in life but also center our minds in a space where we know what is truly important to us. Once we know our values and how we can live them out daily, we will gain more confidence in our actions.
Radical Candor, by Kim Scott
One of the best management/ corporate books I’ve read (actually currently rereading this!). This has the same vibes as Brene Brown’s bringing your whole self to work but amps it up in corporate culture and the reality of many workplaces. Kim brings you through frameworks for 1:1s and corporate comms, how to build a culture of Radical Candor, and how to lead with compassion and clarity.
If you read above and thought, “goodness, that sounds fluffy..” It’s not. Promise. Cutting through BS and having real conversations is anything but fluffy.
Dare to Lead by Brene Brown
I love any Brene Brown book/podcast/article. Dare to Lead is my favorite book to read with teams. If you struggle with having difficult conversations at work or you have team members that do, this is a great resource to learn how to “Rumble.” How can you hold each other accountable, give constructive feedback, lean into the muck, and come out stronger. Great book!
Emotional Agility by Susan David
I’ve gifted this book more times than I can count. The concept of emotional agility and how it brings us strength is one of my favorite areas of psychology in the past 20 years. If we are rigid, we are then brittle, and break easily. If we know how to feel emotion (good or bad) we can gain understanding, strength, and agility from that. When we know how to feel emotion at work and are not constantly fighting to just be perfect, show a facade, our energy gets to be spent elsewhere.
Quiet by Susan Cain
This book is a little research heavy (but I love that). It frames how to use introversion to your advantage and each argument is backed by science. Even if you don’t consider yourself an introvert, this book is wonderful at helping you understand different ways of being and will make you a better colleague.
Man’s Search for Meaning, by Victor Frankl
A classic. It might seem odd this is on a list for building confidence but I believe confidence comes from perspective and knowing what truly matters. This book is a pillar in helping us all center on what really matters. Additionally, one of my favorite lines ever is from this book: “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” We can apply this to really big things in our life’s journey or even just how we respond to a condensing comment in a meeting. Can’t say enough about this very short, but impactful read.
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