Why Confidence Matters at Work

by Margie DuBois, CPC

May 13, 2026

When organizations invest in developing their teams, the focus often goes toward visible workplace skills: communication, strategy, project management, or performance tools.

And while those things absolutely matter, many of the challenges teams experience are rooted in something deeper that often gets overlooked.

Underneath how people communicate, collaborate, handle feedback, navigate stress, or engage in difficult conversations almost always connects to a person’s level of confidence.

Confidence is the practice of showing up with clarity, courage, and emotional intelligence in ways that strengthen relationships, cultures, and systems.

Different from what many people assume, confidence is not a personality trait. It is a set of observable behaviors.

That means confidence is something we can practice, strengthen, and grow over time.

Confidence shifts for every human on any given day. It’s impacted by stress, work environments, life experiences, support systems, skill development, and more. Even highly capable people can struggle with confidence during certain seasons of life or work. 

That’s why confidence is both an individual practice and a team responsibility.

Because when people do not feel good about themselves at work, it affects how they show up around others.

And it can look different from person to person.

For some people, low confidence looks like staying quiet in meetings, hesitating to share ideas, or constantly second-guessing decisions.

For others, it looks like overworking, perfectionism, struggling with boundaries, or feeling pressure to constantly prove their value.

Sometimes it shows up as defensiveness, controlling conversations, interrupting others, or needing to stay in control.

And for some, it looks like emotionally checking out, disengaging, avoiding feedback, or pulling away from connection and vulnerability.

We all develop different protective behaviors when we feel uncertain, overwhelmed, excluded, or like we aren’t measuring up. This is part of being human. 

The challenge is that when those patterns repeat over time without awareness or support, they begin shaping the health, connection, and performance of a team.

And that is why confidence at work matters more than most people realize. Over time, it ripples across an organization and can make or break the wellbeing of a team.

Here are four truths about confidence at work:

1. Confidence shapes behavior

Confidence influences how people communicate, respond to feedback, navigate conflict, ask for help, set boundaries, and handle challenges.

When confidence is low, people are more likely to operate from fear, self-protection, perfectionism, avoidance, or defensiveness. But when confidence is high, people tend to communicate more openly, collaborate more effectively, and take healthier risks.

2. Confidence impacts culture

Culture is not only shaped by leadership strategies or company values written on a wall – it is shaped by the daily behaviors people bring into the workplace.

The way people respond to mistakes or give feedback. 
Whether or not people speak up or show ownership in their work. 
People’s ability to trust one another and extend empathy during difficult times.

Confident humans help create healthier cultures because they are less focused on proving themselves and more focused on contributing, connecting, learning, and helping others rise.

3. Confidence influences performance

Confidence affects communication, innovation, accountability, decision-making, and leadership. 

It impacts whether someone shares an idea, advocates for themselves, takes initiative, or stays stuck in fear and self-doubt.

People perform better when they feel psychologically safe, capable, supported, and empowered to grow. 

Confident people are not fearless people. They are people who continue practicing courage and a growth mindset even when things feel uncomfortable.

4. Confidence drives retention

People want to work in environments where they feel valued, supported, respected, and able to succeed.

When confidence is diminished through unhealthy leadership, chronic stress, or fear-based environments, people leave.

But when organizations invest in helping people build their confidence and emotional intelligence, teams become stronger and people are more likely to stay.

Confidence impacts employee turnover and the bottom line.

. . .

Confidence is not just personal development work – it’s leadership and culture work that shapes the health of a team.

And the good news is that confidence is teachable. When employees learn how to practice healthier behaviors that build their own confidence, the entire team wins.