The Correlation Between Confidence and Productivity

“As is our confidence, so is our capacity.” – William Hazlitt

I bet you have heard the advice “Be more confident” at least once in your lifetime. I see confidence as a key trait that an individual should possess and for good reason. Confidence is basically feeling certain about yourself; be it your views, knowledge, ability or skills — and to be able to convey this confidence through your actions. Confidence sits right between blind arrogance and low self-esteem. It is the middle ground one should strive to achieve. 

In a recent occurrence, I had asked an individual on my team to write out a formal email to be sent to a client. They painstakingly wrote out the email, and asked me to take a look. When I went to check I noticed the name of the individual who the email was intended for was spelt different to what I knew. I asked if they were sure the name was spelt right, after 5 minutes of rechecking, they said, yes.

Imagine if I had continued to ask questions throughout the email and they took 5 minutes to re-check each fact and then answer. That seems like a whole lot of time wasted. Later, I asked if they had proof-read the email beforehand, they said they had and so I asked why they needed to check again; “just to be safe”, they said. If you’re already spending time proof-reading, why not be as thorough as you can be the first time so you’ll be confident that your work is fact-checked and correct. 

If every hour someone were to ask you 2–3 questions and you took 5 minutes each time to be sure before you replied, over time you’d be accumulating a lot of unproductive minutes you could have spent doing something else. 

Ultimately, it boils down to lack of confidence in your produce. Your belief in your ability to do work well, has a direct effect on the work you produce. In the long run, this lack of confidence can possibly affect your performance and become a hindrance in allowing you to reach your maximum potential.

How much time do you spend questioning if what you’re doing or what you’re saying is right? While sometimes questioning yourself in order to make clever decisions is viable, unhealthy questioning based on insecurities is where the issue lies. Each minute you spend questioning yourself because of your insecurities is time that could have been spent in a more productive way. The inner self-doubt dialogue deters you from taking positive action on behalf of yourself or for others. In the long run, being too consumed with self-doubt can start to make you more reactive as opposed to proactive. 

If you would like to be more productive, possessing a healthy level of confidence falls as an important component that will lead you to success, regardless of what your profession is. When I speak of self-confidence, it’s not blind arrogance I’m referring to, but rather one’s ability to be confident in their own skills, goals and potential. Those that are overly confident however, fall into yet another category. 

You shouldn’t completely attempt to eradicate self-doubt, because having self-doubt in moderation is healthy. Self-doubt can act as a stepping stone to becoming truly confident. When you believe in your ability and use a healthy dose of self-doubt to question your decisions, you are more likely to be productive and take action, leading to a higher rate of success. Ultimately, persevering long ahead of those who are constantly doubting themselves.

To be honest, I have a lot more to cover regarding confidence, productivity and ability et cetera. But I don’t want to bore you guys, so…till the next article!