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How to Build Confidence at Work

By Ann Howell — 2021

Low confidence is not an inherent flaw, and it doesn’t have to define you. Confidence can be learned and practiced. It begins with becoming more self-aware, changing your mindset, and learning to bring your full self to work—or wherever you go.

Read on hbr.org

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05:06

Parents Argue Over Popular Daughter Who Is Rude at Home

This story is about a mom and a step-dad who had argued a lot over a teenage daughter who was rude and home and unwilling to do her part. The step-dad shifted to using a non-defensive statement and got very different results.

Video
Sharon Strand Ellison
2013
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Beginning Anew: Four Steps to Restoring Communication

When we’re upset with someone, we’re often afraid to say anything. We tell ourselves, “Oh, it’s just a small matter; it’s not important.” But the accumulation of many small issues can create an explosive situation, and can even cause relationships to break.

Book
Sister Chan Khong
2014
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03:26

See How this Single Question Saved a Marriage

This story is about a situation where Todd, a husband, almost left his wife and kids, and the wife found a way to ask one non-defensive question that led to a conversation that saved the marriage.

Video
Sharon Strand Ellison
2013
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04:12

How Can Simple Curious Questions Have Such Disarming Power?

We are used to asking questions in ways that convey judgment and/or are interrogating or entrapping. Much of the body language and tone we use is unconscious. To be real, a question needs to be based on pure curiosity, but it's easier said than done.

Video
Sharon Strand Ellison
2013
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Taking the War Out of Our Words: The Art of Powerful Non-Defensive Communication

Whether we are dealing with a rude clerk, our child saying, “That’s not fair!,” our spouse ignoring us, or an uncooperative co-worker, in our struggle to respond effectively, we often become defensive—sometimes without even realizing it.

Book
Sharon Strand Ellison
2025
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01:43

How to Deal with Passive-Aggressive Behavior

People in your life can make you feel bad or wrong by saying one thing to you and meaning something else. You can avoid falling into their traps.

Video
2010
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Creating Love: The Next Great Stage of Growth

John Bradshaw’s bestselling books and compelling PBS series have touched and changed millions of lives.

Book
John Bradshaw
1994
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People’s sense of self-worth is pivotal to their ability to look clearly at the hurt they’ve caused. The more solid one’s sense of self regard, the more likely that that person can feel empathy and compassion for the hurt party, and apologize from an authentic center.

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Harriet Lerner
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The best apologies are short, and don’t go on to include explanations that run the risk of undoing them. An apology isn’t the only chance you ever get to address the underlying issue. The apology is the chance you get to establish the ground for future communication.

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Harriet Lerner
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We cannot make another person change his or her steps to an old dance, but if we change our own steps, the dance no longer can continue in the same predictable pattern.

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Harriet Lerner
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EXPLORE TOPIC

Communication Skills