Mary comes into work every day and is motivated, engaged, has a good attitude, and is ready to tackle any project that might come her way.

Katie on the other hand, comes to work and is a little timid and unsure if she will have the know-how and ability to complete her work for the day. 

Katie is missing something that Mary already has. Confidence. Mary's confidence in her self and her abilities helps her to be more motivated, engaged, and positive about anything she has to do. Now the real question is, how do we, as managers, coach Katie to have more confidence? 

Here are a few coaching tips to help you out:

1. Direct your employees toward projects that will benefit from their natural strengths and abilities. Employees will automatically feel more engaged and more confident in their abilities to complete the project. 
2. Give your employees a little more control. By letting an employee have a say in some of the decisions about things that affect them, they will have a larger sense of pride, ownership, and responsibility in the work they are doing, increasing their confidence. 
3. Practice, practice, practice. If an employee lacks confidence in specific area, set aside time to coach to that specific area. For example, if an employee is not confident when speaking on the phone to customers, try having them role play with you or another employee, and then give feedback on what was done well and what could use some improvement. 
4. Praise improvements. Noticing and acknowledging when an employee is improving and progressing helps to boost their confidence because then they know that they are succeeding. Progress is the number one motivator!
5. Set goals with your employees. When an employee reaches a goal, even a small one, they start to feel more confident. 
6. Give lots of feedback. Sometimes employees aren't confident because they just don't know if what they are doing is correct. Make sure to always provide feedback on their work so they know if they are doing something well, or if there is something they need to work on. 

Slowly but surely your employees will start to build confidence in themselves, their work, and the company. Soon you will have a company full of Mary's who are motivated, engaged, positive, and ready to take on anything. 

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