How do you build personal confidence, how do you lend confidence to others?
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How do you build personal confidence, how do you lend confidence to others?
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Top comments (43)
@jess 's weekly wins threads are great for that 😄
I actually just looked at an old project I built last term at school, and while it isn't much to gauk at professionally, it reminds me that at one point, I never thought I could build it. Now I am writing code that connects to a SQL database, designing GUIs, and writing Java with the confidence that I can do this.
When I try to instill confidence in others, I like to learn what they know by getting them to explain to me what they're stuck on. My purpose is to show them that they likely understand more than they think they do but aren't progressing because they're stuck thinking they'll never progress. It usually gets the gears turning in their minds or at least gives them some pep talk.
Looking back on old things is a big big big one for me. Just thinking about where I used to be and how far I've come since then is always a big one.
One main thing I realized one day when I was struggling with learning c++ data structures is how long I went practicing c++ without even knowing what a pointer was (this was junior high and early high school). It's interesting to realize how easy the concept is and yet how hard I thought it was back then.
Totally agree
Accepting the fact that "Its ok to not know everything" and "I can learn it and do it" gives me confidence.
Pretty sure it does to others too
That first one is a big relief if you feel overwhelmed (especially since there are always new things coming out that suddenly get hyped up as "the future of X development"). It really is ok to not know everything. Heck, it's ok to use (and like using) a toolset that's a popular subject of ridicule.
For me is setting up personal small goals and small achievements daily, for example building some html/css stuff in codepen and so on. Let's just be serious, at work we can't have&work on projects that we like, and in time that is going to kill our creativity and personal confidence.
By doing small(and very small) projects i managed to increase my confidence, my skills and i increased the difficulty of my goals
E.G from this small card design codepen.io/FlorinCornea/pen/PgWEOo to a small app for gradients gradient.corneaflorin.ro/
And the good part is that you loose confidence again, you can start over with the small goals
Worked for me :D
I build my confidence by practicing writing code (especially something I'm new at). I also get a new perspective on things like 'imposter syndrome' from the awesome people I follow on twitter.
Mentoring helps build confidence in other programmers and in me, too. Communication, especially about how to ask the right questions, sharing tools, resources - that's what I try to do.
Don't over think. It makes you and your program ugly and sad. Also your team mates get mad if you think over something this much.
"Simple" is the key.
JDIS (Just Do It Stupid) principle bruh, we need to follow that.
Watching someone more senior than you make a simple mistake, surely helps the imposter syndrome... and is a good reminder that everyone makes mistakes.
Looking at old code, also, almost a breadcrumb learning path!
Low crash ratings 🥰
I really enjoy building the confidence of others. This is how I shape my developer relations program and advocacy work that I do. Talks, tutorials, blogs, etc. should distill complex information down to a digestible level without dumbing it down. I often introduce new language or jargon to folks first so that they can learn how to "speak the language" before trying to write code. From there I help them scope out small, manageable tasks. Confidence is easier to find with a sense of completion. Then you celebrate the completion and move to the next task.
Let other developers write something first what he thinks is correct based on his knowledge. Then follow a 1-1 code review and suggest if there are any changes. If at very first we start commanding do this or that, otherwise a general human tendency would trigger and he might feel as if he knew nothing.
Confidence, in a way, is self-esteem and self-trust.
It means you are aware of your knowledge, skills and surroundings: there will be people specialized in this sub-domain, others with a specific language, and others might prefer the human side of things, but everyone is an expert in its domain, if you know that you are the man of the situation for what you do then you are good, if it is not the case, find what makes you happy and what you enjoy to do around the Dev practice.
It also is about the reactions you have when an exterior event occurs, if somebody is judging you by what you do or what you are (of course it's about the person judging because it is rude), your confidence shows itself in the way you react to said judgement. The less you care about judgements, the more you gain in confidence.
Regarding confidence to others, I'm pretty simple: you already gained my trust and you are someone important and very interesting, from this point you can only lose it (but don't worry, it's hard to lose my trust). In lending confidence, I listen to the other, give credit where it is due and rightfully speak about various subjects besides developing and code, because I believe people get confident when they speak about themselves, not about what they do !
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