10 Positive Leadership Affirmations for the Workplace

Life as a leader can feel unsettling and challenging at times. It may even lead you to think things like, “Who do you think you are? You don’t belong here. You don’t deserve this.” 

If you allow these thoughts to run rampant, they will eventually undermine your leadership effectiveness. This is not something you want to happen, especially if you have worked incredibly hard for the promotion or looked forward to a role in leadership for a long time. 

This means you are going to need to learn how to believe in yourself. As basketball legend and revered team leader, Kobe Bryant, was once quoted saying, “If you don’t believe in yourself, no one will do it for you.”

Fortunately, the use of positive leadership affirmations can help. 

What are positive affirmations?

The American Psychological Association defines self-affirmation as “any thought about oneself that is believable and vivid and that reinforces positive characteristics, abilities, or skills.” It is a positive self-affirmation because it focuses on the good rather than the bad, harmful, or counter-productive.

What is the purpose of positive affirmations?

As two University of California researchers described it, positive affirmations aim to enable people to manage challenging events, deal with threatening information, navigate conflict, stay motivated, and cope with daily stress.” All of this is something leaders require. As such, positive affirmations are just one tool of many that you can use to manage your stress and anxiety and ultimately persevere through the imposter syndrome or negative self-talk.

List of Good affirmations for the Workplace

Now that you know what positive work affirmations are and their purpose, we encourage you to apply this list of positive statements related to confidence, anxiety, success, and growth to your work life: 

• I am capable, and I can do this
• I have the power, will, and ability to be the leader I want to be
• I forgive myself for my mistakes 
• I am going to figure this out
• I will take this day one step at a time
• Even if I fail, I will learn something from it 
• What I am doing is enough 
• It is okay if something doesn’t work out as I planned; I will find another way 
• I am allowed to ask for help 
• I don’t have to be perfect; I just have to try my best

How to Make Affirmations Work Faster

Positive affirmations are not an overnight cure to the doubt and negativity you may feel about yourself as a leader. It takes time and intentionality to truly feel and see the benefits. Of course, there are a few things you can do to make affirmations work faster, including:

Be consistent and intentional

If you want your affirmations to be effective, think about how often you need to be reminded of them and then stick to them. If you need to write down or say your daily affirmations for work and commit to doing that even when it’s hard.

Ask for support

While it’s easy to feel like you have to go at it alone, you’ll be better off if you loop in someone you trust, like a professional coach, mentor, or peer. If they know what you’re struggling with and that you want positive work affirmations to overcome it, you may be surprised by how quickly they offer their support and encouragement.

Practice mindfulness

If you want to make affirmations work faster, then it’s vital as a leader to find, or make, time in your schedule to practice mindfulness in the workplace. By doing so, you will have a dedicated amount of time to understand and explore what is happening within more deeply and around you, so you can change and optimize your affirmations appropriately.

Conclusion

If you want to begin believing in yourself and achieving your full potential as a team leader, consider using positive business affirmations in your daily life at work. They are just one tool a leader has to persevere when things are challenging and overcome the stress and anxiety a new role inevitably causes.