What is self-efficacy and 10 ways to build it

By Kate Vessel, ACC
November 14, 2024 - 23 MIN READ

Imagine you’re about to give a presentation. As you wait to begin, your thoughts spiral through concerns, fears, and potential outcomes. However, when you stand up on stage, all your doubts disappear and are replaced with motivation and affirmations like “I can do this.”

Your ability to approach situations and tasks confidently is called self-efficacy. If you’re high in self-efficacy, you trust yourself to overcome obstacles, and your mindset helps you stay motivated and encouraged. On the contrary, if your self-efficacy is low, you might doubt your abilities, have limiting beliefs, and steer clear of challenging tasks.

Don’t worry if you experience low self-efficacy; you’re not alone. With the right steps and knowledge, you can improve your self-confidence and reach your full potential.

What is self-efficacy?

Self-efficacy is having confidence in your ability to set and achieve a goal, navigate a social environment, manage your behavior, or complete a task. The concept is discussed alongside humanistic psychology, which emphasizes ways you can boost your well-being and resilience for better outcomes.

According to Canadian-American psychologist Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theory, self-efficacy beliefs are foundational to behavior. In his 1977 article published in Psychological Review, “ Self-efficacy: Toward a Unifying Theory of Behavioral Change,” Bandura says that an individual’s self-efficacy plays a role in determining how they cope in the face of obstacles and aversive experiences. Bandura’s social cognitive theory says those high in the trait trust their own ability to handle difficult situations.

At BetterUp, we’ve studied the role of self-efficacy in achieving successful outcomes. Members high in self-efficacy are 2.3 times more likely to receive a promotion or pay raise within three to four months of coaching. Compared to those who scored low in this trait, BetterUp members who scored high in self-efficacy reported:

• 26% more resilience
• 21% more innovation
• 14% more productivity

Maintaining a strong sense of self-confidence aligns with professional and personal development. The more you trust your abilities, the more likely you are to take reasonable risks, learn new things, stay motivated, and grow.

Self-efficacy vs. self-esteem

Your perceptions about yourself impact self-efficacy and self-esteem, but the two concepts are not the same beliefs.

Self-esteem is your overall sense of self-worth and personal value. If you have high self-esteem, you are likely comfortable with yourself and regularly cultivate self-love. You may have good emotional regulation skills, healthy relationships, and open-mindedness when dealing with constructive criticism. It’s also likely that you live according to your personal values.

Alternatively, self-efficacy is confidence in your ability to handle complicated tasks or navigate challenging situations. You trust that you will be OK no matter the outcome. Such solid self-belief in your abilities leads to a positive mindset in the face of adversity.

If you have low self-esteem, you will likely lack self-efficacy. However, this isn’t always the case. You might think negatively about yourself, but trust your capabilities and ability to perform.

When it comes to self-efficacy and self-esteem, it’s important to remember that working on improving one can boost the other. The first step to changing your beliefs is identifying if you lack self-efficacy and how your perceived capabilities could negatively impact your life.

Do you have low self-efficacy?

Reduced self-efficacy can manifest in your life in several ways. You’ll notice it in work performance, academic tasks, physical well-being, and relationships. Once you learn how to spot its signs, you can adequately address and overcome it. Here are some of the most common characteristics of low self-efficacy:

• Low self-confidence: Doubting your abilities to handle complex tasks or navigate new situations.
• Low self-esteem: Negatively perceiving your capabilities and engaging in negative self-talk.
• Avoidance: Steer clear of trying new things or taking risks to prevent potential mistakes.
• Showing signs of burnout : Feeling the need to prove your worth and pushing yourself to the point of burning out due to a lack of trust in your abilities.
• Poor sleep hygiene, exercise, and nutritional habits: Low self-efficacy affecting your physical well-being regarding nutrition and sleep.
• Mental health issues: A low self-efficacy correlating with depression, anxiety, or other mental health concerns.
• Hyper-focusing on failures or possible adverse outcomes: Fixating on failures instead of enjoying successes.
• Avoiding connection with others: Negative self-perception and lack of confidence leading to isolation.

To more accurately measure a person’s degree of self-efficacy, mental health professionals use the official General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE).

How does self-efficacy develop?

According to Bandura’s social cognitive theory, four factors influence self-efficacy:

• Performance accomplishments: Succeeding at something enhances self-efficacy beliefs, while failing can lower them.
• Vicarious experience: Learning from observing others can help you believe in your own abilities.
• Verbal persuasion: External validation boosts self-worth and confidence, impacting self-efficacy.
• Emotional arousal: Moods and stress affect how you feel about your abilities, influencing self-efficacy.

Each of these experiences occurs from various situations throughout your life, shaping how you develop self-efficacy.

10 ways to build self-efficacy

Bandura calls for “...a persistence in activities that are subjectively threatening but are in fact relatively safe” to improve self-efficacy. Consider incorporating the following 10 suggestions to give yourself a self-efficacy boost:

Set achievable goals

Making an action plan to achieve your goals helps increase self-efficacy. Ensure goals are realistic and use SMART goals to create specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound tasks.

Seek mastery experiences

Overcoming complex problems boosts self-confidence. Learn from perceived failures and view mistakes as learning opportunities.

Practice positive self-talk

Identifying and challenging negative internal dialogues can improve self-efficacy. Replace negative thoughts with positive affirmations.

Look to successful peers and mentors

Reach out to successful individuals for feedback and perspectives that can enhance your confidence. Learning from others’ experiences can influence your self-perception positively.

Embrace challenges

Welcome the possibility of failure and success as opportunities for growth. Learning from mistakes helps reinforce self-efficacy.

Visualize success

Creating a mental image of accomplishing your goal helps boost confidence. Engage in visualization techniques and recognize how achievements make you feel.

Acquire new skills

Learning new skills adds mastery experiences to your toolbox, enhancing self-efficacy. Break big goals down into smaller ones and work to accomplish them incrementally.

Manage your stress

Support your emotional well-being during stress to maintain motivation. Techniques like exercising and spending time with loved ones can aid in stress management.

Cultivate a support system

Surrounding yourself with supportive individuals can challenge negative beliefs and increase self-confidence.

Track your goals and celebrate your successes

Reflect on progress and recognize personal achievements to gain perspective on outcomes. Celebrate milestones to reinforce the belief in your ability to overcome challenges.

Examples of high self-efficacy

Consider these examples to help round out your understanding of high self-efficacy:

• Setting a goal to run a marathon despite having no prior experience.
• Trusting in your ability to learn complicated concepts before a difficult final exam.
• Wanting to garden despite knowing little about it, trusting your skills to learn.
• Feeling excited yet nervous about starting a new job, knowing you can manage the upcoming challenges.
• Growing your relationship through improved communication skills, confident in the process.

How high self-efficacy improves your life

A firm belief in yourself allows for greater life success and satisfaction. Maintaining self-trust helps in managing complex tasks and challenging environments. Through self-efficacy, you build a growth mindset and view each challenge as a learning opportunity.

Improve self-efficacy to accomplish your goals

Self-efficacy reflects the belief you have in yourself. The stronger your confidence in handling challenges, the more likely you are to pursue ambitious goals. Invest in a better version of yourself to enjoy the benefits of coaching. A BetterUp Coach can help unlock your full potential.