How low confidence shows up as underperformance at work.

Why do capable employees underperform despite having the right skills?

When leaders talk about “low performance”, the conversation often drifts quickly towards capability, motivation or even discipline.

But there’s an alternative explanation that rarely gets named.

Sometimes performance dips not because someone lacks skill, nor because they don’t care, but because their confidence has slipped. It creeps in slowly. It hides behind busyness. It disguises itself as personality. And because it isn’t openly discussed, it’s easy to miss.

A lack of self-belief is a hidden and quiet problem affecting performance. Leaders feel frustrated. They can see that someone is not delivering as well as they could. They know the potential is there. But they’re at a loss as to how to remedy it.

This is where confidence becomes relevant.

Low confidence does not always look fragile. In fact, it often looks the opposite.

It can look like:

* Independence.
* Self-sufficiency.
* Quietness.
* Intensity.
* Reluctance to collaborate.
* Even arrogance.

Take the example of the senior leader who arrived every morning, went straight to their office, shut the door and barely interacted with anyone. The team interpreted that behaviour as aloofness and disinterest. Stories filled the gaps.

In reality, this person was shy. Informal interactions triggered anxiety. Their well-being was low. They dreaded the small talk and unscripted conversations. So they withdrew.

That withdrawal had consequences.

Low visibility meant low influence.
Low influence meant lower engagement.
Lower engagement meant weaker organisational performance.

Confidence and performance are closely linked because confidence affects how visible, collaborative and decisive someone feels able to be.

And when someone’s self-belief drops, you often see a cluster of behaviours emerge. They avoid exposure. They hesitate. They second-guess. They isolate. Decisions slow down. Work requires more redoing. Deadlines start to wobble.

None of this necessarily means someone is incapable.

It may simply mean their self-belief has taken a knock.

Before jumping to conclusions about attitude or ability, it’s worth asking a more curious question:

Could this be confidence showing up as underperformance?

Colleague-led learning. What if I told you some of the best learning and development in your workplace doesn’t need a big budget, a slick platform or an outside trainer on speed dial?
Sounds unlikely, right? But it’s happening. I’ve just been working with a group at Beazley, a global insurance firm. They didn’t wait around for the “perfect” training course on presentations. Instead, they built their own. A colleague-led club, now 100 members strong, where people practise speaking, swap feedback and support each other to go from “just about okay” to truly compelling.

Have you ever dithered over making a final decision on something? Perhaps choosing one candidate over another, or what to do about the kitchen cupboards falling apart!

Maybe you said yes to something, then quickly regretted not saying a firm no. Or you held back when you meant to speak up.

Well, all these moments, internal wobbles, are signs you’ve drifted from your values, the things that really matter to you, that make you you.

Or, more likely, you’ve never had an opportunity to pin down your values..

Now , imagine what happens when a whole team is out of step with their own personal values. It’s not just the odd regret or misstep here and there, it’s multiple people being slower to make decisions, second-guessing why they’re going in a certain direction, not really leaning into being themselves and being brave.

Everyone needs a North Star – and that’s why it’s worth doing a values check-in.