Roxie Nafousi’s book, confidence: 8 Steps to Knowing Your Worth, is rich with great advice that college faculty can use, even though we are not her main audience. At its core, confidence challenges each of us to see ‘confidence’ as a feeling that is quiet, grounded, and rooted in self-respect, rather than arrogant or showy. Nafousi reminds the reader that confidence is not about chasing every external measure of success but, instead, is about knowing your worth, staying authentic, and showing up for yourself and those with whom you engage.
Nafousi offers eight steps that can easily be applied to faculty life.
Master Your Thoughts: Faculty constantly receive criticism – be it in the form of peer reviews, student evaluations, grant proposal rejections, or public scrutiny of their research. Instead of internalizing every comment or slight, Nafousi recommends that we reframe how we talk to ourselves. She stresses that self-doubt does not need to be the default setting of our lives.
Act with Intention: In academia, it is easy to say yes to everything asked of us, including committee work, research collaborations, and leadership roles. Nafousi reminds her readers to act deliberately and to align their time with their values. What matters the most to us? She stresses that being intentional means teaching, researching, and serving in ways that reflect and honor who we are rather than what others expect us to be.
Stop Trying to Be Liked by Everybody: Often, faculty members try to please students, administrators, colleagues, reviewers, and funders, sometimes to the detriment of their own scholarship and well-being. Nafousi reminds us that confidence means being grounded enough to disappoint some people when necessary. We don’t have to please everyone all the time.
Break Free from Comparison: The academy is steeped in comparison and perhaps even built on it when it comes to faculty promotion and tenure systems. It is difficult not to compare yourself to others. Nafousi emphasizes that we are in a much better place when we focus on our own contributions and see them as valuable even when they don’t resemble the contributions or successes of others.
Celebrate Yourself: Humility is deeply respected in academic circles, which can make it difficult when we experience achievements or successes. However, Nafousi encourages her readers to acknowledge their successes. For faculty, this means taking the time to celebrate a published article, a new book, or a breakthrough, rather than immediately rushing to the next task on long to-do lists.
Do Hard Things: Many of the tasks we do as academics involve some level of risk, including teaching, research, and leadership roles. Nafousi believes that difficult challenges are confidence builders; they do not erode confidence. Faculty can approach demanding projects with the view that tackling challenging tasks strengthens rather than depletes confidence. Moreover, when we overcome challenges, we can use and reflect on our experiences to help us when we face new ones.
Be of Service to Others: Perhaps the most important message that Nafousi shares is that service builds confidence. I found this idea particularly relevant to faculty as we mentor students and junior colleagues, and regularly serve others. Nafousi urges us to reframe our perspective on service, viewing it not as undervalued labor but as a means to affirm our professional identity, ultimately leading to increased worth and confidence.
Show Up as Your Best Self: The final step, offered by Nafousi, focuses on consistency and care. For faculty, this means bringing authenticity to every interaction. She recommends that we listen more deeply, prepare more thoughtfully, and be more present in the moment. Her recommendation of showing up as our best selves is not about perfection, but rather about walking with our values each day.
confidence offers a road map that helps us to quiet the noise of the academy and instead, hold tight to our values and our purpose. Nafousi stresses that confidence grows not from performance or recognition, but from living and working with integrity. Her book is filled with thoughtful questions to ask yourself, interactive activities, and examples that help you get closer to the faculty member – and person – you want to be.