Building Self Confidence
As a hypnotherapist I specialise in helping people to develop confidence and self esteem. Perhaps surprisingly, the people who ask for my help are not shrinking violets and their reasons for wanting to develop enhanced self confidence are not wholly selfish. Consider a few examples. The names have been changed. John works for a large corporate. Diligent, startlingly intelligent and very ambitious, he found that his ideas were consistently overlooked. This wasn't enough of a catalyst to bring him to my door, however. He eventually grew frustrated, and then angry, that dominant individuals in his company were able to put their own ideas forward with ease. Worst of all, some of these ideas, he felt, were positively damaging, but he just couldn't make his opposition count. All his intelligence counted for little in his testosterone-fuelled working environment. It had reached the point where he felt that he should resign and start again with a fresh company; he simply didn't feel that he was adding any real value. A man of great integrity, John would rather leave than tacitly support such a wrong-headed and unintelligent approach to business. John stayed. We worked together to identify his confidence profile, which was very unusual -- represented by less than 1% of the population. Through work on his stage presence and physical presence, we were able to significantly improve John's effectiveness in being taken seriously, to the extent where he has recently broken through into senior management. Jenny came to me because she was lonely. A brief marriage hadn't worked out, and she was finding serial dating to be a frustrating activity. Jenny had come to realise that she wasn't moving out of her 'comfort zone', either socially or at work. She feared becoming enclosed, locked into a safe routine which wouldn't threaten her, but wouldn't take her life forward either. Jenny's confidence profile was almost the inverse of John's. Where he had masses of peer independence, Jenny had almost none, which meant that she was hugely dependent on the good opinion of others. She needed lots of reassurance, and had very little faith in her own ability or judgement. The approach with Jenny was to strengthen her peer independence -- her ability to trust in her own judgement, independent of the views of others ?- and to build up her self esteem. She has now met somebody, changed her job and moved house -- all in the space of a year! What these case studies illustrate is the complex nature of self confidence. It isn't like height or weight; you can't read off a single value which describes a person. Confidence is complex and to develop, we need to understand our confidence profile. I have subsequently made my confidence profile questionnaire available through the Confidence Club website http://www.confidenceclub.net This has enabled me to build up an even larger database of confidence profiles, and allows people from all over the world to identify their particular areas for improvement. Jim Sullivan is a hypnotherapist specialising in confidence and self esteem development. He works with individual clients, with companies looking to de-stress their staff and through his Confidence Club website.
http://www.confidenceclub.net
Related News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
From Failure To Victory; The Cats Out Of The Bag!
Did you ever think that all of the great heroes we read about may not have been particularly great men in and of themselves? They may not have been born with any great skills, talents or abilities. But, each of them did have one special quality that we would all do well to cultivate.
Are You a Good Manager or a Great Leader?
Your word is your truth - Know that when you speak, you will fulfill your promise to others and others will know they can depend on you.
Think before you speak.
Under promise and over deliver.
Always keep your promise.
What Makes A Good Leader? Ask Uncle Sam
What do the major generals who are leading the war efforts in Iraq have in common with executives and entrepreneurs who are conducting business back home? When it comes to leadership, the answer is probably a lot more than you think.
Visions of Leadership
There are three stages to making the transition from chief cook and bottle washer (CC&BW) to CEO (source of the management and direction of the business).
Three Factors Of Leadership Motivation
Leaders do nothing more important than get results. But you can't get results by yourself. You need others to help you do it. And the best way to have other people get results is not by ordering them but motivating them. Yet many leaders fail to motivate people to achieve results because those leaders misconstrue the concept and applications of motivation.
Leadership Success and its Greatest Barrier: the Law of Administrivia
Years ago, a very wise, and often cynical boss of mine asked me for a definition of management. After reflecting on the question I proceeded to give him an intellectually careful and, I thought, accurate definition. He allowed me to complete the answer and then came back with his definition which was, "Management is just one darn thing after another." After having a good laugh, I thought about his remark and concluded that he had basically identified what makes life so challenging for those in leadership positions. The flow of "things to do" never seems to stop.
Fighting the Gravitational Pull of Positional Leadership
A little on leadership?
Professional Organizations: Join or Fold?
All of us join professional organizations for a reason--a friend belongs, we need to for credibility, etc. Many times we let years slide by and we don't stop and review those reasons. Unless something sets off a boundary--lack of funds, the organization runs itself into a ditch, or a leadership problem.
Act on Some of the Facts
Making any decision without having all of the information and facts beforehand can be very tough. I spoke with a young man recently and he told me that some of his professors had changed the rules on him in the administration of his classes. The syllabuses of a couple of his classes had been altered, which switched exam dates. He was also notified of these changes after the semester's grace period. The grace period in which he could get his tuition money back after dropping a course had passed. Because of the changes, he would have two to three exams on one day.
Asking for Help
For many of us, asking for help is a difficult concept. It can require a certain amount of vulnerability. We may feel as if we are admitting a weakness that the world would not have known about, had we not asked for help.
Strengthening Leadership Development with Employees
Within every business lies a network of people who are working to make their employer successful. Because growing business requires more employees, employers need to seek prospective candidates who will align well with their business. Some businesses prefer to promote employees internally; and it can be very beneficial for their company. Keep in mind of three ways a business might want to hire internally. These reasons not only help with the growth of the business but enhance leadership development with their employees.
All You Really Want Is Feeling Good
If I asked you what your goal in life is, what would you answer? Well, the answer would be as diversified as people are.
Leadership Styles and What We Need For the Future:
By definition a leaders leads a team to take action in favor of the vision.
3 Cs Leaders Must Communicate!
"Of every noble work the silent part is best,
Of all expression that which can not be expressed"
- William Wetmore Story
Creating Unlimited Belief for Success!
What's holding your team back from experiencing "breakout performance"?
Who Needs Heroes?
When we were talking the other day we started to think about our heroes when we were young. After we had discussed the usual film star and sports stars that we idolised I remembered Derek. Derek was a couple of years ahead of me in school and he had everything; he always got straight 'A's' and was formidable on the football field as well as one of the fastest over 100 metres. What's more he didn't appear to work at it. When the rest of us were 'slaving' away at our homework or sweating buckets trying to impress on the football field or athletics track he just turned up and got on with it. A natural, was how one of our teachers described him.
Awaken the Leader in You: 10 Easy Steps To Develop Your Leadership Skills
"The miracle power that elevates the few is to be found in their industry, application, and perseverance, under the promptings of a brave determined spirit." - Mark Twain
Are You A Leader in the Chrysalis?
Let's get this straight at the outset?
Beyond Authority: Debunking the Top 3 Leadership Myths
Have you noticed that across the business world people are recognizing that we are fast outgrowing the thinking and language of hierarchy, but we're also struggling to create a new, more collaborative future? The challenge for all is to figure out how to operate in this emerging paradigm-the one that our own efforts are helping to shape.
Dream Bigger!
A number of years ago we created a graphic logo based on the phrase Dream Bigger! We produced buttons and t-shirts. I've signed letters and emails with this phrase. It is more than a short inspirational phrase. It embodies a truth for all of us as individuals and carries extra importance for us as a leader.
|
