Later today I’m excited to launch a special four-part seminar entitled “Understanding, Building and Owning Your Leadership Potential.” The seminar, developed for Running Start’s “Star Fellows” program, is designed for college-age women to help them increase self-awareness and to learn about tools to build and sustain confidence. The young women in the program are talented, aspiring, young, political leaders who are receiving on-the-job training with current women Members of Congress. We hope to deepen their perspective and awareness around additional themes that are also critical to their leadership journey.Everyone stumbles, especially when taking calculated and necessary career risks. This is true in business, politics, or whatever path you pursue. When you take the time to develop a few tools to help you bounce back, it can speed recovery time and help you grow and flourish so that you are better equipped to tackle the next (likely even bigger) challenge!
Studies have shown that women can often have a tougher time recovering from a misstep or failure. That is due in part to how we “frame” or think about what happened, how we talk to ourselves about the experience, and how quickly we allow ourselves to move on. In the seminar, we’ll talk about the inherent tendency to “ruminate or overthink” these experiences, and what to do to stop that cycle. We’ll also talk about ways to create sustainable approaches to help us maintain our sources of energy, while also learning how to evaluate our talents and leverage them by learning to tell our stories so that we can articulate the value we bring to our organizations and teams.
We’ll also talk about how to avoid perfectionistic tendencies, where self-doubt and confidence come from, and how to accept and use feedback. And, we’ll look at communication style and how to avoid bad habits like excessive apologizing.
The topics and the tools we’ll be discussing in the seminar are near and dear to my heart. Like so many women, I’ve struggled with many of these tendencies, but my career journey has led me to great experts, amazing leaders, and mentors who have helped me develop awareness and to grow. I’ve found that greater awareness coupled with smart tools are often the most important keys needed to unlock our potential and help us soar in whatever path we chose. Like others have done for me, I look forward to great discussion and the opportunity to share what works. ###
Laura Cox Kaplan 