Women's Development Programme Confidence Building

Overview of the Women’s Development Programme

Women bring different perspectives and voices to an organisation, to the debate and to decisions taken. Studies have shown that the environment for women in senior roles improves once about a third of leaders at that level are female, and that a’ critical mass’ of 30% or more women at board level or in senior management produces the best financial results.

There is a striking correlation between strong business performance and women’s participation in management. The failure of any business or economy to maximise the talents of all its people will result in below-par performance. Tapping into the under-utilised pool of female talent is vital if organisations are to respond to rapidly changing expectations.

Women tend to undervalue their own skills, achievements and experiences and the relatively low number of successful female role models often compounds stereotypes and reinforces perceived difficulties in rising up the organisational ladder.

Although things are changing, women’s careers are disproportionately disrupted through caring responsibilities at various stages in their working lives. Many women are ‘sandwich carers’ providing care for ageing parents as well as younger generations. Recent research suggests that talent progression for women stops at around age 45 though they will have valuable skills that should be highly prized in the workplace.

A development programme which allows women to take time to reflect on their achievements so far and focus on their aspirations for the future can only bring benefits to them and the organisation supporting them. This modular programme aims to help women develop and promote a positive self-image, and achieve the visibility needed to achieve their career and personal goals.

Other modules in the programme include: Building Resilience, Goal Setting and Career Planning, and Image, Visibility and Networking.

Overview of the Confidence Building Module

Being confident helps us to approach situations in a more relaxed and resourceful way. Self-confidence can be learned and built on. Confident people inspire confidence in others. This workshop explores the interpersonal skills that are needed in order for us to be taken seriously. 

Learning Objectives

On completion of the programme, participants will be able to:

• Identify how being a woman has affected their life and career choices
• Demonstrate understanding of how to capitalise on what they have and what they can develop
• Identify how to build on strengths and address areas for improvement to enable them to develop the confidence to tackle difficult issues.

Content

• Introductions
• Getting to know each other
• Hopes, fears, expectations
• Knowing yourself
• What you’ve got going for you
• What is confidence?
• Where does confidence come from?
• Identifying strengths and areas that need developing in order to increase self-confidence and self esteem
• Learning review of the module
• Post module actions

This face-to-face event:

• Allows for skills practice in a safe environment
• Provides the opportunity to build networks by allowing participants to form alliances/friendships/support mechanisms
• Uses discussion to share feedback and experiences.

The programme provides the tools, direction and confidence needed for you to advance your career and also have an impact on your organisation.

In a programme that is exclusively for women, you will be able to focus on your own development and challenges in a room full of people with similar issues and experience.  You can explore your identity, strengths and weaknesses well apart from your usual context. And, importantly, the content is tailored to you as a woman.