My good friend and colleague for 8 years on Kingston Council, Liz Green (20 years and counting!) and I are developing a range of bite-size online courses for councillors. We know only too well that councillors can fall prey to the same self doubts as anyone in a leadership role so we thought we’d focus the first course on building your self confidence.
Stepping up to stand as a councillor and getting elected lands you in a strange world where, no matter how experienced you are in business, you’re now expected to represent a large, diverse population, be familiar with over 700 services, work with different public bodies, all without direct control or authority!
This can knock your self confidence, meaning that perhaps you’re afraid to ask a question at committee for fear of ‘looking silly’; or ‘don’t know enough’ to give a speech at full council; or maybe you won’t put yourself forward for a role ‘in case you fail at it’. Or you do these things, but always feel you never match up to others’ expectations.
Our short, engaging and interactive course for new or experienced councillors will give you easy-to-implement tips and practical advice about how to overcome your self doubt and use your values to build your resilience. We will be working in small groups, so there will be an opportunity to share your personal experiences with each other to deepen your learning and build a support network.
A councillor from a South East unitary authority attended our course in December and said: “You may feel all alone with your imposter syndrome but when you get talking to fellow councillors in a safe, private space, you find out it’s everywhere! I thoroughly recommend this course to anyone in local politics who feels that lack of confidence is getting in the way of achieving their goals.”
We’re planning further online 2-hour Building your Confidence courses in September and October. The cost is £95 +VAT. Please fill in the form below or contact us at info@levelvision.co.uk to register your interest.
