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The Code to Confidence
Claire Shipman, author of The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance – What Women Should Know, spoke on January 21, 2015, to NCS parents about her search to define confidence and why women struggle to achieve it. The evening session was part of the parent education program of the NCS Parents’ Association.
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Shipman said she and her co-author Katty Kay set out to discover “what real confidence looks like,” interviewing powerhouse women from high-level executives to members of the Mystics’ basketball team. They found that women habitually underestimate themselves and find it difficult to accept their accomplishments, no matter their generation: even “millennials” can still ascribe their success to “luck” rather than personal skills and hard work.
After eight months of talking to experts, Shipman and Kay arrived at a definition of confidence as “the stuff that turns our thoughts to action…. it is a willingness to take risks and court failure while working toward ultimate mastery.” Shipman said she was also drawn to one Buddhist’s explanation of confidence as “a kind of energy, the ability to move toward things wholeheartedly, without holding back.”
Why, then, aren’t women more confident? “Women are good at thinking, but we can overthink,” she said, calling it “‘analysis paralysis’….Women ruminate more than men do, and that can be the enemy of thought and action.” She discussed brain research that may explain why women and men vary so much in confidence: women have more brain matter and more neurons firing in the prefrontal cortex, the seat of reasoning. However, brain research holds the potential for change as well: the plasticity of the brain means that “changes in our thinking habits can make profound changes in the way our brains are wired.”
When it comes to educating young women, Shipman said “If there’s a recipe for confidence, it’s to act more and think less…. Authenticity is also very important – to hold your ground and not sacrifice what is valuable to you.” Getting outside of one’s comfort zone is essential: “youth is a time to risk and fail.” She counseled parents to look for strategic opportunities for their daughters to be challenged, rather than have them do only things that come easily. She said that competitive sports are an arena where girls can learn to fail and get back up, and cited research that shows a correlation between participation in high school sports and later success.
Shipman covered a great deal of ground, from the genetics of confidence to the changing nature of the workplace. “Successful 21st-century leaders will combine male and female leadership skills,” she said. “There is a changing view of what leadership will look like.”
The session end with Q&A and a book-signing. If you would like to purchase a copy of The Confidence Code, it's available for $18.99 from the NCS Bookstore: click here.
We are grateful to Shipman for a lively and informative evening!
After eight months of talking to experts, Shipman and Kay arrived at a definition of confidence as “the stuff that turns our thoughts to action…. it is a willingness to take risks and court failure while working toward ultimate mastery.” Shipman said she was also drawn to one Buddhist’s explanation of confidence as “a kind of energy, the ability to move toward things wholeheartedly, without holding back.”
Why, then, aren’t women more confident? “Women are good at thinking, but we can overthink,” she said, calling it “‘analysis paralysis’….Women ruminate more than men do, and that can be the enemy of thought and action.” She discussed brain research that may explain why women and men vary so much in confidence: women have more brain matter and more neurons firing in the prefrontal cortex, the seat of reasoning. However, brain research holds the potential for change as well: the plasticity of the brain means that “changes in our thinking habits can make profound changes in the way our brains are wired.”
When it comes to educating young women, Shipman said “If there’s a recipe for confidence, it’s to act more and think less…. Authenticity is also very important – to hold your ground and not sacrifice what is valuable to you.” Getting outside of one’s comfort zone is essential: “youth is a time to risk and fail.” She counseled parents to look for strategic opportunities for their daughters to be challenged, rather than have them do only things that come easily. She said that competitive sports are an arena where girls can learn to fail and get back up, and cited research that shows a correlation between participation in high school sports and later success.
Shipman covered a great deal of ground, from the genetics of confidence to the changing nature of the workplace. “Successful 21st-century leaders will combine male and female leadership skills,” she said. “There is a changing view of what leadership will look like.”
The session end with Q&A and a book-signing. If you would like to purchase a copy of The Confidence Code, it's available for $18.99 from the NCS Bookstore: click here.
We are grateful to Shipman for a lively and informative evening!
About Claire Shipman
Claire Shipman is a correspondent for ABC News and Good Morning America, covering politics, international affairs, and women’s issues. She has been the White House correspondent for NBC News, reporting on presidential policy and politics for NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw and the Today Show, and she worked at CNN for a decade, where she earned a National Headliners Award, among many other honors. Her reporting on the aborted Soviet coup and 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union won the network a coveted Peabody Award, and she received a DuPont Award and an Emmy Award as one of the key contributors to CNN's coverage of the 1989 Tiananmen Square student uprising. She is also the recipient of a DuPont Award for CNN's coverage of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. Shipman began her broadcasting career as a production assistant and intern at CNN's bureau in New York City. She holds a graduate degree in international affairs from Columbia University and a B.A. in Russian studies from Columbia University. A native of Columbus, Ohio, she lives in Washington, DC, with her husband Jay Carney and their two children, ages 9 and 13.
Claire Shipman is a correspondent for ABC News and Good Morning America, covering politics, international affairs, and women’s issues. She has been the White House correspondent for NBC News, reporting on presidential policy and politics for NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw and the Today Show, and she worked at CNN for a decade, where she earned a National Headliners Award, among many other honors. Her reporting on the aborted Soviet coup and 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union won the network a coveted Peabody Award, and she received a DuPont Award and an Emmy Award as one of the key contributors to CNN's coverage of the 1989 Tiananmen Square student uprising. She is also the recipient of a DuPont Award for CNN's coverage of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. Shipman began her broadcasting career as a production assistant and intern at CNN's bureau in New York City. She holds a graduate degree in international affairs from Columbia University and a B.A. in Russian studies from Columbia University. A native of Columbus, Ohio, she lives in Washington, DC, with her husband Jay Carney and their two children, ages 9 and 13.
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ABC News Correspondent Claire Shipman, author of "The Confidence Code."
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Shipman spoke to parents in Hearst Auditorium on Jan. 21, 2015.
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