Claire Shipman on Authentic Confidence | Big Think.

Claire Shipman on Authentic Confidence
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ABC News correspondent Claire Shipman explains why it's important for women to maintain authenticity when communicating confidence in the workplace. To emulate male confidence is to subvert one's authenticity. Subverting one's authenticity means negating the effects of diversity in terms of leadership style. Shipman is co-author of the book "The Confidence Code."
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TRANSCRIPT:

Claire Shipman: One other critical component for women in terms of confidence is authenticity. And we found after a lot of interviews and especially some insightful guidance from Christine Lagarde, who’s the first female head of the IMF and a wonderful confidence role model, that confidence will not always look the same way in women as it does in men. It won’t always manifest itself the same way. So, we all think of confidence in this kind of Mad Men-style bravado — speaking up first, “I’m going to do this; I’ll handle that.” That’s not necessarily — that may just be male behavior. That might not be the way confidence will look in a confident woman. And understanding that there has to be an authenticity to our confidence, I think, is very important and very powerful because, again, in all of the data about diversity and why diversity works in the workplace and why it helps the bottom line of companies, it’s because it’s a diversity of style and management style. And again, diversity of confidence is also something that I think is very powerful for companies.

ABC News correspondent Claire Shipman explains why it's important for women to maintain authenticity when communicating confidence in the workplace. To emulate male confidence is to subvert one's authenticity. Subverting one's authenticity means negating the effects of diversity in terms of leadership style. Shipman is co-author of the book "The Confidence Code."

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[SunriseIsDead]

I am wondering, if I, man, came out to speak about our confidence and how we are kind of different from womens. Would feminist come out from nowhere to blame me that I am wrong with my actions doing this ? Just wondering, if you can understand my giberish in the first place, lol. Basicly, should we speak in such way to different our existence from each other, in meaning of men-women?

[weefeatures]

Typical downvotes from insecure *_little men_* who reel in disgust whenever they're faced with a confident woman. 

*Real men* applaud the achievements of strong women like Claire Shipman. You go girl.

Kind Regards,
Wyatt Nite

[thetruesoml]

I'm going to be honest. I totally misheard what she was saying the first time I watched this. I totally thought she was bashing guys/pedestalling women. I was confused and concerned. My initial bias got in the way. 

So I watched it again and I think I got it. Actually, I really like the message coming through. It's not "Women need to be confident in a certain way and male confidence is incorrect." It's more about simply being confident with who you are. You don't have to emulate anyone and feign confidence. You can be confident in a non-cliché way. You don't always have to be first. You can just be great at what you do. 

If you're that kind of person who is most confident leading the way, don't let being a women, or the fact that that is traditionally a male stereotype get in your way. You be you. That's what she's saying, I think.

[ShawnPhelpsVlog]

It would have been interesting to hear her discuss how much of this "difference" is due to innate differences in men and women, and not due simply to temporary differences based on cultural/historical conditioning of men and women. I think confidence is the same for both, however, men were historically told to be aggressive, where women were historically told to be submissive. I think that has more influence on these "differences" than anything biological. One day, I also think those differences will subside, because the historical conditioning will. So I would have liked to hear her talk about confidence itself, without _any_ gender biases. That would have been much more forward-thinking. 

[cjjb]

I don't get why this video has received such a backlash; I even watched it twice in case I missed something.

She essentially said that men and women exhibit confidence in different ways and that the combination of both is the most beneficial to a company's bottom line.

[Clayful]

Less business and controversy, more philosophy and universe-talk, Big Think!
Big Think 

[ShawnRavenfire]

If you expect women to "show confidence" without showing male behavior (i.e. confidence), some examples might be helpful.  Obviously, there is a difference between real confidence and bravado, or compensating for insecurity, but most people can tell the difference just by looking (regardless of whether we're talking about men or women).  While I've never been in a high-level corporate-type business meeting, I have seen the way men and women in positions of authority act in the workplace, and I've never noticed anything that looked like inauthenticity, at least in the sort of way.

[punkybrewstar]

Confidence is the same thing no matter what sex or life form. Confidence is about being able to reap the maximum value from yourself through recognising your talents, abilities and challenges and problem solving around those things without being self-berating or egotistical. Confidence therefore will look different in anyone. A confident man rarely reflects this stereotype either.

[CoffeePoints]

All I got from this video was that men and women are different. Is Big Think going to upload a video on a scientist talking about the new discovery that ducks like water? Or that it gets wet when it rains?

[brodman]

Confidence that isn't authentic isn't confidence, that's called acting.

I guess the message SHOULD BE; Don't act confident (eg. don't think you need to act with 'bravado' to seem confident). Just BE confident, and allow this to decide how you act.

Somehow I didn't get this message from her. Feel like I'm missing some context. I guess she is thinking from the perspective of women alone.  But I feel like this applies to men as well. I'm not a outward spoken extrovert type. When I am confident I am quiet, unless there is a need to move.

Confidence is different for each individual, not just between men and women.

[ngv]

Would have been a good idea to give some examples of these other ways women show confidence in the workplace. As it stands, this feels like an empty excuse that women are still confident like men in the workplace, even though it doesn't look like it?

[gyrojomo]

So it I have this right, Shipman would have us believe males can exhibit confidence even when they are wrong while females must be right before they exhibit confidence (in some form or other). Silly me; I thought the talk was about confidence when its clearly about female superiority. Big Think or Big Bias?

[gabrielbraga]

Never stopped to think that confidence had a gender specific part besides the individual specific. What is the essence of the feminine confidence, then? I always admired and encourage women based on the confidence usually seen in men.

[edwinunited]

Would like to hear this topic covered in greater depth.

[unitruth]

Well I think it's evident that there are multiple reactionary style in the entire spectrum of emotions for both genders

[Itchyback]

Ma gawd, the #FullMcIntosh hand gestures. :D

[KOME]

Why is PWC mentioned here? Were they simply a sponsor?

[maxxikiller]

Okay, so how does a woman show confidence?

[Lihaschu]

talks about authentic confidence
tries really hard to seem confident
brilliant idea

[shadowlionheart]

So what does female confidence look like? I only heard what it might not be...