Personal and professional leadership development

Most people are familiar with the inner voice that tells you that whatever you just did (or didn’t do) is wrong. It is the voice that tells you not to ask a question at a meeting because it might reveal your lack of knowledge or skill. It is also the voice that after the meeting tells you that you are a coward for not asking. At first glance, the inner critic may seem to offer guidance and support. However, in effect, it mainly creates feelings of shame, guilt, embarrassment, and inferiority – without providing any real support in life. Inner criticism can prevent you from making important contributions to the organisation and from advancing your career. It can cause unnecessary worries preventing you from focusing on the work at hand. It can undermine your natural curiosity, drive, courage, confidence, and ability to connect and form fruitful relationships – all of which are important for leaders. The inner critic does not always appear as overt self-criticism. More often, it appears in subtler forms that are easily mistaken for “guidance”, “conscience”, or “realism”. Regardless of the form, the effect is the same. In this workshop, you learn ways to detect the inner critic and disengaging from it. You learn how listening to yourself and others in kind, compassionate and non-judgmental ways can unlock aspects of your own and other’s unused potential that has been blocked by inner criticism.

Methods

The course is an energizing mix of practical reflective exercises, short presentations of relevant research, and group dialogue. To ensure relevance, the course focuses on working with the participants’ own challenges.

Learning Objectives

  • Detect and disengage from the inner critical voice
  • Using kind, compassionate, and non-judgmental listening to understand how the sides of yourself and others that are targeted by the inner critic can be turned into potent resources.
  • Increase your sense of natural and relaxed confidence in your role as leader

Claus Springborg, PhD and lecturer at CBS

10+ years of experience teaching leadership and cocreation skills, management theory, systems of personal development, and entrepreneurship as an executive educator and as a lecturer at business schools across Europe. Being active as publishing academic, entrepreneur and social entrepreneur, I’m passionate about developing theories through practice and for practice. In my teaching, I value humanistic principles, precision, reflexivity, and humour