When Twanya Hood Hill was in elementary school she was painfully shy and her mother would often tell people “She’s bashful, but she’s smart.” From those early experiences, Hood Hill discovered that by adopting “the look” of confidence she could change the way people viewed her – and eventually how she viewed herself.
The Vice-President of Leadership Development for Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc., Hood Hill now helps others unlock their own leadership potential by learning the skill of self-confidence. Hood Hill is also an adjunct faculty member in the Master of Arts and Organizational Leadership program at St. Catherine University.
“Confidence is not about how you feel about yourself, it’s how others see you,” Hood Hill explained during the Nov. 5 Jackson Leadership Lecture, held at Dunwoody College of Technology. The lecture series features key executives from the business community, who speak on a range of leadership topics.
During her talk entitled “Self-Confidence: The Key to Success,” Hood Hill provided several strategies for building self-confidence:
- Fail fast – Put your ideas out there and then learn to adjust
- Avoid negative thoughts
- Manage Perceptions – Beware and be aware of how others perceive you
- Learn the “Charisma Formula” – Strength + Likeability = Charisma
“Eventually people will start to see you differently, and you will see yourself differently,” Hood Hill said.
The breakfast lecture series is held the first Thursday of every month. The next event will be held at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 3 and will feature Nancy Dahl, the President and Chief Operating Officer of Tastefully Simple, a national home tasting company. For more information, or to view past events, visit dunwoody.edu/alumni/jackson.