Client Story: Tim Copley
Regained confidence and found more ease in himself so he could improve working relationships, secure a trustee role and renew his ambition.
Name: Tim Copley
Job: Director of Physical Activity and Sport Development, London Sport
Problem: Lost his confidence and felt a sense of unease because his introverted nature was at odds with workplace culture. Negative thinking impacted his ambition and self-belief.
Success: Adopted positive habits to develop confidence, and recognised the value of his introverted style. Used his new awareness as a springboard to improve his relationship with an extraverted boss and put himself out there to secure a trustee role.
Before working with Emma…
I’d lost my confidence and was feeling a sense of unease, like I couldn’t bring my full personality to work.
My introverted nature was somewhat at odds with the organisational culture, and some of my working relationships weren't where I'd like them to be.
When I looked at the future, my thinking was often worst-case scenario. It impacted my ambition and my thoughts about what I could do next, or what I was capable of.
It was exhausting to be in that thought pattern, so I joined Rise because I wanted to break out of it and was searching for that feeling of ease in myself.
There were question marks about how can I be more impactful in my role, how can I enjoy my work more, and where do I want to take my career, what might my next steps be?
I had a determination to get where I wanted to be, and I knew something had to shift - possibly be a little bit vulnerable and step out of my comfort zone - if I was going to make progress.
Tim’s Key Points
One of the most valuable things was positive habits to improve my confidence - doing little things regularly to develop and maintain my confidence was a real win.
Throughout the programme there’s lots of little tactics that I found beneficial and have been able to take into my daily life.
One of the major things is knowing that my introverted style is just as valuable as anybody else's and it's okay to be the way I am – I'd lost sight of that a bit and it was a core source of my lack of confidence and that feeling of unease.
I started to appreciate my style more and what value I can bring – knowing that I have skill sets and ways of thinking and approaches that add value to the organisation.
That awareness is a starting point and then you can take action to make it easier for yourself and add more value to your organisation.
I learned more about introversion and what it means and how it manifests itself in the workplace, and how extraversion manifests itself as well - some colleagues and my boss are quite extraverted so understanding their perspective more has been helpful.
Sharing some of the bits I’ve learned enabled me to talk with my boss about my style and preferences and for my manager to talk about it from her perspective too.
Both of us recognised how we can communicate better, relate to each other, understand each other's preferences more; that's improved our relationship and the way we work together.
Now I feel much more at ease in myself and my abilities. And I know the things I want to achieve are absolutely possible.
Releasing that tension and whatever's holding you back, you realise a lot of it's in your head. It’s that voice inside telling you, ‘You can't do that’ or, ‘If you do that X will happen’. A lot of that is gone and you look at things with more ambition. The confidence, that feeling of ease, is the foundation from which to go forwards.
The most tangible thing was gaining a new trustee role, which was something I wanted to do as part of my development and taking the next step. I'm pleased that's happened during this programme, and I'm not sure it would've done if I hadn't been on it. Rise gave me the confidence to put myself out there and go for it because I was able to recognise that I’ve got the skill set and some valuable experience that another charity could benefit from.
The guidance and framework of the programme has made a big difference, and having the online resources in my back pocket is going to be helpful – I can go back and visit them anytime if I need a way to get on that positive cycle.
What was the group like?
The group felt like a safe space from the start.
Before the first group call, you’re slightly hesitant about what it's going to be like, but I personally found that I got quite comfortable quite quickly. The other people in the group are there for similar reasons and experiencing similar things. So it's actually quite reassuring when you realise other people are grappling with the same issues as you.
It’s a rich forum to just listen and learn and hopefully contribute as well.
Would recommend Rise to…
People who are not feeling as confident as they would like to be, are not being listened to as much as they would like, or feel that their introverted style and personality is not as valued in the workplace.
Anyone who's interested in and curious about their introversion and how they can have the best possible impact in their jobs.