“So Adoley, what other colours are in the rainbow?” “Indigo,” she says kind of impatiently as if to ask, “isn’t this question for nursery schoolers?” “And what does Indigo remind you of,” I ask, ignoring her demeanour. Actually, I am having a good time at her expense. Indigo The sturdy base of the strong mid-evening sky. a powerful backdrop against which celestial objects like the moon, stars, and heavenly comets would set in glowing colours. The mid-evening sky was cool and sure of itself. It evokes confidence, a sheer determination of spirit, and an unshakable dependability. The colour of the sky is “indigo,” a rich combination of blue and purple. Of blue, a colour associated with self-reliance and strength; and purple, of nobleness, knowledge, and royalty. Indigo. It brings to mind the robustness of a pair of jeans. Thanks, Adoley, you couldn’t have described it better. Indigo is a combination of blue and purple. While blue is a natural confidence booster and is associated with independence and stability, purple is associated with peace, royalty, ambition, and luxury. We believe that by embodying their authentic confidence, one begins to capture people’s attention more easily and with little effort. The ratio of women to men in middle management in many large companies is often 50/50. Confidence seems to be the primary reason why many women do not go beyond middle management to the top echelons of companies. Confidence does not imply certainty that everything will turn out perfectly every time. It is a skill that is learned, and it involves mastery of what it takes to go after what you want, knowing that you have the ability to embrace, dismantle, build, create, implement, celebrate (the outcomes), course correct, and stay resilient. In this module, we adopt our 7-Dozen Storytelling Approach to support you in mapping out what you want, what it takes to get there, what you have, what holds you back, what you choose to shift, and how to create the pathway to embody your authentic confidence. My journey to embody confidence started when I lived in Nigeria, first as a student at the University of Port Harcourt and later as a personnel and public relations officer for Francis Bruce Ltd. I had grown up in a sheltered home where my parents took care of us and met all our needs like a hawk and its chickens. My work with Francis Bruce Ltd involved having to supervise the work of the staff in his company, all of whom were men (as it was a construction company), marketing his company to get construction deals, and preparing his schedules. Trust Nigerians; my boss expected so much from me. He demanded that I work above and beyond my job description. I certainly earned every naira I was paid. However, it led to me embodying so much confidence, grit, and courage that when I decided to return to Ghana after three years of working with him, he was resistant, as were his staff. Embodying authentic confidence has helped me a lot in life, particularly when I took the decision to resign from Ghana International School (where I was the school counsellor) to set up and run Self Search Ghana Ltd. But for the confidence to push through in spite of all the challenges, I would have given up by now. I could market my business, manage my staff, present my service with confidence, and get the market. There was and is no one I am afraid to meet if there is a need to do so. Looking back now, I realise that lack of confidence would have kept me pursuing a job for which I had lost enthusiasm. I 32
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