You've earned the seat, the credentials, the results. And somewhere underneath all of it, a much older belief about who you are is still quietly running the show, deciding what you attempt, what you avoid, and what you'll actually let yourself believe about your own capability, no matter what the evidence says.
In this episode, Susan Callender breaks down self-concept: what it is, where it comes from, and why it matters more to your executive presence than any communication technique ever could. Drawing on the work of Carl Rogers, William James, George Herbert Mead, Charles Cooley, Albert Bandura, Hazel Markus, and, in particular, Maxwell Maltz's landmark book Psycho-Cybernetics, Susan connects decades of psychological research directly to the identity work she does with high-performing, analytical professionals who are ready to close the gap between their expertise and how they actually show up in the room.
This episode also introduces Susan's Social Identity Shift Framework, a structured approach to rebuilding the internal picture that drives behavior, rather than layering surface-level social techniques on top of an outdated self-concept.
What You'll Learn in This Episode
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Social Skills Mastery is the go-to podcast for high-performing analytical professionals who are done letting social anxiety and communication gaps limit their careers. With over 100,000 downloads per episode, host Susan Callender of Social Confidence Pro delivers research-backed, immediately actionable coaching for professionals in STEM, finance, pharma, biotech, private equity, and beyond who are ready to close the gap between their expertise and their executive presence.
Keywords and Topics
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