In this episode, Susan Colantuono, Michelle Redfern, and Mel Butcher take on one of the most misunderstood ideas in women’s leadership: confidence.
Women are told to get more confident as if confidence exists in a vacuum. As if it can be summoned without context, authority, or access to real decision-making. This conversation challenges that lazy advice.
Instead, the discussion focuses on where confidence actually comes from at senior levels. Not personality. Not volume. Not positive self-talk. But business judgement, credibility, and an understanding of how organisations really work.
This episode pulls apart conventional confidence advice and replaces it with a leadership lens grounded in power, outcomes, and responsibility.
What this episode covers
Why confidence is situational, not fixed
Where traditional confidence advice fails women
How confidence is built through business and strategic competence
What senior leaders actually look for when assessing “confidence”
Why understanding how to run the business changes everything
Key ideas discussed
Confidence is not a prerequisite for leadership. It is a by-product of capability and credibility.
Women are often coached on confidence rather than on how power and decision-making operate.
Leaders trust people who understand risk, trade-offs, and outcomes.
Recommended reading
What the CEO Wants You to Know
No Ceiling, No Walls
Who this episode is for
Women leaders who are tired of being told to “just be more confident”
Women preparing for senior or enterprise-level roles
Leaders and coaches who want to stop offering shallow advice
Organisations serious about building real leadership capability
If this episode was useful, there are three simple ways to go further:
Subscribe on Substack
This is now the home of the Lead to Soar podcast. Subscribers get new episodes, curated guidance from the back catalogue, and written insights to help you navigate leadership and career decisions with sound judgement.
Explore the Lead to Soar Network
Lead to Soar is a leadership development network for ambitious women and for organisations serious about closing the leadership gender gap. Members get access to group coaching, practical leadership tools, and a network of women actively advancing their careers. Explore
Share the episode
If this resonated, share it with a colleague, manager, or friend who might need it. Leadership is shaped by what we notice, name, and talk about.
