What can we learn about confidence from experienced executive coaches?
In this episode of In Confidence, I’m joined by my long-standing supervision group: a circle of experienced executive coaches and coaching supervisors from across Europe. We’ve been meeting regularly since 2020, and our conversations are shaped by years of shared reflection, practice, and learning together.
We explore confidence not as a performance or personality trait, but as a lived and relational experience that shifts depending on context. Drawing on our coaching work with clients at all levels, from early career professionals to C-suite leaders, we unpack what often sits beneath “confidence issues,” including fear, perfectionism, imposter syndrome, the need for acceptance, and early life experiences.
We also reflect on how societal and cultural ideas about confidence can do more harm than good, especially when confidence is equated with volume, speed, or dominance. Throughout the conversation, we return to the importance of self-awareness, compassion, embodiment, values, and psychological safety both in leadership and in our own lives.
Finally, we reflect on how supervision itself has shaped our confidence, offering a space where we can be honest, uncertain, and curious, and where confidence grows through both comfort and challenge. I close the episode by inviting listeners to move from insight to action with small, doable steps over the coming weeks.
About the Guests
Ciara Woods is a Master Certified Coach (ICF), accredited Coach Supervisor (CSA), and host of the In Confidence podcast. With over two decades of experience, she works internationally with leaders from emerging talent to C-suite across sectors including FTSE 100 and NASDAQ 100 companies, professional services, public sector organisations, and elite sports teams. ciarawoods@me.com
Luciano Boccucci is a Master Certified Executive Coach and Coaching Supervisor who supports leaders to grow with authenticity and courage. His work invites people to explore new ways of thinking, embrace uncertainty, and translate awareness into purposeful action and meaningful impact. www.nostopevolution.com
Mark Dearnley is an Executive Coach and accredited Coach Supervisor with over a decade of experience in organisational change, leadership development, and talent management in multinational organisations. He works with senior leaders, emerging leaders, coaches, and professionals, and also coaches elite combat sports athletes, including world champions. https://www.coachingsupervisionacademy.com/accredited-supervisors-directory?cnSelected=ZI4j9QuaonrJWkYSyiT4
Nadine Hemmer is an EMCC Global Master Practitioner executive coach and accredited coach supervisor with over 25 years’ experience supporting executives and teams across European institutions and companies. A psychologist specialising in cognitive and behavioural therapy, she focuses on cultivating psychological flexibility to support sustainable performance, clarity, and strong relationships. www.nadine-hemmer.eu
Naina Oliver is a trainer, facilitator, and executive and team coach with around ten years’ experience, following an earlier career as a BBC journalist, presenter, and recruitment business owner. Her work centres on understanding and supporting people, with confidence as a recurring theme in both her professional practice and personal journey. naina@remarkablehumans.co.uk
Simona Cattabiani is a Professional Certified Coach working internationally with business executives and leadership coaching programmes. She works systemically and holistically with the whole person, integrating rational, behavioural, emotional, and embodied dimensions to support leaders navigating today’s emergent challenges with meaning and purpose. http://www.linkedin.com/in/simona-cattabiani
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