4 Confidence Code Secrets That Make People Listen, Not Just Like You
Let me tell you about the time I felt like a baby seal being skewered during a job interview.
I was living in Colorado, interviewing for a job in the energy sector. Up until that point, I’d worked for environmental groups focused on climate change. But this job? I was interviewing to fill the role of the Executive Director of the Western Clean Energy Campaign, and the goal was clear: stop 37 proposed coal-fired power plants in the interior West.
Now here’s the kicker. I didn’t know a damn thing about the intricacies of the coal or the energy industry. I didn’t even connect that when I flipped on my own light switch, the power came from a coal-fired power plant. But what I did know…deeply, viscerally, undeniably…was how to win grassroots campaigns.
So there I was, in front of two board members. The current board was made up of all men and one woman.. My would-be boss was a man. The industry was male-dominated from top to bottom. And these two were doing their job, asking tough questions about why I thought I could lead this work if I didn’t know the issue.
I felt completely put on the spot. Raw. Exposed. Undervalued. I remember thinking, What the BLEEEEEP? But instead of letting that fury make me small, I held the line.
I told them, “Look, it doesn’t matter that I don’t know the issue, yet. What matters is that I know how to win campaigns. You need someone who can hit the ground running, and that’s me. I can learn about the issue. And I’m sure you gentlemen, and others on this team, have plenty of wisdom to share. I’m here to get the job done.”
And we did. Five and a half years later, all 37 proposed coal-fired power plants were stopped. We did it through the power of grassroots organizing: power mapping, coalition building, and strategy rooted in people, not politics.
I stayed true to myself. I spoke what was real. I claimed my value.
That’s confidence.
That’s executive presence—the kind of confidence women in leadership need. Not the kind that comes from checking boxes..
The kind that comes from knowing who the hell you are when the room gets quiet and all eyes are on you.
This June, I’m teaming up with Jess Sato to help women leaders ignite their confidence and build the kind of executive presence that commands attention. She will be my guest for a four-part Java with Jen series called “The Confidence Code.”
We’re going deep into the kinds of conversations that don’t happen enough in leadership circles:
Why clarity, not polish, is what makes a woman undeniable
What happens when high-achieving women feel stuck (and how to get unstuck)
Why alignment is a power move, not a luxury
And how femininity, in male-dominated spaces, is a strength, not a liability
But more than that, we’re telling the truth.
The system was never designed for you to win.
It was built to reward the palatable version of you. The polished, shrunk-down, people-pleasing, approval-chasing performance of you.
And confidence? Real confidence? It doesn’t come from saying the “right” thing. It comes from leading from your gut. From trusting yourself. From refusing to abandon who you are just to get a seat at the table.
If that resonates. If that voice in your chest just said hell yes, then keep reading.
Why Jess? Why now?
Because Jess doesn’t just help women find their message. She helps them find themselves inside it.
She sees what most people miss. She knows what it means to carry scattered brilliance, to be pulled in a hundred directions by ideas that are all “good” but not grounded in one clear truth.
Her work is clarity. My work is reclamation.
Together, we don’t just teach confidence, we ignite it.
In real time. In real women.
In a year where women are being asked to shut up, stay grateful, and lead like someone else, we are saying: Absolutely not.
Join us June 25 at 1 PM EST for the Empowering Expert Series.
This is your invitation to stop shrinking, stop performing, and start showing up like the system never expected, but desperately needs.
We’re going live for one hour. But it won’t be light. It’ll be deep. Real. Strategic. And powerful.
And if you leave that room hungry for more? That’s when you know it’s time for the next step.
That’s why I created The Executive Presence Accelerator.
For women who are done waiting to be chosen.
For women who want to lead from their whole self.
For women who are ready to shape culture, not just survive it.
You can learn more about the Executive Presence Accelerator
This work isn’t about being polished.
It’s about being powerful.
You don’t need more tips.
You need a mirror, a fire, and a strategy that’s aligned with your truth.
And we’ve got all three.
