Confidence Starts with Clarity
03/13/25 • 12 min
Confidence isn’t about feeling a certain way—it’s about knowing a certain way. In this episode, Bron dives into why high-performing women don’t actually lack confidence—they lack clarity. If you’ve ever found yourself second-guessing your instincts, overexplaining your ideas, or feeling like you have to prove yourself over and over again, this episode is for you.
Bron unpacks the four types of clarity every ambitious woman needs to lead with confidence:
✅ Clarity of Your Values & Purpose
✅ Understanding What Holds You Back (Systemic & Internal)
✅ Clarity of What You Want From Your Career & Life
✅ The Missing Piece: Time to Reflect, Plan & Take Intentional Action
She also shares three practical ways to untangle your thoughts and get unstuck:
Find an Outside Ear (Without Advice Overload) – How to set up a conversation that helps you gain clarity without getting unhelpful opinions.
Use ChatGPT as a Thought Partner – The exact prompt to use to get powerful coaching-style questions. Use this prompt:
"I’m a high-performing woman in an executive role, and I feel stuck. I know I’m capable, but I second-guess myself, and I don’t know exactly what I want for my future. Acting as an executive coach, ask me powerful coaching questions that will help me untangle my thoughts, clarify my goals, and reconnect with my confidence."
Journal with These 3 Prompts – Unlock deeper clarity by writing your way through the mental clutter.
This episode will challenge you to see clarity as an investment, not a luxury, and help you take action toward the confidence you’ve been waiting for.
[Listen now on your favourite podcast platform!]
Evidence-Based Research on Leadership Clarity & Reflection:
- How Self-Reflection Makes You a Better Leader
This Forbes article discusses how self-reflection enhances leadership by fostering self-awareness and informed decision-making. - The Key to Leadership Development Is Critical Reflection
This piece emphasizes the role of critical reflection in leadership development, offering practical suggestions like maintaining a reflection journal.
Want to take this work deeper?
- DM me on LinkedIn – Let’s talk about how you can step into leadership clarity!
- Join my newsletter for more insights on owning your ambition, femininity, and power.
Enjoyed this episode?
- Subscribe & leave a review—it helps more ambitious women like you find this show!
- Screenshot & tag me on Instagram with your biggest takeaway!
Music by audionautix.com
Confidence isn’t about feeling a certain way—it’s about knowing a certain way. In this episode, Bron dives into why high-performing women don’t actually lack confidence—they lack clarity. If you’ve ever found yourself second-guessing your instincts, overexplaining your ideas, or feeling like you have to prove yourself over and over again, this episode is for you.
Bron unpacks the four types of clarity every ambitious woman needs to lead with confidence:
✅ Clarity of Your Values & Purpose
✅ Understanding What Holds You Back (Systemic & Internal)
✅ Clarity of What You Want From Your Career & Life
✅ The Missing Piece: Time to Reflect, Plan & Take Intentional Action
She also shares three practical ways to untangle your thoughts and get unstuck:
Find an Outside Ear (Without Advice Overload) – How to set up a conversation that helps you gain clarity without getting unhelpful opinions.
Use ChatGPT as a Thought Partner – The exact prompt to use to get powerful coaching-style questions. Use this prompt:
"I’m a high-performing woman in an executive role, and I feel stuck. I know I’m capable, but I second-guess myself, and I don’t know exactly what I want for my future. Acting as an executive coach, ask me powerful coaching questions that will help me untangle my thoughts, clarify my goals, and reconnect with my confidence."
Journal with These 3 Prompts – Unlock deeper clarity by writing your way through the mental clutter.
This episode will challenge you to see clarity as an investment, not a luxury, and help you take action toward the confidence you’ve been waiting for.
[Listen now on your favourite podcast platform!]
Evidence-Based Research on Leadership Clarity & Reflection:
- How Self-Reflection Makes You a Better Leader
This Forbes article discusses how self-reflection enhances leadership by fostering self-awareness and informed decision-making. - The Key to Leadership Development Is Critical Reflection
This piece emphasizes the role of critical reflection in leadership development, offering practical suggestions like maintaining a reflection journal.
Want to take this work deeper?
- DM me on LinkedIn – Let’s talk about how you can step into leadership clarity!
- Join my newsletter for more insights on owning your ambition, femininity, and power.
Enjoyed this episode?
- Subscribe & leave a review—it helps more ambitious women like you find this show!
- Screenshot & tag me on Instagram with your biggest takeaway!
Music by audionautix.com
Previous Episode
Talking DEI for IWD
This is a special International Women’s Day (IWD) 2025 episode of Transform and Lead. With everything happening in the US and growing noise here in Australia, I wanted to see if we could have a sensible conversation on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). It's too important to see it topple and find ourselves in the same situation yet the conversation is getting messy and worse, it's becoming about men rather than the patriachy (they're not the same thing). This year’s IWD theme, “Accelerate Action”, isn’t about lip service—it’s about doing the work to create workplaces where everyone can thrive.
️ In this episode, I share:
✔️ My personal experience seeing some of the fallout from DEI going wrong.
✔️ Why DEI shouldn’t be divisive—how we move from an “us vs. them” mindset to real, inclusive leadership.
✔️ Three areas of DEI that are at risk of getting lost in the noise: equal parental leave for fathers, workplace flexibility for everyone (not just parents), and fixing leadership pipelines so the next generation doesn’t hit the same barriers.
✔️ Four actions leaders can take right now to support DEI in a way that actually works—without backlash, performative gestures, or exhausting “tick-the-box” exercises.
This episode is about real stories, real change, and real leadership—because DEI isn’t about guilt or exclusion, it’s about making workplaces better for everyone.
What are your thoughts? How are you accelerating action this International Women’s Day? Drop me a message or share your insights!
️ Hit play and let's get into it!
Music by audionautix.com
References:
- The Broken Rung - https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/women-in-the-workplace
- DEI Isn’t Working. Inclusive Economics Might - https://time.com/7022544/inclusive-economics-dei-impact-business/
- Why longer paternity leave is a step forward for gender equality - https://www.weforum.org/stories/2019/12/parental-leave-equal-rights-for-women-and-men/
- Paid paternity leave should be the norm in the US - https://www.weforum.org/stories/2020/11/paid-paternity-leave-in-the-united-states/
- AIFS Fathers and parental leave - https://aifs.gov.au/resources/short-articles/fathers-and-parental-leave
- What is DEI and why is Trump opposed to it? - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/24/diversity-backlash-what-is-dei-and-why-is-trump-opposed-to-it
- Rollback on diversity policies ‘risks undoing decades of progress’, says Co-op - https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/feb/14/ditching-diversity-risks-progress-co-op
- Rollback on diversity policies ‘risks undoing decades of progress’, says Co-op - https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/feb/14/ditching-diversity-risks-progress-co-op
- Could Japan's paternity leave policy narrow the gender gap? - https://www.weforum.org/stories/2023/10/could-japans-paternity-leave-policy-help-narrow-the-gender-gap...
Next Episode
Know Your Values
Have you ever made a decision that just felt right—even if it wasn’t the easy choice? Or walked away from something, knowing deep down it wasn’t for you, but struggled to explain why? That’s your values at work.
In this episode of Transform & Lead, I’m breaking down why values-based leadership is the foundation of confidence, clarity, and authentic leadership—especially for ambitious women navigating high-stakes roles.
When you know your values—really know them—decision-making gets sharper, energy stays higher, and you no longer waste time second-guessing yourself. But when your values aren’t clear? Boundaries slip, confidence wavers, and leadership feels harder than it needs to be.
Tune in to learn:
✔️ A step-by-step process to uncover and refine your core values.
✔️ How to use values as a filter for confident decision-making.
✔️ What happens when you lead in alignment with your values—and the impact when you don’t.
This is the work that changes everything. If you’re ready to stop proving yourself and start owning your ambition, femininity, and power—this episode is for you.
Listen now and grab the free Values Identification Workbook here!
Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bron-stephens/
Let me know what resonates—drop me a message or share your biggest takeaway!
Music by audionautix.com
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