Episode 59 | Closing the Confidence Gap to Thrive in Your Career

Episode Notes:

Dr. Laura welcomes women’s leadership coach and author Kelli Thompson to the show to talk about confidence, particularly about closing the confidence gap that many women (and minority groups) face in career growth. Kelli explains what inspired her to write her book, Closing the Confidence Gap, and how she learned to move past the hesitation she initially felt about speaking up at work. 

Kelli addresses many of the reasons people, specifically women and minorities, offer to explain why the confidence gap exists for them. She has experienced how reluctant women are to talk about money and negotiate for their salaries. She and Laura talk about the invisible extra work that women frequently shoulder and how that places women at a disadvantage when it comes to career advancement. Fear and imposter syndrome exist for many of us, but Kelli’s approach urges people to move confidently despite those feelings. Kelli’s confidence and leadership insights align well with Dr. Laura’s career coaching knowledge, and their conversation provides a foundation from which to examine where our lack of confidence comes from.

“But I remember moving into a human resources role and the chief that I was supporting had made a comment. He’s like, you know, you’re really direct and people may not know how to handle you! And I remember thinking to myself, it kind of just came full circle like, oh my gosh, I’ve always been called too direct. And so many of the women that I work with have always been called something: too bossy, too assertive, too sensitive, too emotional. And I think … systemically this really plays into a lot of gender likability biases…”  Kelli Thompson

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