From Cape Town, With Confidence
Last month, I had the privilege of spending two unforgettable days in Cape Town, South Africa, working with forty brilliant women—medical doctors, scientists, and professors—from around the world. Together, we explored what it really means to lead, communicate, and live with Unstoppable Confidence.
“In between the laughter, reflection, and tears, something remarkable happened: they found strength in each other’s stories and lifted one another up.” ~Peggy Klaus
Who are these extraordinary women?
They are all grantees of VALIDATE, an Oxford-based organization funding groundbreaking research into infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, leprosy, HIV, and others I’ve never heard of.
Some of them knew each other—most had never met. For two very full days, they explored confidence from every angle: professional, personal, and cultural. Despite representing many different countries and speaking a multitude of languages, one truth was clear—the lack of confidence among women is universal. It knows no borders, no language, no culture.
Together, we peeled back the layers of why and how the confidence gap still exists, then moved forward to identify their strengths, shadows, and the positive and negative payoffs of being confident. Once that foundation was laid, we turned to “Confidencing Any Situation” and the resilience tools that help transform self-doubt into strength—and ultimately, into becoming unstoppable.
For many, it was the first time they’d been in a room filled entirely with women. As the only woman on their team or in their lab, they said it felt freeing to be able to speak candidly about male colleagues who are condescending, dismissive, or simply unaware of how their behavior and communication lands.
Yet, they were quick to add that they don’t want to exclude men from the conversation. Quite the opposite. They believe it’s essential that men also experience this course for their own professional and emotional growth, and also to foster greater understanding, respect, and rapport between male and female colleagues.
What continues to stay with me, now that I’m home, is the paradox of how these brilliant, strong, compassionate women can still be shadowed by self-doubt. I think it starts with Confidence Myths—old beliefs passed down through families, cultures, and faith traditions which shape how we see ourselves and how we show up in the world. The good news? Once you name them, you can challenge them—and replace them with a new, truer definition of you.
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