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The Confidence Course

Reduce the noise, realize your potential

Who Is This Program For?

If you are a mid-career woman in tech / STEM who aspires to advance in the workplace, and any of these scenarios is familiar:

  • I sometimes have self-doubt, or I second-guess myself.
  • It is difficult for me to advocate for myself, like for promotions or new opportunities
  • I am not sure if my abilities or value are seen and appreciated
  • I have a hard time saying “no”
  • I hesitate to speak up or give my opinion
  • I am concerned with how I am perceived
  • I hate giving other people feedback
  • I would rather avoid conflict than deal with it
  • I am uncomfortable dealing with people who interrupt me

Or if you have experienced any number of other situations where you feel less confident, then this program is for you.

Why Did I Create This Program?

From my many years as a leadership coach and executive coach, and from my time as a professor of leadership and mentor-coach at Duke University, I was struck by how many accomplished, capable women wanted coaching around confidence. Not every client, and not all the time, and not in every situation. But still common enough that I developed a workshop called How To Increase Your Confidence. I presented this session at the Grace Hopper Celebration, the largest conference in the world for women technologists, with over 30,000 attendees. Almost 600 people attended. I connected with many participants afterwards, and we continued to talk about confidence and empowerment. I realized then that there was a need to offer guidance and support beyond my hour-long session. And so I created this program.

My Goal

I have experienced many of the above scenarios. I know that when we don’t feel confident, there is a time and energy cost. We spend time on worrying, questioning, analyzing, or avoiding. So I also know how liberating and empowering it is to reclaim that time and energy.

The author and coach Tim Gallwey said that Performance = Potential – Interference. My goal is to help you reduce the interference, the noise. To help you minimize the energy you spend on not feeling confident so you can instead put that energy into meaningful things, like the work you love. Isn’t that why you chose a career in tech / STEM in the first place? My wish for you is that you find more ease at work, have opportunities to realize your potential, and create meaningful impact in your field.

My Approach

Confidence has two aspects: what comes from outside of you (new knowledge or skills) and what comes from inside of you (mindset or inner state). Everything my clients and I work on falls into one of these two categories – their mindset, or learning a new skill or capability. When I did research interviews with women in tech to shape the content of this course, it confirmed this. A theme was that as they deepened their skills and expertise, they felt more confident. And there are numerous research studies that show that confidence and performance are directly correlated to mindset. As the authors of one study put it, “If you think you can’t, you won’t.” So our capabilities *and* our mindset are both necessary components of confidence.

Two examples of this from the real world: Simone Biles, and Ilia Malinin. Both athletes have redefined what is possible in their respective sports (gymnastics and figure skating). They are renowned for performing complex and very difficult routines. They were already extremely accomplished and highly decorated before each of them faltered on the highest stage, the Olympics – Simone Biles in 2021, and Ilia Malinin in 2026. Despite having skills and capabilities at elite levels, each of them said that the pressure of the Olympics got to them (understandably!). At that moment in time, their inner state was not at the same level as their skillset. Simone Biles returned to form at the 2024 Olympics, winning three gold and one silver medal, for a total of 11 Olympic medals in her career. And just a few weeks later, Ilia Malinin bounced back and won the world championships, for the third time.

Course Overview

Below is an outline of the course content; watch the video for a walkthrough. A list of the learning outcomes is here. 

By the end of this course, you will have the knowledge and tools to navigate your workplace with more confidence. You will learn how to shift your inner state from tentative to empowered, how to have essential conversations, how to express your views and needs, and how to approach unproductive or intimidating interactions with others. I cite relevant research and point to my favorite resources on these topics. I have also included exercises throughout so you can put this learning into practice. Let's get started!

 

About Me

Hi, I’m Michelle. I’m a technical-person-turned-leadership-coach. My passion is helping women in tech / STEM feel confident navigating the workplace. I have always put my time and energy into supporting and empowering women and girls. In graduate school, I coached a co-ed U12 soccer team (that won our league!), and I led and participated in a program that gave science demos to grades K-12. I wanted girls to have a role model. If I could lead a sports team or have a career in STEM, so could they. I also helped teach self-defense classes for women and loved seeing the participants go from quiet and timid to fierce and powerful. And I have worked at and volunteered for non-profit organizations that empower women. One of the reasons I chose to become a leadership coach is to continue to help women be their amazing, confident selves. My work today is a manifestation of my lifelong mission.

** Coming Soon **

The first cohort begins on January 20, 2027. 

Applications open in November 2026.

Check back here for details.

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