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When professionals tell me they want to be more confident, I usually give an answer that catches them off guard. I have no interest in helping you feel confident, I say. None whatsoever. That tends to get their attention. Especially becauseas a coach to CEOs, presidential candidates, and professionals across industriesIve seen what actually builds confidence, and its not waiting around for the right feeling to arrive. Instead, confidence is a behavior. Its something you can do. If youve ever walked out of a meeting thinking, I knew what I wanted to sayI just didnt say it right, this shift might be the key to your growth. You dont need to feel confident to sound confident. And if you learn how to do the latter, the former often follows. The real reason dont be nervous never works Theres a moment early in nearly every coaching relationship where someone tells me about a past flopan interview, a pitch, a panel presentation where they froze or rambled. Theyll say something like, I just wasnt confident, and assume the solution is to fix how they felt. But thats a mistake. Trying to improve your performance by fixating on feelings with ineffective self-talk like dont be nervous or dont think about your imposter syndrome is a textbook case of thought suppressionthe mental equivalent of telling yourself, dont think about a pink elephant. You do. Every time. Thats how the brain works. The more you try to suppress feelings of anxiety or awkwardness, the louder those feelings tend to get. Its not your fault. Its neuroscience. But it is your responsibility to approach communication differently if you want different results. You dont need inner confidence. You need outer tools. Let me tell you about Jim. Jim was a midlevel marketing executive with great ideas and terrible delivery. Hed mumble, rush, and avert his gaze any time a high-stakes moment arrived. His team loved him, but they couldnt put him in front of clients. He was passed over for leadership roles, because his physical and vocal presence screamed, I dont belong here. Jim didnt need therapy. He didnt need a new personality. He needed tools. One of them was a wine cork. Yes, a cork. Jim started practicing his key messages with a cork between his teeth; the impediment of the cork forced him to work harder to enunciate. He had to open his mouth, breathe more, and move his lips with intention. It didnt take long before something clicked: he wasnt worrying about sounding confident anymore. He was sounding confident. And just as important? His team noticed. So did his boss. Jim got promoted. What to do instead of trying to be confident Here are three tools from my book Dont Say Um that anyone can use to build communication confidence physicallynot emotionally. The first tool (the same one Jim learned) is a time-tested one that goes back thousands of years; the others are ones I invented working with executives in high-stakes communication situations over the last two decades. The Cork Drill Take a sliver of a wine cork (or a pencil, the tip of your finger, or a soft candy) and place it gently between your teeth, just on the side of your incisors. Use this object as an impediment and read aloud from a paragraph or practice a short pitch. Force yourself to enunciate as expressively as needed to enunciate every syllable. Then take the impediment outand notice how much clearer and more resonant you sound. The Lego Drill This drill is about building your tolerance for silencea key behavior of exuding confidence. Grab a few Lego (or Duplo) blocks and place them on your desk. Pick one up, and while holding it, speak one complete thought. When you finish that thought, place the block down in silence. Only after the block is clicked into place can you pick up the next one and deliver your next thought. This simple, tactile ritual forces you to pause, breathe, and reset between thoughts. It trains you to slow down and get comfortable with the kind of deliberate silence that powerful speakers know how to wield. Because when you stop filling every gap with um or nervous rambling, you actually have time to evaluate what you want to say and what your audience needs to hear. Silent Storytelling One of the quickest ways to unlock free and released gestures is to tell a story with your bodywithout saying a word. Try to explain how you make coffee in the morning, or what your commute looks like, or what happened yesterday at workbut do it without making a sound. Mouth the words, allow expressions on your face, and move your hands as expressively as necessary to communicate your ideas, but do so silently. (You can think of this like being muted on TV.). Youll find your hands and face moving naturally describing shape, motion, sequence, or scale. Thats silent storytelling. It bypasses self-consciousness and trains the body to express clearly, without overthinking. When you do speak again, your gestures will feel more connected, less stiff, and more expressivenot because you got them right, but because you got out of their way. Confidence isnt a prerequisite for good communication. Its often the result. So stop trying to feel confident. And start doing what communicators do when they feel confident.
Category:
E-Commerce
As the creator economy continues to grow, brand trips have become a staple marketing strategy for consumer-facing brands, and B2B firms are starting to do the same. Adobe Express hosted a Summit in New York City for 46 creators. As an Adobe Express ambassador, I attended this summit, which focused on marketing and business, covering travel accommodations and offering early product updates, feedback sessions, and networking opportunities. Similarly, Semrush hosted an influencer weekend in 2024 for nearly a dozen creators in London paying for their travel, meals, and experiences. Just like their consumer-focused counterparts, these B2B companies hope hosting creators at exclusive events will lead them to speak highly of the brand, earn them positive coverage, and act as a source of real-time feedback. The big difference with B2B creators is that purchasing decisions in the workplace are often costly. As a result, there is a more nuanced and complex consideration. Brand trips are an emerging tactic in the B2B space. Heres how companies are doing it, the outcomes theyre driving, and the lessons that we can learn from companies hosting them. Why brand trips for B2B creators are gaining popularity The creator economy is expected to exceed, $2.71 trillion in revenue by 2037, according to Research Nester. This is because many influencers have become trusted voices who drive sales, even in complex B2B buying cycles. Opportunities for a brand to connect with relevant creators in person are a way of earning face time and introducing them to the team and product line. It also provides them with motivation and ways to collaborate, as well as hearing feedback from opinionated supporters. Nicole Ponce, Influencer Marketing Team Lead at Semrush says, Theres been a noticeable shift where B2B brands are adopting B2C-style engagement tactics, and brand trips are one of them. Substack and LinkedInwhere I teach marketing development and career development courseshave noticeably prioritized creators, encouraging everyone from CEOs and executives to industry experts and emerging voices to share content consistently. As LinkedIn is growing, B2B creators are starting to be a group of folks you can’t ignore, especially if your product is looking to target the B2B space, says Kate Olmstead, Adobe Express Community & Ambassador Programs Lead. Five years ago, we didn’t have this concept, really of top voices in marketing. LinkedIn creators with 250,000 followers, speaking to the likes of CMOs and VPs of marketing, says Olmstead. How to create a B2B brand trip where both sides benefit Establish what the focus of the event is, whether its the launch of a new product, a discussion on industry trends, or a celebration of a major milestone. It depends on the event, but typically well incorporate either a demo, product insight, or a workflow preview to spark interest. Sometimes its through more curated, two-way conversations, where we share whats launching and invite feedback from creators about what they need or see missing in the market, says Ponce. Typically, companies cover the creators travel accommodations, meals, and experiences in exchange for the creator posting on social media. Neither Adobe nor Semrush required posting to attend, which likely removed pressure for participants (who are likely to share on their own if they enjoyed the event). Olmstead says that Adobes trip aimed to introduce like-minded creators, offer early exposure to new features, and provide a forum for candid feedback. What also likely helps the creators buy in is the association with a big, well-known brand like Adobe. This boosts their careers as influencers and also provides the opportunity to network with others and the chance to stay in an appealing city for free. Invite creators based on relevance and consistency over reach Inviting a mix of creators across platforms, titles, career paths, and audience sizes can help ensure theres interesting conversation as long as theres a set of shared interests. I personally look at whether they create highly engaging, high-quality content and whether their audience is one that our brand wants to be associated with. But its not just about reach or follower count. We also look at how much value they bring to the roomand I mean that literally, says Ponce. We try to curate a space that fosters meaningful, peer-to-peer conversations. So we intentionally balance different expertise levelsfor instance, having a content marketing specialist alongside someone who focuses on paid advertising, she added. Create balanced programming thats educational and entertaining While its important that the brand benefits from hosting a group of creators, its important not to make the agenda too self-promotional or jam-packed. There needs to be room for fun. While the creator expects to learn about the companys products, its also important to be clear on how the event benefits them. You’ve got to have substance to [a brand trip], whether that be through the learning agenda, the educational content, or giving something back to them, in terms of bringing an industry expert that can help them level up their own businesses, adds Olmstead. Brand trips that strike the balance deliver qualitative outcomes like the attendees leaving with a positive impression of the brand, as well as quantitative impacts like social mentions and reach. You might just find that your business benefits.
Category:
E-Commerce
When a technology company undergoing a major reorganization asked us to support one of their senior leaders, the objective was clear: Help Andrew make this team work. The company had just flattened its structure. Fewer layers. Wider spans of control. A renewed focus on efficiency and getting back to basics. On paper, it looked like progress: cleaner org lines, leaner teams, faster decisions. But the reality was messy. Andrew had taken on responsibility for a newly formed departmenta blended group formed from two legacy product teams. Priorities were unclear. Systems outdated. Roles overlapped. Morale was low, and scrutiny from the top was higher than ever. The transformation trap Its not uncommon. According to McKinsey, fewer than one in three organizational transformations actually succeed in improving performance and sustaining those gains, even when leaders are well-intentioned and highly motivated. As leadership coaches, we see this frequently: talented, driven leaders set up to fail, not because they lack the skill or will, but because the systems they are asked to lead are misaligned. Too often, leaders are brought in to fix struggling teams but lack the authority to address whats actually broken: structure, goals, or even team composition. In theory, preserving institutional knowledge or deep technical expertise makes sense. In practice, it often means clinging to outdated priorities and unproductive dynamics. That’s why reorgs are so popular. They are fast, visible, and signal action. But shifting boxes on an org chart doesn’t address deeper performance issues. As McKinsey reports, companies that focus on structural changes, without also shifting behaviors, building capabilities, and evolving culture, rarely achieve lasting results. Unless you help people shift their mindsets, rebuild trust, and cocreate new ways of working, youve only moved the dysfunction around. And leaders are left managing a team thats misaligned, burned out, or unclear on their value. If results dont come swiftly, your team loses faith, and the C-suite questions your ability to lead. Through our work advising dozens of companies navigating high-stakes transformations, Kathryn, as an executive coach and keynote speaker, and Jenny, as an executive adviser and L&D expert, we have identified five critical moves that help leaders succeed. Whether you have just inherited a struggling team or you are preparing to lead through change, heres how to reset the foundation before the story writes itself. 1. Audit the System Before You Judge the People Stepping into leadership of an underperforming team usually comes with a baked-in narrative. Youre told they lack initiative, or arent strategic. When metrics are in the red, its easy to assume the issue is the people. But more often than not, the system is broken. When Andrews scope was expanded to include the newly formed department, they were perceived as helpful but inconsistent. They were responsive but struggling to make significant progress on key initiatives. Rather than default to performance assumptions, Andrew stepped back and audited the system. He uncovered vague goals, shifting priorities, and incentives that rewarded busyness over business impact. Once he clarified what mattered and aligned the teams work with what the business actually valued, both performance and reputation improved rapidly. Before judging individuals, ask: Are goals clear and achievable? Do people have the tools, decision rights, and autonomy to deliver? Are incentives aligned with strategic outcomes? Is the team working in silos or collaborating across the organization? Is the teams work seen and valued by the business? A team cant execute what it doesnt understand. Start by investigating and diagnosing the environment, not the people. As Deloitte emphasizes, leaders must go beyond surface-level restructuring by enabling teams to work differently and aligning systems with strategy. 2. Name Whats BrokenWithout Placing Blame As you get up to speed, dont go silent. Engage the team early. Most teams already know whats not working. Theyve just stopped saying it out loud because previous feedback was ignored or worse, weaponized. Your job is to surface how the system might be failing them. That requires curiosity, psychological safety, and a shift in tone. Instead of asking Whats wrong here? ask, Whats getting in the way of great work? Focus on processes, handoffs, and ways of workingnot personalities. Consider using the Start / Stop / Continue framework: What should we start doing to be more effective? What should we stop doing that no longer serves us? What should we continue doing thats working well? And remember: the reorg alone may trigger what we call F.U.D.Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. People may worry about whats changing, whether theyre valued, and if its safe to speak up. To build trust, bring in a neutral third party. Begin with an anonymous survey. Follow it with a facilitated group discussion that you briefly open, then step out of. This signals your commitment to listenig without defensiveness. When team members realize their colleagues share the same frustrations, the energy shifts. Clear thinking replaces frustration. Accountability increases and solutions emerge. This isnt just a diagnostic, its an inflection point. When teams feel heard and leaders act on what they hear, people begin to reengage. 3. Surface Strengths and Secure Early Wins Once the team starts speaking candidly, dont just fix problems. Find strengths. Even struggling teams hold valuable assets: institutional knowledge, strong relationships, or customer insights. Surface whats working, name it, and build on it. This boosts confidence and builds momentum. At the same time, make visible changes. Address obvious pain points. Remove duplicative work. Improve decision-making. Retire outdated processes. Look for two to three early wins that demonstrate, I heard you, and Im doing something about it. It might be simplifying handoffs across teams. Clarifying a decision bottleneck that frustrates everyone. Or creating a scorecard that communicates the teams results and impact. For Andrew, it meant aligning the teams priorities with what the business cared about most and providing a skills training workshop to help the team deliver. The shift was immediate: people felt more focused, confident, and seen. 4. Define What Progress Looks Like After a restructuring or leadership change, one question lingers: Is this working? Start by defining what progress looks like, before others define it for you. Dont wait for long-term KPIs. Identify a few short-term markers that signal success and that your team can rally around. One leader we coached focused on three simple indicators during her first 90 days: Reduced rework Fewer escalations after meetings Shorter turnaround times between handoff and next steps They were simple, measurable, and meaningful to the team. As progress builds, make it visible. Dont assume stakeholders will notice. Articulate clearly whats changing, why it matters, and whos driving that change. 5. Communicate Strategy Up, Down, and Across Once youve clarified whats changing, dont stop there. You need to communicate in all directions: Upward: Keep senior leaders informed about whats working, whats not, and what support you need. Dont assume they understand the lift. Share context, not complaints. Downward: Help your team connect the dots between new priorities and business outcomes. Remind them why it matters. Reinforce your strategy through ongoing conversations, not just onetime town halls. Across: Reset expectations with peers and cross-functional partners who may still be operating from old assumptions. Clarify whats changing and the new ways of working together. Strategy sticks when it’s reinforced with repetition, real examples, and ongoing dialogue. A plan that works Youve inherited a team mid-transition. Expectations are high. Trust is low. And the clock is ticking. You dont need all the answers, but you do need a plan. Audit the system. Invite candor. Surface strengths. Define success. Communicate with intention. Just like Andrew, your early moves matter. Thats how you turn a messy transition into a meaningful reset.
Category:
E-Commerce
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