Project Manager – Southampton
I Am Now Much More Confident to Disagree and Push Back
When we started working together, my client was a Project Manager, early in her career after coming through an apprenticeship scheme into her first professional role. She was dressing the way she thought a junior person should: safe and forgettable, careful not to draw attention. She didn’t know what she liked or what suited her, and she felt too nervous to wear a blazer or anything sharper, worried it would make her stand out for the wrong reasons.
We didn’t begin with outfits. We began with who she actually was, and worked outward from there, building her style alongside monthly coaching sessions where we worked through the beliefs holding her back.
Challenges
She was working in a male-dominated environment, still junior, and regularly found herself undermined or underestimated by more senior colleagues. One stakeholder in particular made a habit of talking down to her, and it started to chip away at her confidence, her sense of her own position, and her ease going into meetings with him.
Choosing better outfits was never going to fix that on its own. The real work was helping her believe she belonged in the room, so that when we did build her wardrobe, it had something true underneath it. Through our monthly coaching sessions we worked on the limiting beliefs sitting under the doubt, her body language, and how she carried herself day to day, alongside how she dressed for the person she was becoming.
Results & wins
- Rates her confidence in her personal style 8 out of 10, up from feeling lost and dressing purely to blend in, and says she genuinely enjoys getting dressed for the first time
- Feels far more confident in meetings, including with senior colleagues who previously undermined her
- Was invited to apply for a new role she hadn’t previously considered, and put forward for promotion
- Recognised with internal monetary performance awards and placed on a high-potential scheme
- Approaches a previously difficult stakeholder relationship with far less anxiety, and now speaks up and pushes back when needed
- Says the colleague who once undermined her treats her with noticeably more respect
“It finally reflects who I am, and for the first time ever I genuinely enjoy getting ready and putting outfits together. What helped most was showing up as my authentic self so Jo could really get to know me and style the real me. Working on some of my limiting beliefs also made a huge difference, as did being willing to try new suggestions.”
If you recognise yourself in this, working hard in rooms where you’re underestimated, and ready to change how you show up, book a discovery call and let’s build the identity that gets you seen, heard and respected.