If confidence were a tally of wins or medals, most women in sport would already be Queens of self-assurance. But confidence isn’t built the way most of us have been taught to think about it — as a fixed trait you either have or don’t. In reality, confidence is contextual, dynamic, and deeply connected to self-trust.

Self-Doubt Isn’t a Flaw — It’s a Nervous System Signal

Self-doubt doesn’t mean you’re unqualified. It’s your nervous system doing something very human: scanning for threats. When we step into unfamiliar territory — a board room where you’re the only woman, a pressure moment on game day, a room full of seasoned male leadership — that nervous response lights up.

It’s protecting you, not rejecting you. But because it feels like lack of confidence, most of us treat it like a character flaw instead of a signal to pay attention to our environment and safety.

Confidence Isn’t Just Capability — It’s Context

Here’s the thing, skill alone doesn’t guarantee confidence. You can be highly competent, and still feel your confidence dip when the environment feels unsafe, unpredictable, or lacking psychological safety. This aligns with research showing that confidence often fluctuates with context, not just skill level.  

So if you feel confident in training but not once the spotlight hits? That’s not weakness — it’s a sign your nervous system is trying to protect you in a space it doesn’t yet perceive as safe.

Self-Trust Is the Missing Piece

So if confidence isn’t just about capability, what is it?

It’s trust.

Self-trust is a muscle. It’s built in small, intentional moments that say:

I’ve got this — even if my nervous system is telling me otherwise.

Those moments don’t have to be huge. They can be as simple as:

• Choosing to speak up in a meeting

• Asking for feedback

• Saying no to something that doesn’t align

• Owning your contribution in a room

Each small aligned action — taken consciously — reinforces that inner experience of trust.

Why Environment Shapes Confidence

Your confidence doesn’t grow in isolation. It grows wherever safety lives.
Psychological safety — where you feel heard, respected, and backed — is a collective outcome, not an individual one.

That’s why environments that lack support, equity, or inclusion consistently see women shrinking themselves, over-explaining, or under-claiming their success. It’s not about internal capacity — it’s about external ecology.

This isn’t just an idea — it’s reinforced in sport psychology research showing that performers often maintain skill yet still lack confidence if their environment doesn’t reinforce psychological safety and trust.

Allyship Isn’t Optional — It’s Essential

Safety isn’t built alone.

Allies — those who actively back you — play a critical role here. Not passive supporters, but people who:

• Advocate for women’s voices to be heard

• Celebrate wins publicly

• Challenge inequitable norms

• Create space for women to take risks

Allyship doesn’t just make environments safer — it amplifies confidence because it signals to women everywhere that they belong and their contributions matter.

Think of Confidence This Way: It’s Practice, Not Proof

If self-trust were a mountain, confidence would be the trail you climb. Every step — especially the ones with a nervous flutter — strengthens your ability to navigate the terrain ahead.

And the more environments you step into that support and affirm your presence? Your nervous system starts telling you a different story:
“I can do this.”

That’s where confidence starts to stick — not because the self-doubt vanished, but because your trust in yourself became stronger than your fear of judgment.

Key Takeaways

• Self-doubt is not evidence of inability — it’s a nervous system response.

• Confidence is situational. Skills alone don’t guarantee it.

• Self-trust is cultivated through intentional, small, courageous actions.

• Environments that lack safety diminish confidence — regardless of talent.

• Allyship strengthens individual confidence and collective performance.

 Check out the webinar where we unpacked this in more details:

Self Trust Webinar