One of the ideas I keep returning to in my coaching is that careers often grow faster than communication.
Many of the leaders I work with have already earned significant responsibility. They lead teams, influence strategy, manage complex relationships and make decisions that carry real weight. On paper, they are exactly where they should be.
Yet when they enter a higher-stakes conversation, something can begin to shift. They become more aware of how they are coming across. They choose safer language, qualify their opinions or explain far more than the moment requires. Instead of trusting what they know, they start trying to prove that they know it.
This is rarely a lack of expertise. More often, it is a lack of alignment between the leader someone has become and the way they are still communicating.
Their ambition has moved forward. Their responsibilities have increased. Their knowledge has deepened, but their voice may still be carrying habits from an earlier stage of their career, when they felt they needed to ask permission, avoid taking up too much space or make every point completely watertight before speaking.
That gap matters because people do not experience your expertise in the abstract. They experience it through the way you communicate. Through your pace, your tone, your clarity and your ability to stay connected to your thinking when the pressure rises.
This is why I have become less interested in helping people “sound confident” and more interested in helping them match their voice to their ambition.
When those two things align, the need to perform begins to fall away. You stop chasing approval and trying to sound impressive. You become clearer, steadier and more willing to trust your own judgement.
That, to me, is what executive presence really is.
It is not about becoming someone else. It is about allowing your communication to reflect the leader you have already become.
So perhaps the question is not whether you are capable of the next level.
Perhaps the question is whether your voice is allowing other people to recognise that you already belong there.
Lisa Sheerin, ICF PCC Executive Coach | Transforming Confidence, Communication & Leadership
Lisa works as an executive public speaking coach, actor, and group fitness instructor with over 20 years of experience. A graduate of a three-year drama school program in London, she began her career in theatre and film, where she faced and overcame imposter syndrome. Today, she empowers others to embrace their authenticity and transform self-doubt into confidence, combining her acting expertise, fitness training, and passion for personal growth. Her mission is to guide others toward a life where they can speak and live proudly.
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