If your wobble were a yoga pose

We treat confidence like a finish line. But even the most senior executives I work with still wrestle with it. That discomfort just means you're growing. Let's start normalizing that.

I've had the fancy VP title. Done the therapy. Hired the coaches. And still, on some days, I'm right back in the thick of it.

Just this year alone:

• I woke up in full-body paralysis the Monday before I started to share my writing again.
• I rewrote a high-stakes email to a client more than five times before hitting send.
• I skipped asking for a testimonial because I convinced myself the talk I gave had tanked.

These moments look different now that I'm a coach instead of a VP of Product, but that voice sounds pretty similar: "Who am I to speak up? What if I'm wrong?"

But here's what two decades of leadership has taught me: that voice doesn't mean I'm regressing.

It's just the next-level yoga pose, wobbly and unfamiliar. Just like the last one before I conquered it.

How I know I've come a long way

• Clients now thank me for the directness I once feared was "too much," and then renew our work together.
• When I land on a new way to frame an idea, I trust it's worth sharing.
• I raised my hand for a high-visibility project, knew I'd be great for it, and didn't even spiral when I wasn't picked! (Okay, maybe for 15 seconds.)

Those earlier moments weren't setbacks. They were signs I'm working at my edge. New problems. New people. New possibilities.

The real red flag

I see it in my clients: the leaders who can admit they're wobbling are the ones who get steady the fastest.

Meanwhile, the real red flag is when a leader gets promoted and feels zero discomfort. Like a Director who's mastered execution without realizing the VP role requires vision, influence, and willingness to work outside their lane.

They haven't realized they need a completely different pose, standing steady in a familiar lunge when the room has moved on to Warrior III.

So if you're wobbling, don't turn on yourself. It's your body's wisdom nudging: "New stakes. Time to evolve how I show up."

I know that if I keep saying yes to real growth, I'll get to keep wobbling, then finding that beautiful balance, over and over again, for the rest of my life.

If your wobble were a yoga pose, what would it be today?

---

This post originally appeared on LinkedIn.