GUEST Advita Patel — award-winning internal communications and employee experience expert. Founder of Comms Rebel. Co-founder of A Leader Like Me, the Belief Builders and the Asian Communications Network. Co-author of the best-selling "Building a Culture of Inclusivity" (2023, with Priya Bates). 2025 President of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations. Second book, "Decoding Confidence: The Seven Habits of Confident Leaders", publishes May 2026 and is available for pre-order now. Contact: LinkedIn (DMs open), decodingconfidence.com, plus TikTok and Instagram. SUMMARY Advita Patel spent two decades building a career in communications, ticked every box her performance reviews asked for, and then watched the role she had been working towards get pulled — and quietly handed to someone else after she resigned. What followed she now calls a confidence crash. It ended on the M62 in the rain, on a Monday morning, when a friend refused to take the complaint and asked her instead: what are you going to do about it? That question became a business, a coaching practice, and now a book. In this episode Advita walks Ken and Debra through the BELIEVE framework at the heart of "Decoding Confidence" — Boldness, Empathy, Learning, Integrity, Empowerment, Vulnerability and Energy — and the research behind it: 503 respondents, 82% of whom had worked for a leader lacking confidence, with micromanaging named the number one barrier. The conversation gets sharp where it matters. Boldness and vulnerability aren't opposites: you need boldness to be vulnerable at all. Vulnerability isn't universally safe, and Advita is blunt about doing a safety audit before you open up. Integrity collapses when you don't know your actual values, not the ones you recite in interviews. And energy — her favourite chapter — comes with a practical six-monthly energy audit that names, out of ten, exactly who and what is draining you. Ken shares the meeting where a direct report told him he was wrong in front of his boss's boss, and what admitting it unlocked. Debra brings the Bad Bosses research showing micromanagers at 80% — near-identical to Advita's number, from a completely different sample. CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 00:53 Welcome — meet Advita Patel 01:35 The book arrived today: Decoding Confidence unboxed 02:45 From IT to HR to comms: a wiggly, squiggly career 05:12 The confidence crash and starting Comms Rebel in 2018 07:55 The M62 moment: "What are you going to do about it?" 11:56 Your personal board of directors — believers and mirror-holders 13:44 Why write a book about workplace confidence 17:43 BELIEVE: the seven habits, unpacked 20:35 Sustainable confidence, not private-jet confidence 23:19 Which habit first? The confidence habit assessment 24:54 The research: 503 people, and micromanaging at 82% 27:55 Boldness and vulnerability are not opposites 33:51 Is it safe for you to be vulnerable? Do the audit first 36:47 Manipulative vulnerability and losing touch with reality 38:56 Integrity under pressure: knowing your real values 43:11 The energy audit: rating everyone out of ten 46:52 The one thing to walk away believing about yourself 48:06 Can't put the phone down? Start with legacy 49:34 Where to find Advita KEYWORDS confidence, leadership confidence, imposter syndrome, micromanaging, psychological safety, vulnerability at work, boldness, internal communications, employee experience, values, integrity, energy audit, burnout, personal board of directors, learning circle, self-advocacy, inclusive leadership, Decoding Confidence, Advita Patel, Comms Rebel, BELIEVE framework, sustainable confidence
