What does leadership confidence really look like when you're having a rough week? In this episode of Decoding Confidence, I'm joined by my good friend Bridget Aherne, a senior public-sector communications leader, a Chartered PR Practitioner, and one of the most honest people I know. We met properly during those six-feet-apart walks in the park during COVID, and this conversation has the same feel. Bridget talks openly about the gap between how confident she looked and how confident she felt, and what she does when she doesn't show up as the leader she wants to be. Table of contents About this episode Meet Bridget Aherne What we cover Bridget's three lessons for leadership confidence Standout moments Timestamps FAQs Resources and links About this episode on leadership confidence Bridget describes herself as having that Irish Mancunian swagger from a young age. Boldness came naturally. Self-belief underneath it didn't always follow. As the daughter of an Irish immigrant father whose advice was to work hard and not get found out, she grew up without role models who'd been to university. Her route into journalism, radio and eventually PR was hard won. Mine was too, and we talk about what it means to build a career without the connections others take for granted. This is a conversation about confidence as something that moves with you through life, rather than a fixed trait you either have or don't. Meet Bridget Aherne Bridget is a communications leader in local government in Greater Manchester, with a career spanning newspaper journalism, radio, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue, Metrolink and her own consultancy. She became a Chartered PR Practitioner in 2018 and has been a huge part of the comms community in the North West for years. She's also the person who named the CommsHive, which I'll forever credit her for. What we cover Why outward boldness doesn't always mean inner self-confidence Growing up with immigrant parents and the pressure to keep your head down Becoming CIPR chartered, and whether it changed how Bridget saw herself Why admitting a lack of confidence can feel career-limiting for senior leaders What to do when you get it wrong with your team, and how to rebuild psychological safety How knowing your strengths helps you take control of your own narrative The myth that confidence has to be loud Why your personal story belongs on your CV Bridget's three lessons for leadership confidence When I asked Bridget what advice she'd give a leader who's struggling, she gave three clear lessons. 1. It's okay not to be confident all the time Nobody starts a new role feeling confident. Leadership confidence isn't linear. Life changes, hormones, a close colleague leaving, organisational pressure: all of it affects how we show up at work. 2. Keep moving forward That might mean a new job. It might mean getting over a moment where you didn't live up to your own values. Bridget loves that the BELIEVE framework talks about habits, because habits can be developed. They aren't fixed character traits. 3. Find your network Networks got Bridget through a lonely time in a difficult job. Her advice is to pick someone you admire and send them a message. The worst that happens is they don't reply. Standout moments Apologise quickly and move on. Bridget shares, with real vulnerability, a moment when she spoke to a team member in a way she wasn't proud of during a tough restructure. Drawing on her crisis comms background, she owned it, apologised quickly and focused on resetting psychological safety. We also talk about why "I'm sorry you felt that way" is not an apology. Confidence is more than the sum of our parts. For Bridget, confidence isn't an individual thing. It's about creating spaces where everyone can bring their strengths, try things and fail fast. Her CliftonStrengths top theme, individualisation, sits at the heart of how she leads. Quiet confidence counts. When Bridget moved into rail, she was quieter in meetings than people expected. The feedback? People waited for what she had to say because she'd listened first. Strong leadership confidence doesn't need to be the loudest voice in the room. Your story matters. Bridget once removed Irish dancing and music from her CV, even though they were what caught an editor's attention. I did the same with years of working in my parents' shop. Neither of us would hide those experiences now. Timestamps 00:00 - Bridget’s credibility and career across public service, comms, and transformation 01:29 - Why this podcast exists and the question of early-career confidence 01:45 - Bold on the outside, uncertain on the inside 03:08 - Journalism ambitions, missed connections, and finding her way through radio 04:07 - What it felt like to finally “make it” in a newspaper role 05:46 - Why chartership matters in PR and communications 06:59 - The motivation behind pursuing chartership 08:45 - Professor Anne Gregory and the profession’s standards 09:15 - Passing chartership in front of Amanda Coleman 10:10 - Chartership, ethics, leadership, and credibility in practice 12:00 - Why seeing trusted peers succeed gave Advita the push to do it too 14:20 - Why confidence can feel shameful for senior leaders 15:41 - Confidence is not linear and it is okay not to be okay 17:31 - Stress, HRT, restructures, and how real life affects leadership 18:57 - Three confidence habits: accept the wobble, keep moving, build your network 19:26 - Finding community through sector networks and online outreach 21:27 - Why leaders should acknowledge when they have damaged psychological safety 23:57 - Apologise quickly, own it, and reset the relationship 28:38 - Confidence as collective strength, not an individual performance 29:34 - Seeing systems and people through strengths-based leadership 31:02 - “Bridget sees strangers as friends she just hasn’t met yet” 34:27 - Debunking the myth that confidence is loud, certain, and first out of the blocks 35:25 - Being quiet in meetings and still adding value through timing and listening 39:19 - Why different event formats and smaller spaces help different communicators thrive 41:36 - Advice to young Bridget: find connections sooner and stop waiting for permission 43:27 - Don’t put careers or authority figures on pedestals 46:40 - Why personal stories and lived experience belong on your CV and in your confidence 47:22 - A final reflection on childhood work experience and owning every part of your story FAQs What is leadership confidence? Leadership confidence is the self-belief to make decisions, speak up and support others, while staying open to learning. It isn't about certainty or volume. As Bridget shows, it includes owning your mistakes. Is confidence linear? No. Confidence rises and falls with life events, workplace changes and health. Treating it as a set of habits you can practise, rather than a fixed trait, makes the dips easier to recover from. How should a leader apologise to their team? Quickly and without excuses. Explain the context if it helps understanding, but don't use it to dismiss what happened. Then focus on rebuilding psychological safety so people feel supported. Is CIPR chartership worth it? For Bridget, it strengthened her credibility and crystallised how she articulates communications as a strategic leadership function. It also gave her personal pride. Whether it's right for you depends on your goals. Resources and links My book, Decoding Confidence: The Seven Habits of Confident Leaders, is out now Take the Confidence Quiz: decodingconfidence.scoreapp.com Find out about the CommsHive Learn more about becoming a Chartered PR Practitioner with the CIPR Explore CliftonStrengths Connect with Bridget Aherne on LinkedIn Listen to why psychological safety is important in the workplace
