By Jo Irving, Entrepreneur, Leadership & Performance Coach.
The most confident women I work with aren’t necessarily the loudest people in the room, and they certainly don’t wake up every morning without any self-doubt.
Their confidence comes from knowing who they are, understanding how they want to lead and having habits that allow them to make clear decisions, even when they don’t have all the answers.
Here are seven confidence habits I see in successful women in business.
1. They create space to lead
Successful women understand which parts of the business genuinely need them and which can be delegated, automated or removed altogether.
You cannot think like the leader of your business when you’re spending every day doing tasks that somebody else could do. Being busy can make us feel important, but it doesn’t always mean we’re using our time well.
Creating space is a practical confidence habit. It means trusting other people, letting go of control and recognising where your energy has the greatest value.
2. They schedule time to think
We schedule meetings, deadlines and appointments, but rarely schedule time to think, strategise or even daydream.
Some of our best ideas arrive when we have space to follow a thought without being interrupted. Yet this is often the first thing we sacrifice when the business becomes busy.
Successful women treat thinking time as part of their job. They step away from the day-to-day work, look at the bigger picture and decide where the business is going next. You can’t lead strategically if your diary leaves you no room to think.
3. They know their values
Confidence becomes much easier when you know what matters to you.
Your values give you something solid to come back to when you’re making a difficult decision, navigating conflict or deciding whether an opportunity is right for you.
Without that clarity, it’s easy to be influenced by what everybody else is doing or to keep questioning yourself. Successful women don’t make every decision based on what will be popular. They ask whether it aligns with who they are, what they believe and the business they want to build.
4. They understand the energy they bring
Leadership isn’t only about what you say or how much you know. It’s also about how people feel around you.
Your energy enters the room before you’ve explained the strategy. If you’re frantic, reactive or unpredictable, your team will feel it. If you’re calm, clear and honest, they will feel that too.
Successful women develop an awareness of how they affect the people around them. That doesn’t mean pretending to be positive all the time or hiding when something is difficult. People aren’t inspired by perfection. They’re inspired by leaders who are real, consistent and able to communicate honestly.
Sometimes confident leadership simply sounds like: “I don’t have the answer right now, but I’ll come back to you.”
5. They work with their body and hormones
This isn’t talked about enough in business. Women’s energy is not static, yet we often plan as though we should feel and perform exactly the same every day.
Hormonal changes throughout the menstrual cycle and during perimenopause can affect energy, focus and confidence. There may be times when we feel articulate, creative and able to get anything done, and other times when we need more space to think or recover.
Many of the women I work with begin tracking these patterns and, where possible, planning around them. They might schedule presentations, creative work or important conversations when they know their energy is usually higher, and choose quieter work when it naturally drops.
Understanding your energy allows you to work more efficiently and stop judging yourself for being human.
6. They respond rather than react
Confidence is tested when something goes wrong.
A difficult email arrives, a team member makes a mistake or a plan suddenly changes. Reacting immediately can feel decisive, but it isn’t always good leadership.
Successful women learn to take a moment before responding. They check the facts, regulate their emotions and decide what the situation actually needs.
You don’t have to reply instantly to prove that you’re in control. Sometimes the most confident response is: “I need some time to think about this, and I’ll come back to you.”
7. They act before they feel completely confident
Confidence often comes after we do the thing, not before it.
Successful women still experience fear, doubt and imposter syndrome. The difference is that they don’t always allow those feelings to make the decision.
They look at the facts. They remember what they have already achieved. They ask for support where they need it, and then they take the next step.
You can spend years waiting to feel completely ready to raise your prices, speak on stage, employ somebody, launch something new or call yourself a leader. At some point, you have to move while part of you is still unsure.
Confidence isn’t believing that everything will go perfectly. It’s trusting that you’ll be able to deal with whatever happens next.
About the expert
Jo Irving began her career in the hair and beauty industry, where she quickly established herself as an entrepreneur and industry leader. At just 20 years old, she received a Prince’s Trust Award and opened her first salon, going on to build and lead multiple successful businesses. Throughout her career, she worked across editorial, bridal, and red carpet styling, while also educating and mentoring professionals for leading global brands including Living Proof, Bumble and Bumble, and GHD.
Drawing on decades of experience leading teams, developing talent, and growing businesses, Jo has evolved into a career, leadership, and performance coach. Following a career changing back injury that ended her work behind the chair, she redirected her expertise towards helping individuals and organisations unlock their potential, navigate change, and lead with confidence. Her coaching combines practical business insight with evidence informed performance psychology, leadership development, and mindset coaching to help professionals build resilience, enhance performance, and create sustainable success. Today, she works with entrepreneurs, business leaders, and creative professionals through one-to-one coaching, leadership programmes, workshops, and training, empowering people to achieve high performance without sacrificing wellbeing.
