Navigating Your Career Through Self-Doubt: Highlights from Our International Women's Day Breakfast

To mark International Women's Day, we brought together a panel of renowned Irish female leaders to talk honestly about confidence, self-doubt, and growth.

The answer, as it turned out, was something we didn't expect and something that stayed with everyone in the room long after breakfast was over.

On March 4th, we gathered at The Spencer Hotel, Dublin, and it was a privilege to have enabled what followed.

The event, Navigating Your Career Through Self-Doubt, brought together three exceptional panellists:

Lorraine Heskin — CEO & Founder of Gourmet Food Parlour 

Professor Maura McAdam — Professor of Management and Director of Entrepreneurship at DCU

Elizabeth Bradley — Partner in the Finance Group at DLA Piper

Hosted by Fitvision founder Mark O'Reilly, the discussion explored confidence, imposter syndrome, and what it really takes to back yourself in leadership.

The question that started it all

Is self-doubt something we learn to live with — or overcome?

We put that question to the panel. The answer was unanimous: we learn to live with it. But more importantly, we learn to reframe what it means.

Self-doubt, the panellists agreed, tends to show up when we are growing. It arrives precisely when we are stepping into something new, something bigger than where we have been before. That discomfort is not a warning sign. It is a marker of progress.

That reframe alone seemed to shift something in the room.

What stayed with us

A few insights that resonated strongly across the room:

• Imposter moments, not imposter syndrome. The language matters. These moments are not a permanent condition, and even the most accomplished leaders experience them.

  
  

• Stop comparing your inside to someone else's outside. One of the most practical reminders of the morning: the polished, confident version of someone you admire is not their full story. Everyone is navigating doubt behind the scenes.

  
  

• Keep a record of what you have achieved so far. Revisiting your own wins especially before stepping into a new challenge. This is one of the simplest ways to remind yourself that you are more capable than doubt would have you believe.

  
  

• Surround yourself with people who lift you up. Mentorship and positive networks are not optional extras. They are a core part of how high performers sustain their growth.

A room that made it real

What made this morning stand out was not just what was said from the panel — it was what came from the room.

A diverse group of professionals, an 8:30am start, and a conversation that could have gone on all morning. The Q&A was where it all came together. Honest questions, real experiences, and a generosity in the room that, looking back, captured everything this year’s International Women’s Day theme  “Give to Gain” was about.

Thank you

To Lorraine, Maura, and Elizabeth — thank you. Your honesty and openness set the tone for everything that followed, and it showed in every question from the floor.

If you missed us this time or this conversation sparked something for you, we'd love to keep it going.  Get in touch →