Since becoming a coach, I kept seeing the same pattern: brilliant women doctors struggling, not because they weren’t capable, but because they had multiple inner critics at war with each other.

One voice demanding “Don’t upset anyone! Be nice!” while another screamed “Try harder! You’re not doing enough!” They were exhausted from trying to follow contradictory orders from voices that were never satisfied.

They were the ones taking on every difficult patient, staying quiet in meetings despite having great ideas, and watching less qualified male colleagues get opportunities they deserved.

My discovery

Everything changed when I discovered Co-Active coaching – a systematic way to distinguish your authentic voice from your inner critic. I believed in it so much I trained as a Co-Active coach and built my practice around this methodology.

My biggest lesson came when my book draft arrived and I was too scared to open it for three days. The voices in my head were relentless: “It will be a mess, awful, embarrassing!”

When I finally used my own tools to open it, the book was good. Launch day brought a review saying “the self-coaching questions are so powerful.” The gap between my inner critic’s lies and reality was stark.

What I do

I help women doctors recognise when their inner critics are echoing societal messages about staying small, being nice, and not asking for too much.

Because once you can hear the difference between your inner critic and your authentic voice, everything changes – not just your career, but your entire relationship with your power as a woman in medicine.

My approach isn’t about being more assertive – it’s about learning to trust the voice that already knows you’re qualified for everything you want.