Building Confidence Through Courage
Building Confidence Through Courage
A joint webinar hosted by the Carlsen Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Bridges Consulting, and FourthWave. Thursday, September 10, 2026 · 12:00 PM PT Featured speaker: Lauren Franklin, MA — Executive Coach, Bridges Consulting
Confidence gets all the attention, but courage is what actually moves you. This interactive session explores why courage, not confidence, is usually the real starting point for stepping into leadership, visibility, and high-stakes moments.
Founders, executives, and investors all hit the same wall: the moment where confidence falters and fear of judgment takes over. It's what keeps us from speaking up in the room, pitching the idea, asking for what we need, or taking the next bold step before we feel ready. Waiting to feel confident is often just a way of waiting forever.
Led by executive coach Lauren Franklin, this session will help participants reflect on where fear quietly runs the show, then walk away with practical tools to do something about it: grounding techniques, nervous-system regulation, and purpose-driven action that let you stay present and move through fear instead of around it. The goal isn't to eliminate the nerves. It's to act anyway.
You'll leave able to:
Recognize where fear of judgment is shaping your decisions
Use grounding and nervous-system tools to stay present under pressure
Take courageous action before the confidence arrives
Whether you're preparing to pitch, lead a team through uncertainty, or make a high-stakes ask, this is the work that comes first. Bring the moment you've been avoiding.
About the speaker: Lauren Franklin is an executive coach and organizational consultant with Bridges Consulting, with deep experience across tech, higher education, and the public sector. She has built and developed teams from the ground up and shaped culture initiatives at organizations ranging from early-stage startups to Fortune 500 companies.