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When I started the Confidence Series, I thought I was writing about confidence. Instead, I found myself reflecting on some of the environments I experienced and the conversations I had with colleagues and candidates.

From small teams, fast-moving organisations, political environments, remote work, top-heavy, and bottom-heavy structures, each environment appeared different on the surface, but revealed something surprisingly similar: confidence is not only about who we are, it is also shaped by how we experience the environments around us.

The question became: what do these environments have in common?

Looking back across the six articles in the series, a pattern emerged: in small teams, confidence is influenced by exposure. In fast-moving environments, it is influenced by our ability to stay oriented while everything evolves. In political environments, it is influenced by our ability to interpret power and influence. In remote environments, it is influenced by access to context. In top-heavy environments, it can become tied to validation from above. In bottom-heavy environments, it can become vulnerable to structural overload.

Different environments, different pressures, but the same underlying reality. Confidence shifts whenever we struggle to understand what is happening around us: what is rewarded, what is risky, how success is measured, how decisions are made, and where we stand.

For a long time, I believed confidence was primarily a personal characteristic, something we either possessed or needed to develop within ourselves. Over time, I came to see it differently. Confidence is not only certainty in ourselves. It is also certainty in our understanding of the environment in which we operate. This does not mean confidence comes from the environment. But it does mean environments shape how easily we can access, sustain, and interpret it.

Here's the shift: Instead of asking ourselves "How do I become more confident?", we may need to ask "What is this environment teaching me about confidence?"

Because sometimes confidence does not disappear. Sometimes we are simply learning the rules of a new environment.