The Confidence to be VISIBLE with Sheena Yap Chan
Pushing Beyond the Obvious - Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed
Release Date: 01/03/2026
Here is Why You Are You Stuck in Middle Management According to India's Top Executive Coach
Pushing Beyond the Obvious - Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed
Premise In this podcast episode, we host India's biggest and best Executive Coach Shital Kakkar Mehra. She has trained more than 1000 CxO's and more than 40000 leaders about how to develop their executive presence. We talk about how the we lead and what is expected from us shifts as we continue to grow in our careers and what makes us successful early in our career is no longer enough when we become managers (managing people) and it changes again, when we start leading managers and agains shifts when we start leading functions and organisations. Apart from all the technical skills and the...
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The Hidden Leadership Skill: Leading for Evolution
Pushing Beyond the Obvious - Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed
Premise: Almost all leaders today lead in an environment that is ripe with disruptions and ever changing competitive landscape. The challenges of leading in this constantly evolving landscape are very different from that of leading in a stable environment where the current management practices are rooted in. So, if we have to succeed in this new world, we need to change the lens through which we view leadership and management practices. That begs the questions - where can we draw inspiration for the new way of leading. Thankfully, we don't need to look far. We can learn from . Leading an...
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The Bomber with No Guns: 3 Lessons in Strategy from a World War II Secret Weapon
Pushing Beyond the Obvious - Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed
In this episode, I want to share a brilliant story written by one of my favorite marketers, Dave Trott, titled "Strategy is Sacrifice". The story takes us back to World War II. At the time, standard military strategy assumed that for a bomber to survive, it needed more armor, more guns, and a larger crew. Planes like the British Lancaster and the American B-17 were massive, heavy, and slow because they were weighed down by defenses. But Geoffrey de Havilland had a different idea—a creative strategy. He asked a simple question: What if the enemy couldn't catch you?. Instead of adding more...
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The Most Important Question You Can Ask Your Team: "Are You Okay?"
Pushing Beyond the Obvious - Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed
Welcome back to another episode of Pushing Beyond the Obvious. I recently read a blog post from the MIT Sloan Management Review titled "Your people are not all right," which highlights the immense overwhelm and stress employees are currently facing. This inspired me to talk about a critical responsibility we have as leaders: having a clear understanding of what is happening in our team members' lives, not to spy on them, but to genuinely ensure their wellbeing. In this video, I break down the subtle but vital differences between an average leader, a good leader, and a leader worth following....
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How to Be Remarkable And stand out from the crowd
Pushing Beyond the Obvious - Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed
Standing out starts with choosing to see, think, and act differently from the default, and then designing your work, relationships, and systems around that choice. This means intentionally questioning “how things are done here” and repeatedly experimenting with better ways that reflect who you are and what you care about.youtube Why being different matters Most environments quietly push people to conform, to not make waves, and to follow existing templates for success. If you obey those pressures blindly, you become invisible, even when you are talented and hardworking.youtube ...
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Here is how to build an engaged team
Pushing Beyond the Obvious - Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed
Teams that are engaged perform better, collaborate more, and stay longer. I often talk about how employee engagement sits at the heart of every high-performing team. The real question is: how do leaders actually build it in day-to-day work? Hire for Attitude Before Skills Engagement starts much earlier than most people realise — right at the hiring stage. I believe that while skills can be developed over time, attitude is much harder to change. Hiring people who naturally align with the team’s values and energy creates a stronger foundation for engagement. At the same time, we need to...
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3 Ways to come up with Breakthrough Ideas
Pushing Beyond the Obvious - Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed
Premise: In today's fast-paced world, every organization and leader feels the relentless pressure to innovate. We're taught to hunt for that game-changing idea, that single "Eureka!" moment that will redefine our market. But waiting for a random stroke of genius is an ineffective and stressful strategy. The myth of the lone visionary struck by a sudden, brilliant insight is just that—a myth. True innovation isn't about luck; it's about process. Generating breakthrough ideas can be a systematic, repeatable activity. By moving beyond passive inspiration and adopting active methods, you...
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The Confidence to be VISIBLE with Sheena Yap Chan
Pushing Beyond the Obvious - Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed
Introduction Confidence doesn’t always come naturally, especially when you grow up rarely seeing people like you represented in leadership, media, or success stories. In a world where visibility often determines opportunity, learning how to show up fully becomes essential. Sheena Yap Chan, a keynote speaker, leadership strategist, and author, shares powerful insights on confidence, identity, and visibility, particularly for Asian women navigating personal and professional spaces. Why Representation Matters More Than We Think? Growing up in Canada, Sheena often felt the absence of...
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Don’t Solve Problems. Develop Problem Solvers
Pushing Beyond the Obvious - Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed
Premise The real job of a leader is not decision-making. It is decision capability-building and this can be done by creating better leaders from those that they lead. Bad leaders manage how work is being done, good leaders manage whether the work is being done and great leaders create capacity so that the work gets done. This is possible only when we are able to find ways to train them, to coach them and to get them ready for their journey as a leader. This requires us to give them additional responsibilities and create opportunities to lead as part of the day-to-day work. We can prepare...
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What Quentin Tarantino Can Teach Leaders About their Jobs
Pushing Beyond the Obvious - Helping Entrepreneurs Succeed
In this short narration, talks about the role of a director and it is a classic definition of what we need to do as leaders to become a leader worth following. Very early in his career, he asked on what was the job of a director in the making of a movie and here is what he was told – “It is not your job to create your vision, it is your job to have a vision! And it is your job then to hire talented people who understand your vision. You articulate your vision to them. Then they take your vision and they create it. And with them creating it, you bring your inputs to...
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Confidence doesn’t always come naturally, especially when you grow up rarely seeing people like you represented in leadership, media, or success stories. In a world where visibility often determines opportunity, learning how to show up fully becomes essential. Sheena Yap Chan, a keynote speaker, leadership strategist, and author, shares powerful insights on confidence, identity, and visibility, particularly for Asian women navigating personal and professional spaces.
Why Representation Matters More Than We Think?
Growing up in Canada, Sheena often felt the absence of representation. There were few role models in media or leadership positions who looked like her, and that lack quietly shaped what felt “possible.” Over time, she realised that confidence isn’t just an internal trait—it’s deeply influenced by what we see around us.
This realisation led her to create The Tao of Self Confidence podcast, where she has interviewed over 800 Asian women. By amplifying real stories, struggles, and successes, Sheena highlights how representation helps people believe that they, too, belong in spaces of leadership and influence.
Understanding the VISIBLE Framework
One of Sheena’s key contributions to leadership development is her VISIBLE Framework, a seven-pillar model designed to help individuals build confidence and presence. Each pillar focuses on a different aspect of growth, including finding your voice, embracing your identity, working through inner beliefs, and leveraging support systems.
Rather than encouraging perfection, the framework focuses on authenticity, showing up as you are while continuing to grow. It also emphasises the importance of lifting others as you rise, creating a ripple effect of confidence and visibility within communities.
Breaking Cultural Barriers Around Confidence
Sheena openly discusses how cultural expectations can limit self-expression, especially in Asian households where humility and silence are often rewarded. While these values have meaning, they can sometimes discourage people from speaking up or taking risks.
Instead of waiting until everything feels “ready,” Sheena encourages a “ready, fire, aim” approach, taking action first and adjusting along the way. Confidence is built through experience, not perfection, and visibility grows when we allow ourselves to be seen before we feel completely prepared.
Key Takeaways
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Confidence and visibility are learnable skills, not personality traits
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Representation plays a critical role in shaping belief and ambition
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Action builds confidence faster than waiting for perfection
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Strong networks and community support accelerate growth
Conclusion
Sheena Yap Chan’s journey is a reminder that confidence doesn’t come from fitting in, it comes from owning who you are. By challenging limiting beliefs, embracing visibility, and sharing stories that matter, individuals can create meaningful impact not only for themselves but for others who are still finding their voice. Confidence, when practiced intentionally, becomes a powerful tool for leadership and change.
You can find more information about her, her work and her books on her website - https://www.sheenayapchan.com/.