How to Define Your Own Direction With Confidence

Marie Claire brought its Power Play summit to Philadelphia on September 17 and 18, gathering visionary women to champion this year's central theme: Perseverance. The two-day event, presented by Marshalls, marked the second Power Play summit of the year and brought together a dynamic lineup of speakers from entertainment, sports, tech, and business.

For the first time in Power Play history, the second day of the event was opened to the broader Philadelphia community. This was made possible through a partnership with The Marshalls Good Stuff Social Club, the retailer's purpose-driven platform designed to give women access to the tools, resources, and communities needed to unlock the lives they want to live. The event invited ambitious guests to engage in a day of impactful programming, networking opportunities, and immersive activations designed to bridge the gap between their vision boards and their realities. Here are our top insights from this inspiring day.

To kick off day two of Power Play Philadelphia, Marie Claire executive editor Andrea Stanley led a discussion with an inspiring group of women leaders who shared how they built confidence throughout their unique career journeys. The panelists included Who What Wear cofounder Hillary Kerr, Her Place Supper Club cofounder and executive chef Amanda Shulman, and FarmerJawn cofounder Christa Barfield. We asked this impressive lineup of women how they tune out all the noise to stay focused on their own visions, how they make high-stakes decisions with confidence, and so much more. To discover our top insights from this discussion, read below.

Our top takeaways:

1. Reframe your setback as an opportunity for growth.

"Oftentimes [a setback] forces you to be scrappier, to think smarter, to find new ways to do something, and sometimes it makes you double down on what you want to do anyway. It is an exercise in perseverance and in thinking creatively." — Hillary Kerr

Setbacks are a natural and valuable part of the journey, building resilience, creativity, and smarter decision-making.

2. Take bold steps with confidence.

"I really believe that sometimes you just have to go for it, and you're never going to know what's the right move, what's the next move, one day at a time, one foot in front of the other. A disaster happens every day, and that's just part of it. It's like taking it and swallowing it and breathing it out and just saying, okay, well, today's done. Let's focus on tomorrow. But I think taking risks is amazing, and it's having the capacity to believe in yourself." — Amanda Shulman

Confidence allows us to take bold steps and persevere through uncertainty and new challenges, even when we feel unprepared or inexperienced.

3. Own your vision.

"Decenter external affirmation. If you are passionate about what you are building, if you care about your work, that ultimately is the only thing that builds confidence." — Kerr

Entrepreneurs, trust your unique understanding of your business and audience, regardless of outside advice.

4. Ground your choices in facts rather than emotions.

"One thing that has surprised me about leadership is how lonely it is, and how making decisions feels lonely, and that it all rests on your shoulders, and you don't know if you're making the right call necessarily. And I'm a Virgo, so that means I make so many lists when I'm trying to make a decision. I try to focus on facts, not feelings. What are we really dealing with here? How can I take my ego out of it? How can I take my sentiment out of it and really just look at the matter at hand?" — Kerr

Effective leaders alleviate the pressure of decision-making by grounding their choices in facts rather than emotions and seeking counsel from trusted colleagues.

5. Don't wait for permission to act.

"Show up. … Put yourself in the rooms that you want to be in and know that you can add value to without asking permission." — Christa Barfield

Showing up proactively—putting yourself in the spaces you want to be in without waiting for permission—is a powerful way to create new opportunities.

Discover more about Power Play Philadelphia and The Marshalls Good Stuff Social Club here.