320: How the Smartest Leaders Sabotage Their Communication and Executive Presence (& How to Stop it)

What if your intelligence is actually holding you back from the promotion or the role you deserve?

High-performing leaders like you are driven by excellence, but here’s the catch: that same drive can lead to over-preparation, over-explaining, and the fear of being seen as “not smart enough.” 

In today’s episode, we dive into why this mindset might be keeping you from stepping into higher leadership roles and what you can do about it. 

The good news? You don’t need to change who you are—just how you handle those high-stakes situations.

By the end of this conversation with Adam Quiney you’ll know:

💡 Why being overly prepared might make you seem less confident rather than more competent.

🚀 Embracing your "brilliant but human" self leads to more authentic and powerful leadership.

🔥 Graceful ways to handle those moments when you feel outsmarted or exposed, without losing credibility.

Ready to stop over-explaining and start leading with confidence? Tune in now to learn the subtle shifts that will get you noticed for the right reasons.

If you want personalized help with your executive communication, our Executive Presence Mastery System, a 90-day intensive coaching program may be your ticket. Click here to set up 15 minutes for us to chat about it.

About our guest:

Adam Quiney works with the smartest people in the room whose intelligence is the very thing that is holding them back.

Adam is an executive mentor to leaders and top performers, specializing in developing genius leadership. Adam’s clients don’t simply change; they transform their lives and the way they show up in the world, creating massive impact in their relationships, companies, and families.

Adam develops leaders through deep, transformative coaching, supporting them to create lives where they own both their leadership and their genius as a quality and a place to come from. Adam supports leaders to discover their innate gifts, identify their blocks, and have them lead from their highest and most powerful self.

Adam shifts them from living an externally-driven life, where the only satisfaction comes from the 30 minutes after completing a goal, into one where they are driven from within, deriving satisfaction, prosperity, and peace every moment of every day.

His clients include corporations, lawyers, doctors, executives, world-class designers, olympic athletes, financial professionals, and CEOs across North America and Europe

In Speak Up communication and executive presence coaching, high performing leaders learn to enhance their influence and confidence, refining their communication style to increase visibility and effectiveness in promotion opportunities. 

By honing communication skills and fostering a trusted advisor mindset, aspiring executives cultivate mastery in public speaking and beat imposter syndrome.

Your leadership becomes more strategic and inspiring.