How to Be Powerful Among Powerful People
You know how to lead.
You have the experience. The judgment. The track record.
But put you in a room with senior leaders, strong personalities, high-stakes decisions or complicated politics, and suddenly something changes.
You second-guess what you know.
You soften what you really mean.
You reach for more data.
You overexplain.
You prepare for pushback before it even happens.
You disagree with what the CMO is saying, but hesitate because you don’t want to be seen as difficult or “not a team player.”
Then you leave the room thinking:
Why didn’t I just say what I wanted to say?
This is not always a confidence problem.
Sometimes it is a calibration problem.
Your capability didn’t disappear.
The conditions changed.
And if you misdiagnose the problem, you can spend years trying to become “more confident” when what you actually need is a way to stay connected to your authority when the stakes rise.
That is exactly what I’ll teach you in this masterclass.
In How to Be Powerful Among Powerful people, I’ll break down my 5-step process for navigating powerful rooms without shrinking, hardening, overexplaining or performing confidence.
You’ll learn how to recognize what is actually happening in the moment, separate what you know from what you’re assuming, catch the protective patterns that can take over under pressure, discern what the moment actually requires, and choose how you want to lead.
Because being powerful among powerful people does not mean dominating the room.
It means you can think critically, feel deeply and remain grounded in what you know, what you value and what you are there to create.
It means you can disagree without becoming defensive.
Hold your position when someone powerful pushes back.
Recover when you’re interrupted or sidelined.
Make the ask before you know the answer.
Navigate politics without losing yourself inside them.
And walk out knowing:
I showed up exactly how I wanted to show up.
You may already be highly confident.
That is what makes these moments so confusing.
You can lead a team, make hard decisions, solve complex problems and carry enormous responsibility.
Then one person walks into the room and suddenly you are calculating.
Am I experienced enough?
Do they know more than I do?
Should I say this?
How will it land?
What if they disagree?
What if I’m wrong?
What if they think I’m difficult?
Your power isn’t missing.
It may simply be fully allocated toward proving, pleasing, preparing, protecting and managing perception.
The question is:
Do you like where it’s going?
That is the work.
Not becoming louder.
Not becoming harder.
Not finding the perfect script.
Learning how to remain connected to yourself when speaking up actually costs something.
What clients Are Saying
“When I started, I had the drive and the capability, but I often found myself holding back, over-accommodating, or softening my voice to keep the peace. Through our work together, that shifted in a meaningful way.
I’m now far more confident standing up for myself and for others. I speak up in rooms where I used to hesitate, and I no longer feel the need to shrink to make others comfortable. That alone has changed how I show up as a leader and how I’m perceived.
One of the biggest transformations has been in how I communicate. I’ve moved from leading with emotion to articulating my perspective with clarity, structure, and data. I’m able to back up my position, influence decisions more effectively, and have stronger, more productive conversations across our leadership team.
Yann has a unique ability to challenge you while still creating a space that feels grounded and intentional. She doesn’t just give advice, she helps you build the awareness and tools to lead yourself differently. Things are genuinely better. I’m more confident, more direct, and more aligned in how I show up every day.”
— Caitlin M., Nashville, TN
Chief Financial Officer, Construction Industry, Chief Member“It may sound like an exaggeration, but it’s not…working with Yann changed my life in ways that working with other coaches (and therapists) for much longer periods of time never did.
She helped me not only find my voice, but begin to own it, and lead from it. I have stopped waiting for permission to act, to decide, to disagree, Instead, I’m now operate from within a place of authority.
In fact, I’ve gone from compliant to quietly confidant, guarded to centered and grounded, and emotionally reactive to thoughtful and resolved.
Yann has a true gift for helping people identify the root cause of their challenges and guiding them toward the kind of change that makes a profound and lasting impact – I know that’s work my work with her did for me!”
Thank you, Yann!
— Julie S., Chicago, IL
Chief Executive Officer“Working with Yann has been the best investment in my professional growth I could have ever made.
She helped me uncover and understand my limiting beliefs, and expertly guided me through overcoming them.
I only wish I had found her 10 years ago.”
— Gabriela G.
Data and Analytics Executive
Meet Your Coach: Yann Dang
I’m Yann Dang, former global finance leader, leadership coach, TEDx speaker, Forbes contributor and creator of COMMAND™.
I spent years leading in rooms where I was often the youngest person, the only woman or the only person who looked like me.
I know what it is like to walk into a room already calculating how you will be perceived.
And I know what changes when you stop organizing your leadership around proving you belong and start leading from your own authority.
Today, I coach accomplished women navigating exactly these moments: difficult power dynamics, high-stakes conversations, career transitions, visibility, conflict and the situations that can make an extraordinarily capable woman question herself.
I do not teach women how to become someone else.
I help them understand what is happening, trust themselves more deeply and practice leading powerfully without leaving themselves behind.
If you know how to lead but want to become more powerful when power is already in the room, this masterclass is for you.