Choosing the Table: How Curiosity Built My Confidence

When I first received the invitation to the AI Summit in Austin, TX, my immediate reaction was: Who am I to go to this? I am not a data scientist. I am not an engineer. Sure, I use Copilot, but I am no expert. It felt like a room designed for people with technical depth I did not have.

At the same time, I had been hearing from leaders I respect that it was time to lean into the AI space and start learning. Rolling up my sleeves is the only way I know how. I am a learner out loud. I ask questions, I experiment, and I grow in real time. So, even with the hesitation, I chose to say yes.

On the way to Austin, I even joked about it. No one says, "Let me use my PTO to go to an AI conference." But there I was, asking my husband, "Hey, honey, can we go to Austin for the Institute for AI Transformation's Leaders in AI Summit?" Curiosity packed. Questions loaded. I was ready to choose growth over comfort.

Prior to the event, I used Copilot to build a two-week learning plan. That preparation, followed by the Institute for AI Transformation Leaders Summit itself, stretched me in ways I did not expect. The panels, roundtables, and workshops pushed me beyond the edges of what I knew. I built my vocabulary and developed new understandings, but the biggest shift was internal. I built confidence in my leadership and was reminded that my perspective as a "domain leader" is just as important.

I mostly (re)learned something important: You do not have to know everything to sit at a table. You just have to be willing to show up with curiosity and let yourself grow.

Fast-forward six months to Dallas, where I attended that same Leaders in AI Summit. But this time, I was not sitting in the audience taking notes. I was on a panel. No hesitation. No second-guessing. Just a grounded confidence in the value I bring and the perspective I have earned.

Belonging is not something you wait for. It is something you build. It is created through the choices you make about where you place yourself and how willing you are to grow once you get there. Sometimes, that means choosing tables that stretch you, challenge you, and remind you of what you are capable of.

For the woman who isn't sure she belongs at the table

If you are reading this and wondering whether you belong at a table you have been invited to, here are a few reminders:

• 1. Curiosity is enough to start. You do not need mastery to walk into the room. Curiosity is a legitimate credential.
• 2. You bring a perspective no one else has. Technical depth is valuable, but so are lived experience, leadership intuition, and the ability to connect dots others overlook.
• 3. Growth rarely feels comfortable. If the table stretches you, that is often a sign that you are exactly where you need to be.
• 4. Ask the question anyway. The question you are afraid to ask is usually the one half the room is wondering about, too.
• 5. Confidence is built, not bestowed. You earn it by showing up, not by waiting until you feel ready.
• 6. You do not have to shrink to fit. Take up your space. Your voice belongs in the conversation.

What table are you choosing to sit at today, and who might you become because of it?