The Built For Pressure Podcast

← The Built For Pressure Podcast27 aug · 10 min

The Four Shapes Imposter Syndrome Takes In Leaders And How To Break It

The Four Shapes Imposter Syndrome Takes In Leaders And How To Break It27 aug10 min

Imposter syndrome in executives is not a sign you are out of your depth. It is evidence you are operating past your current capacity.

In this episode I break down what imposter syndrome actually is, why high performing leaders misread it as weakness, and the three stages I use with CEOs and founders to move through it without freezing.

Most people treat the feeling as a verdict on their ability and I'll explain to you why its not.

It is what happens when you stretch into territory you have no evidence for yet, and your brain fills the gap with worst case scenarios. Handled properly, it becomes a performance signal. Handled badly, it becomes a freezing mechanism that stops you taking action on the thing you said you wanted.

I cover the four shapes it takes in leadership: the perfectionist, the expert, the soloist and the visionary.

I cover why self worth and self belief are two separate systems and what happens when you confuse them.

And I cover the part almost nobody accounts for, which is that your physiology dictates the pace of your psychology. When you are under slept, under fed and running on adrenaline, imposter syndrome does not just appear. It magnifies.

Mental performance trains exactly like physical performance. Progressive overload. Specificity. Repeated exposure. Most leaders never train it, then wonder why it collapses under load.

Take the Capacity Index and get a scored read on where your system is currently holding and where it is leaking:https://capacity.scoreapp.com

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