Beating Imposter Syndrome in High Performers with Laura Ogilvie-Jones

Lucinda welcomes career and leadership coach Laura Ogilvie-Jones to explore the rising corporate phenomenon of "comparativitis" where high-performing, senior professionals secretly lose confidence due to the pressures of social media, rapid technological change, and AI.

Laura shares her insightful, values-driven coaching methods such as the North Arrow and Buzz Sheets to reveal how HR professionals can spot warning signs of fading confidence and foster environments of vulnerability to help leaders rebuild their self-assurance.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

High performers often project a polished professional image externally while secretly battling severe imposter syndrome and eroding confidence underneath.

Constant bombardment from social media platforms like LinkedIn and Instagram pressures professionals to compare themselves to others, leading to self-doubt and second-guessing.

True, sustainable leadership confidence is built not by maintaining a flawless, numeric-driven facade, but by embracing emotional intelligence, vulnerability, and self-awareness.

HR can identify leaders struggling with confidence by watching for noticeable behaviour changes, such as withdrawal from opportunities, overthinking, or uncharacteristic defensiveness.

BEST MOMENTS

"They may well appear very confident externally... but actually underneath they might be struggling, and they might be losing confidence and having wobbles, having doubts, but they don't feel able to verbalise that."

"The word I often use with my clients to talk about is 'comparativitis'. We are absolutely bombarded with images, news, communication about other people and what they're doing and how amazing they are."

"When I'm working with someone one-to-one, it's the first time they've ever actually been honest, vulnerable, and authentic about what is actually going on and how they're actually feeling."

"If you don't have that self-awareness, you're just, you know, blissfully carrying on."