The Root of Imposter Syndrome


"I had to give a presentation in the boardroom of a CEO of a 90,000-employee company, and ever since I have been feeling like a fraud."

That’s what he told me in our second deep coaching conversation.

This man leads an enterprise team of 6 executives and 600 people in total under his divisional leadership.

On paper? He’s crushing it, yet slowly fading in his role and carrying the stress home to his marriage.

His soul? He’s been carrying a quiet heaviness, tight chest, migraines, and performance anxiety, and the root of it was a story he never stopped believing.

I paused and asked, “When did this belief about being an impostor begin?”


He traced it back to that one boardroom presentation. The moment he stepped into that room years ago, the script of “you don’t belong here” started running on repeat.

We walked through a process of listening to the deeper belief behind the fear and gently replacing it with truth. We did the heart work.

At the end of our time, I asked what he noticed.

He paused… and said, “My chest feels lighter.”

There was a new peace, a new freedom, a whole-hearted leader emerging, one leading from identity, not insecurity.

Are you ready to lead with more peace?


Becoming Wholehearted by Lantz Howard

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