Coaching

Imposter
Syndrome

Coaching Imposter Syndrome

Breaking Free from the Fraud Complex

Dr. Lisa Orbé-Austin

Coaching
Imposter
Syndrome

About Me
• Psychologist & Executive Coach
• Author of Own Your Greatness,
Your Unstoppable Greatness
and Your Childʼs Greatness
• 2x LinkedIn Top Voice
• Top 50 Coaches on Inaugural List for
Thinkers 50
• Indies Foreword Book Award Finalist
for Own Your Greatness
• Featured on Today Show, GMA, NY
Times, Harvard IOC, Financial Times
Coaching Imposter Syndrome

Why are you here?

Coaching
Imposter
Syndrome © Copyright 2024 Coaching Imposter Syndrome. All Rights Reserved 3
Coaching Imposter Syndrome

Clients find dealing with

Imposter Syndrome very
painful…

• Falling short of their expectations

• Being stuck in toxic work dynamics
• Donʼt have much of a life outside of work
• Feel like Imposter Syndrome will be with
them forever
• Feel enormous amount of shame and
embarrassment

Coaching
Imposter
Syndrome © Copyright 2024 Coaching Imposter Syndrome. All Rights Reserved 4
Coaching Imposter Syndrome

Statistics
Coaches Opportunity

Growing Demand High Achieving Professionals Corporate Education

As the term, Imposter Syndrome, Certain environments can be more Many organizations want to provide
becomes more familiar, there is an triggering including medicine, law, STEM education about the experience for their
.
increased demand for coaching services fields and even creative professional and employee and to support leaders who
tailored to address Imposter Syndrome. require support for experience IS in may require support for themselves and
competitive environments. direct reports.

Targeted Approach Short-Term Coaching

Itʼs not just about coaching self-esteem When clients have had to deal with it for
or self-doubt issues. It requires so long, they often feel like itʼs going to
specialized understanding of Imposter be long term work, but itʼs actually quite
Syndrome for effective results. short term, which is often very appealing.

Coaching
Imposter
Syndrome © Copyright 2024 Coaching Imposter Syndrome. All Rights Reserved 5
Coaching Imposter Syndrome

After working with hundreds

of coaches, we have found:

• Coaches feel like fraud themselves in addressing Imposter Syndrome

because they have it themselves and/or only understand it on a surface
level, but not deeply.
• They fear how clients will respond to the idea of Imposter Syndrome and
donʼt know how to raise it when I client doesnʼt bring it to them directly.
• They donʼt have a strategy or framework to even begin the coaching with
clients.

Coaching
Imposter
Syndrome © Copyright 2024 Coaching Imposter Syndrome. All Rights Reserved 6
Coaching Imposter Syndrome

My Personal Imposter
Syndrome Journey

Coaching
Imposter
Syndrome © Copyright 2024 Coaching Imposter Syndrome. All Rights Reserved 7
Coaching Imposter Syndrome

Coaching Imposter Syndrome

Breaking Free from the Fraud Complex

Agenda
PART 1 The True Drivers Behind Imposter Syndrome
PART 2 How to Raise Imposter Syndrome with Your Clients
PART 3 Tools to Get You Started

Coaching
Imposter
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Coaching Imposter Syndrome

1 What is Imposter Syndrome?

Part 1

The True Drivers 2 What are the components of Imposter Syndrome?

Behind Imposter
Syndrome 3 How does it differ for marginalized groups?

What are common themes around childhood

4
dynamics, work cultures and toxic leaders?

Coaching
Imposter
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Coaching Imposter Syndrome

Statistics
Imposter Phenomenon

Drs. Pauline Clance Not a mental

and Suzanne Imes health disorder

1978 Seminal Paper Phenomenon

"The Impostor Phenomenon in an occurrence worthy of note and
High Achieving Women: Dynamics investigation, an unusual event, person
and Therapeutic Interventionˮ or fact that is of special significance or
otherwise notable

Coaching
Imposter
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Coaching Imposter Syndrome

Imposter Syndrome & Coaching

• Not a mental health disorder

• Personal Growth and Professional Development
• Look at the past to understand the present
• Dealing with the Work Context in Present Day Circumstances
• Focused on present day circumstances
• Action-oriented
• Creating a vision and plan to achieve
• Proactive about building skills that last

Coaching
Imposter
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Coaching Imposter Syndrome

• High achieving or potential

• Denial of ability and attributing success to luck, mistake,
overwork, or a result of a relationship
• Discounting praise, feeling fear and guilt about success
• Fear of failure and being discovered as a fraud
• Not feeling intelligent
• Perfectionism
• Overestimating others while underestimating oneself
• Difficulty internalizing feelings of success
• Overworking or self-sabotage to cover the feelings of
inadequacy

Coaching
Imposter
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Coaching Imposter Syndrome

The Imposter Cycle I The Imposter Cycle II

Worry about Worry about

performance performance

Get Work hard to “cover Get approval or Procrastinate / self

Approval upˮ feared fradulence mixed reviews sabotage

Get performance Get performance

review review

Coaching
Imposter
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Coaching Imposter Syndrome

Quantifiably
Frightened

Coaching
Imposter
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Coaching Imposter Syndrome

Intelligent

Childhood
Hardworking
Roles

Survivor

Coaching
Imposter
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Coaching Imposter Syndrome

Rigid roles common for Impostor Syndrome

Our work roles can mimic these early childhood roles

Why do childhood
roles matter? Intelligent One > Star

Breaking rigid roles becomes an important part of recovery

Seeing ourselves in full, holistic and human ways

Coaching
Imposter
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Coaching Imposter Syndrome

Anger and Strict family

conflict rules

Family Dynamics

No complexity
in seeing High need to
situations or please others
people

Coaching
Imposter
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Coaching Imposter Syndrome

Origin Story Takeaways

What parts of this How are they connected Take time to reflect on
resonate with their to their experience of how origin story relates
story? Impostor Syndrome? to their current triggers.

Coaching
Imposter
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Coaching Imposter Syndrome

Situations

Places

Triggers

People

Things

Coaching
Imposter
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Coaching Imposter Syndrome

Common Triggers

• New Position
• New Task
• Publicly Visible Project
• Complex Project
• Interviews
• Performance Reviews
• Feeling ”Rusty”

Coaching
Imposter
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Coaching Imposter Syndrome

A partner in Crisis

Coaching
Imposter
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Coaching Imposter Syndrome

Impact of Imposter Syndrome

Women Men Marginalized Groups

• Doesn't prevent women • Men tend to affiliate with • DOUBLE IMPACT
from achieving, but they peers with less advanced
do struggle from constant skills and will aim toward • Particularly where the
fears of fraudulence mastery and take less risk environment reinforces
fraudulence there can be a
• Spend more time on tasks • Less likely to pursue certain dual factor of contending
than those without IS careers with this from internal
and external forces
• Work harder when receive
negative feedback

Coaching
Imposter
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Coaching Imposter Syndrome

Microaggressions

Isolation

Triggers for Historical Gaslighting

Marginalized Groups
Discrimination

Lack of Mentors

Inequitable Treatment

Coaching
Imposter
Syndrome © Copyright 2024 Coaching Imposter Syndrome. All Rights Reserved 23
Coaching Imposter Syndrome

Big Tech Troubles

Coaching
Imposter
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Coaching Imposter Syndrome

How to address defensiveness and reactivity due to

Part 2 1
misinformation and common myths?

How to Raise How to understand the resistance about addressing

2
Imposter because of maladaptive beliefs?

Syndrome with How do you have a succinct method to define it and

3
Your Clients connecting Imposter Syndrome to presenting issue?

4 How to educate clients about potential solutions?

Coaching
Imposter
Syndrome © Copyright 2024 Coaching Imposter Syndrome. All Rights Reserved 25
Coaching Imposter Syndrome

Basic Definition

KEY POINTS

1 Paradoxical term doesnʼt mean you are an imposter - it means you feel like one.
2 As a result of not internalizing your accomplishments, successes, wins
3 Itʼs not a mental health disorder. Itʼs a common experience about 70% of people
experience it.

4 There are simple and concrete ways to overcome it effectively

and fairly quickly

Coaching
Imposter
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Coaching Imposter Syndrome

Myths about Imposter Syndrome

It is a good thing to It is just in your

Only women
have for motivation head
experience it
and success

It is caused by
It will never go
oppression
away

Coaching
Imposter
Syndrome © Copyright 2024 Coaching Imposter Syndrome. All Rights Reserved 27
Coaching Imposter Syndrome

Lose track of your own dreams and plans for your future

Decreased work self-efficacy; reluctance to ask for help

The Cost of Imposter Greater organizational loyalty and struggle to advocate

for self in promotion and compensation conversations
Syndrome / Not a
Superpower Can get stuck in unhealthy work dynamics;
decreased academic & job satisfaction

Chronic Burnout; Anxiety; Depression

Tendency not to see their value – which can affect

career planning and goals- limit options

Coaching
Imposter
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Coaching Imposter Syndrome

What I have seen clients achieve after building skills

and tools to deal with their Imposter Syndrome:

• Increase their compensation (one client doubled it)

• Quit toxic jobs that they had been stuck in for a long time
• Start business
• Change careers
• Apply for their dream jobs and get them
• Set time boundaries at work
• Spend more time with their families
• Learn to stay in the present

Coaching
Imposter
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Coaching Imposter Syndrome

The Case of the

Custodial Architect

Coaching
Imposter
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Coaching Imposter Syndrome

Common Resistances

• Think of it as being biased against women and people of color.

• Itʼs my superpower.
• Itʼs not a real thing.
• Itʼs pathologizing.

Coaching
Imposter
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Coaching Imposter Syndrome

Overcoming the Resistance

• Listen to the concerns fully and explore them

• Normalize that there is a lot of information in popular press and social media
that are both misinformation and make it sound scary, problematic, and unfixable
• Answer any questions about the topic and validate feelings

Coaching
Imposter
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Coaching Imposter Syndrome

1 How do you assess Imposter Syndrome?

Part 3

Tools to Get 2
See an example of the assessment can be helpful for
clients
You Started
Learn a simple version of the genogram technique to
3
help clients see potential patterns.

Coaching
Imposter
Syndrome © Copyright 2024 Coaching Imposter Syndrome. All Rights Reserved 33
Coaching Imposter Syndrome

Simple Assessment Tool

• Provides you with a variety of ways to approach the topic of Imposter

Syndrome with clients
• Doesnʼt have be done completely, but you can use pieces of it
• You can ask questions around each of these topics
• Gives you an understanding of what you should be exploring with clients

Coaching
Imposter
Syndrome © Copyright 2024 Coaching Imposter Syndrome. All Rights Reserved 34
Coaching Imposter Syndrome

Simple Assessment Tool

● Self-Perception and Internal Dialogue

● Achievement and Attribution Patterns
● Fear of Failure and Perfectionism
● Emotional and Physiological Responses to Success
● Social Comparison and Validation-Seeking
● Workplace and Environmental Triggers
● Identity and Background Factors
● Coping Mechanisms and Behaviors

Coaching
Imposter
Syndrome © Copyright 2024 Coaching Imposter Syndrome. All Rights Reserved 35
Coaching Imposter Syndrome

Genogram Tool

• Provides an opportunity for a coach to

understand some of the dynamics that may be
underlying the clients Imposter Syndrome
• You can do it for your client and explore it with
them or do it for your own understanding of
patterns that may be relevant today
• Hereʼs Joanna --- let me explain her genogram
to you

Coaching
Imposter
Syndrome © Copyright 2024 Coaching Imposter Syndrome. All Rights Reserved 36
Coaching Imposter Syndrome

Now that you have a deeper understanding

of Imposter Syndrome, how can you use this
knowledge to better support your clients
who experience it?

Coaching
Imposter
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Coaching Imposter Syndrome

Coaching
Imposter
Syndrome © Copyright 2024 Coaching Imposter Syndrome. All Rights Reserved 38
Coaching Imposter Syndrome

The Imposter Syndrome Coaching

Practitioner Course enables you to:

• Identify and address the psychological triggers that drive Imposter Syndrome, helping
clients uncover root causes and personal patterns.
• Conduct assessments that reveal clients' unique Imposter Syndrome experiences,
strengths, and areas of self-doubt.
• Apply the 3Cʼs Methodology to disrupt negative thought cycles and foster a
growth-oriented, resilient mindset.
• Guide clients in reframing their self-narratives to transform self-doubt into
self-empowerment and establish lasting confidence.
• Equip clients with tools and strategies to manage performance anxiety, perfectionism,
and Automatic Negative Thoughts ANTs, building emotional resilience.

Coaching
Imposter
Syndrome © Copyright 2024 Coaching Imposter Syndrome. All Rights Reserved 39
Coaching Imposter Syndrome

Here’s what’s included

● 6 modules of live, interactive, content.

● 3 Implementation Mastery Sessions to help you refine your coaching skills and build
confidence in applying the 3Cʼs methodology.
● 3 pre-recorded coaching demonstrations to see the power of the Imposter Syndrome
framework in action in real-world client scenarios.
● 13 powerful coaching tools to use directly with your clients.

Coaching
Imposter
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Coaching
Imposter
Syndrome

Thank You!
The End

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