Article written by guest author JJ Carolan
Anyone who works with “Abby” would call her a dynamo.
> Her resume lists impressive accomplishments, skills, and abilities.
> She’s an incredible mother to two young children.
> She balances a job she is passionate about and requires travel.
So everyone who knows her would be shocked to learn her secret:
Many insomniac nights, Abby lay awake plagued with doubts, replaying the mistakes she made that day, wishing she’d said and done so many things differently.
Despite her incredible accomplishments, powerhouse personality, and serious intelligence, Abby suffered from something called Imposter Syndrome.
This is the story of a womxn who finally wrestled her Imposter Syndrome to the ground, how she did it, and the incredible ripple effects that it’s had in her life and the lives of those around her.
She feared being exposed as a fraud
When Abby decided it was time to confront her Imposter Syndrome, she didn’t yet know it had a name.
Every day sitting at work she thought to herself, “This is the day they bring me the box and tell me to put the contents of my desk in it.
This is the day they say, ‘We don’t know how you got here’”.
She feared being exposed as a fraud.
Abby’s anxieties were leaking into other aspects of her life.
Something had to give, and that’s when a trusted mentor pointed Abby to the 5-Day Imposter Cleanse. This free mini-course started Abby on a journey to speak her truth, get noticed at work, and bring her full self to the table.
During the 5 Day Imposter Cleanse, Abby experienced major breakthroughs that kicked off her journey to leaving her comfort zone and reaching for her professional dreams.
She knew it was time to go even deeper into the work, so she enrolled in the Career Breakthrough Bootcamp group coaching program and found herself welcomed into an authentic community of powerhouse womxn who were ready to show up with leadership presence, get noticed, and break through the glass ceiling.
Fueling her courage
Abby had already risen to an HR Management position and was responsible for multiple offices throughout the US.
She balanced her work travel with a difficult graduate program AND being a stellar mom to two young children as well.
There was no question in anyone’s mind - except her own - that Abby was capable of great things.
Through her willingness to dive deep and do the work in Career Breakthrough Bootcamp, Abby was able to access the parts of herself that fueled her courage and served her drive to be the best manager she can be.
Before you hear more about Abby’s success story, you might be saying “That worked for her, but it won’t work for me!”
One of the symptoms of Imposter Syndrome is believing that your own success is a fluke, and that other people must have something special about them that allows them to succeed.
But it’s crucial to remember that Abby found two success ingredients that anyone - you, too - can get access to!
Ingredient No. 1 was the deep work
She did the deep work, which was possible because she stopped trying to figure it out on her own.
In most organizations, there’s no outlet to get the support and encouragement to take your leadership to the next level.
Friends and family are wonderful to vent to and get a nice pep talk, but they don’t help make the meaningful internal shifts that drive massive change and growth.
Working with a professional coach guided her to the self-reflection she needed to defeat her impostor syndrome.
Ingredient No. 2 was the power of a coaching community
Within the group coaching space, Abby discovered a community of equally talented, ambitious womxn who were also plagued with the fear that any minute now, someone would “discover” that their success was just a stroke of luck.
According to Abby, one of the most powerful aspects of joining Bootcamp was the opportunity to get out the damaging echo chamber in her own mind, and immerse herself in a collective of womxn who were all dedicated to catapulting their careers.
The right coaching program and a meaningful community gave Abby the edge she needed for a massive transformation in her career.
If she can do it, so can you.
I wish I'd done this program 15 years ago!
Abby
There’s all these tightropes we have to walk our entire lives… we’ve always been told “follow the rules”... That you never have the opportunity to grow or spread your wings or figure out “What do I want?” Part of the thing of Liz’ program was it gave me an opportunity to voice out loud what I wanted. I knew in my head what I wanted, but I’d never voiced it to any person… if it’s in my head, only I know that I failed. Nobody else would know that I failed”
In Career Breakthrough Bootcamp, Abby began conquering her Imposter Syndrome by making subtle but important changes, with coaching from Liz and encouragement from her peers in the group.
She built resilience muscles around taking professional risks, and possibly hearing “no” if she put her neck on the line.
With her coach, she reframed the idea of “failure,” which set the foundation for speaking up, raising her hand, and getting a seat at the literal and proverbial professional tables that mattered.
During Bootcamp, Abby realized that the most important investment she could make, at this pivotal point in her career, was to conquer the Imposter Syndrome that was keeping her small and holding her back from the next level professional success she desired.
Abby’s ultimate courageous act was to speak a truth that had been on her heart for many years but she had never dared to say.
Because as long as she kept her professional dream to herself, she wouldn’t be risking public failure. She stayed silent about her career ambitions so if she didn’t make it to her dream, no one would know but her.
There was one huge issue though - if no one at work knew about her dream, then no one could help her get there.
She was at a crossroads - stay small, safe, and solo… or put herself out there and take a risk, making herself vulnerable but also giving herself the chance to play big.
Equally as important, she wanted to be a role model for her young children. An important parenting principle was giving them the space and grace to learn to be who they authentically are… but she wasn’t walking the talk.
Getting On the Fast Track
She took a proverbial deep breath and spoke her dream to her husband: “I want to be a director of HR”.
Next, she told some trusted colleagues, and finally her own boss and higher ups. The response? A resounding
“Of course! We all thought that’s exactly where you were headed. How can we support you?”
Far from her fear of finally being “found out” for her fraudulent success, Abby was supported, championed, and named a thought leader in her company!
Abby’s investment in the Career Breakthrough Bootcamp not only saved her $60K in another degree which would have put her YEARS behind in her career… it put her STRAIGHT on the path to her Career Breakthrough, and on track to seeing her professional dreams come true.
If she can confidently follow the direction of her dreams, so can you!
Ready to enroll in Bootcamp?
If you want to boost your energy, improve your workplace and shatter glass ceilings, you definitely want to join Bootcamp!