The Imposter Voice Isn’t What You Think
I’ve been thinking a lot about imposter syndrome recently, but before we get into that I’d like to welcome you to the first Monday Intention.
As a big fan of Kate van Akin’s Friday Pause, I appreciate the moment at the end of the week to reflect, and Kate’s writing is a wonderful reminder of a valuable practice. It’s that idea of practice, which is core to my work as a coach, and at the heart of this new series of articles.
Professional athletes have mastered the science of practice, getting up every single day, rain or shine, to practice their craft in the safety of the training space. That could be 400 of the same backhand over the net, running drills as a football, rugby or basketball team, or practice dives as a high diver.
George Leonard, in his book Mastery, describes two key benefits of this kind of dedicated, intentional practice. First, that by practicing in the training space, those skills become habitual, making them much easier to access in the moment of need: the heat and pressure of competition. Second, is that while 99.99% of those backhands might be entirely routine, every so often one of those backhands might be a surprise… in a good way. And it’s this moment of new awareness, of experiencing better, that helps the craft continue to improve.
Contrast this to how we behave in the business world. We might attend a training program or seminar once a year or two, but go to back work unchanged, telling ourselves that hard-won experience is all we need. I won’t diminish the benefits of experience, but without intentional practice, that can come at a cost: especially to leaders.
So, that’s the heart of Monday Intention: a reflection on a common challenge that many of us face, an offer of an “inversion”, a new way of exploring the challenge, and an intention: something we can practice as we step into the week ahead, bringing maybe some new lightness, or a newly developing skill.
Now, back to the imposter syndrome trap
I can’t deny, it’s been tugging at me recently as I step away from the safety net of a corporate role. There’s a voice telling me I’m not ready for this. Sometimes it asks whether I have what it takes to build my own business? Others it challenges my ability to sit opposite a client and create a transformational experience for them. And sometimes, quite simply it asks: Who am I to be doing this?
Rationally, I know I have everything I need, and supportive mentors to help me continue to grow. But emotionally, I can feel it deep in the pit of my stomach.
And I'm far from alone: a 2020 review of 62 studies in the Journal of General Internal Medicine found imposter syndrome prevalence ranging from under 1 in 10 to over 4 in 5, depending on how it's measured — some populations, it's close to universal.
The Inversion
Jim Dethmer, co-founder of the Conscious Leadership Group has a model I keep coming back to: almost everything we’re afraid of losing traces back to one of three core human needs: security, approval or control.
Not ready to run a business? Security. Challenging my ability? Control. Who am I to do this? Approval.
Here's what changes when you see it that way: you stop trying to answer the voice.
If you think the fear is really about your competence, you go looking for evidence you're competent. You rehearse, over-prepare, collect reassurance. It never quite lands, because the voice was never asking a question you could answer. It was a position you'd stepped into, not a fact about you.
There's a second shift underneath that one. The field of emotional intelligence has a phrase for it: emotions are data, not verdicts. A surge of fear isn't a ruling on whether you're good enough. It's information: a signal that something you value feels at risk. Fought or suppressed, it just gets louder. Read, it tells you something useful.
So the move isn't to win the argument with the voice, and it isn't to push the feeling away either. It's to notice which want is driving the seat you're sitting in — security, approval, or control — and ask what the feeling is actually pointing you toward.
The Intention
This week, when that voice shows up, don’t argue with it, and don’t shut it down. Get curious instead. Ask two questions:
Is this security, approval or control talking?
What is it telling me I need right now?
Naming the want turns a vague, heavy feeling into something specific. Reading it as data, instead of a verdict, turns "I'm not ready" into something you can actually work with.
Once you get comfortable with this practice, the final step comes more naturally. An answer to this last question: What’s the smallest next step I can take to move towards what I need?
About Monday Intentions
Monday Intention is a weekly reflection on the traps leaders fall into — a common challenge, an inversion that reframes it, and an intention to carry into the week ahead. It's practice, in the same spirit that keeps any craft sharp: small, repeated, deliberate.
Here's how to practice the intention:
Carry the intention with you. Keep this week's inversion somewhere close — a sticky note, a phone reminder, whatever keeps it in view.
Notice as you go. Through the day, catch the moments the trap shows up — don't judge it, just notice it.
Apply the intention, in the moment. When you catch it, run this week's practice right there. If that's too much, you can run the practice after the moment in Step 4.
Take 5 minutes each evening. Ask: where did I notice the trap today? Did I catch it in time to apply the intention — and what happened when I did?
Watch the pattern build. By Friday, you'll likely notice it more often, and catch it sooner each time.
I'm Maya Harris, founder of Inversion Leadership. I coach leaders 1:1 and facilitate leadership development programmes — helping people rise above the noise and pressure long enough to see clearly, and lead differently because of it.
If this week's reflection struck a chord, I'd love to talk: Book a call