EP20: Mission Possible: Fight Imposter Syndrome with Julia Korn

“What do Michelle Obama, Sheryl Sandberg, and potentially you all have in common? Imposter syndrome,” begins Karin Reed. She’s joined by Julia Korn, founder and CEO of The Authenticity Guide, to dive into how widespread imposter syndrome truly is—impacting 70% of people across all demographics. It’s a universal feeling, and Julia explains that—contrary to popular belief—imposter syndrome is not exclusive to women. This misconception arises from the term’s origins in a study conducted at an all-female university in the 1970s, which led to the mistaken belief that it predominantly affects women.

 

Karin and Julia talk about how increased self-awareness can sometimes make imposter syndrome worse that causes us to doubt our abilities even more. Julia offers practical tips for navigating these feelings, highlighting the power of vulnerability and taking small steps to build confidence. How can you embrace these moments of self-doubt and turn them into opportunities for growth? This episode encourages listeners to embrace imposter syndrome and turn it into a tool for building confidence through self-affirmation and solid preparation. Tune in to gain practical, useful strategies to foster authenticity and confidence in your professional life.

 

Quotes

• “Imposter syndrome goes beyond just a lack of confidence. It really is this deep feeling of phoniness, of feeling like you’re faking it, and of feeling unintelligent or incapable, despite evidence of high achievement. You might find that you’re highly motivated to achieve and have a lot of history of doing really well, but you still have this fear of being exposed as a fraud.” (01:43 | Julia Korn)
• “I think the biggest preface that comes to mind with imposter syndrome and speaking is, “Who am I to…?” Who am I to get on stage in front of all these people and tell this story? Who am I to command the attention of all these people? I’m ordinary. I’m just me. We tend to really discount the power that our own voice and our own stories have.” (10:50 | Julia Korn) 
• “Imposter syndrome loves shame; that’s its breeding ground. It loves secrecy. Feelings of imposter syndrome will grow when you keep them as a deep, dark secret and feel like you’re the only one suffering from them…. The thing that the data shows works the most is actually the simplest: getting vulnerable and simply talking about it.” (17:08 | Julia Korn)
• “The question I get most often from clients is, ‘How do I build confidence?’ I want to give your listeners a little answer: don’t wait for confidence to come to act. Engage in small, scary, risky things now. Watch your confidence increase just a little bit, and let that lead to the next small risk. Think of confidence as a staircase that builds over time, like a muscle, versus a binary state of ‘I have it’ or ‘I don’t have it.’” (21:59 | Julia Korn) 

 

Links

Connect with Julia Korn:

Website: www.theauthenticityguide.com

Emerging Leader Collective Application: https://4mlz9tjnoss.typeform.com/to/eyTYdtxp?typeform-source=www.theauthenticityguide.com

Connect with Karin Reed:

Website: www.speakerdynamics.com

Speaker Dynamics University: https://university.speakerdynamics.com/

Speaker Dynamics on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speakerdynamics/

Karin Reed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karin-reed/

Podcast production and