🎙️ Driving Vision Podcast – Conquering Impostor Syndrome with Ariah Daniels & Sheri Teodoro
Show Notes – Episode Title: “You Belong Here”
This week on The Driving Vision Podcast, we dive into one of the most universally felt, rarely discussed challenges in personal and professional growth: Impostor Syndrome.
Joining host Sam D’Arc are two powerful Zeigler leaders—Ariah Daniels and Sheri Teodoro—who led a vulnerable, empowering conversation as part of our Women Leaders at the ZAG series. Their session sparked real talk about self-doubt, confidence, preparation, mentorship, and what it truly means to own your seat at the table.
Whether you’re new in your role, a seasoned pro, or somewhere in between—this episode will challenge and inspire you.
🔑 Episode Highlights
- What is Impostor Syndrome? Sherry defines the inner dialogue that can follow even our biggest wins.
- Why we all feel it—and how to beat it: Childhood triggers, past failures, and perfectionism… and the tools to overcome them.
- Preparation vs. Doing Hard Things: Ariah shares why tackling hard challenges—even unprepared—builds confidence and resilience.
- The Power of Relationships: Feedback lands better—and lifts us higher—when it comes from trusted people in your circle.
- Owning Your Strengths: Everyone has natural leadership qualities—learning to lean into them is the key to influence and confidence.
- Sheri’s Jim Craig Journey: From terrified to triumphant—how she turned a moment of intense doubt into a defining breakthrough.
- Culture That Builds Confidence: Zeigler’s commitment to personal development, leadership training, and inclusion gives everyone a chance to grow.
- You Belong Here: Ariah’s open invitation to every woman in the ZAG family: “You have a seat at the table. And we want to hear your voice.”
đź’¬ Favorite Quotes:
“When you break through that is when you can conquer some of this impostor syndrome we're talking about.” – Ariah Daniels“Even if you've achieved success, impostor syndrome whispers, 'Are you really good enough?'” – Sherry Teodoro“Part of preparation is practicing doing hard things.” – Sam D’Arc“You deserve a seat at this table—and we can’t wait to learn from you.” – Ariah Daniels🎧 Listen Now
Whether you're driving between rooftops or leading your next team meeting, this episode is a reminder that growth lives just outside your comfort zone.
đź”— Tune in to The Driving Vision Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen
🛠️ Get Involved:
Interested in joining the Women Leaders at the ZAG series? Know someone who should? Reach out to Ariah Daniels or ask any participating team member to get on the invite list for the next session this September.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Ariah Daniels (00:03):
I think just innately some of those things
come from our own experiences orfear or lack of self confidence.
And when you break through thatis when you can conquer some of
this impostor syndrome we'retalking about.
Sam DArc (00:15):
Hey, everybody. Thanks for joining us for another
episode of the driving visionpodcast. Last week, here at the
Ziggler Auto Group, our womenleaders at the ZAG series
featured a phenomenal session onconquering impostor syndrome.
Two remarkable leaders, AriaDaniels and Sherry Theodora, led
the charge in a powerful,vulnerable, and real
conversation about what it meansto own your seat at the table
(00:37):
even when that little voiceinside might be saying
otherwise. Whether you're new inyour role, a seasoned leader, or
anywhere in between, whether inautomotive or outside, this
conversation will resonate.
Let's turn to Aria Daniels andSherry Theodora for a
conversation after the session.Hey, everybody. Welcome to the
special edition of the drivingvision future of Zach today
(00:58):
podcast. And back with us todayis a face we see often, Ariah
Daniels. Welcome to the show.
Ariah Daniels (01:03):
Hello. Thanks for having me, Sam.
Sam DArc (01:05):
And we also have Sherry Tiodoro. Sherry, welcome.
Hi. So, Ariah, this week, youheld the latest episode or the
latest class of women leaders atthe ZAG. What the heck is that,
and why do we have a classcalled back
Ariah Daniels (01:19):
for women thanks, Sam. So our women leaders of the
ZAG is a group that we createdlast year, actually. So we've
been rolling this for about ayear and a half or so. And we
initially started this group asa way for female leaders inside
the organization to get togetherto educate each other, inspire,
share experiences that we've hadin both life and business, and
(01:43):
ultimately just to support eachother and help each other grow.
So this week, we actually had acall on conquering impostor
syndrome that, our dearestSherry Tiodoro was able to share
with our group.
So I'm really excited to diveinto some of the big takeaways
today that we took from thiscall and all left just feeling
(02:06):
so much more inspired, toconquer some self doubt that we
all carry.
Sam DArc (02:10):
Conquering impostor syndrome. Sherry, what is
impostor syndrome? What is that?
Sheri Teodoro (02:15):
So pretty much, it's the feeling of self doubt,
inadequacies, feeling like youare not good enough, you don't
deserve the position that you'rein. Even though you've proven
success or achieved awards, it'sjust that feeling that you are
not good enough.
Sam DArc (02:31):
Where does that feeling come from? Because I
think, you know, it'sinteresting in business.
Evolution or becoming better ortaking different roles, it
involves a level of steppinginto the darkness of the unknown
of, like, can I really do allthis a little bit and doing
those things that you'veprepared for, but you're not
nobody's ever fully ready forthat next role? Right? So so
(02:55):
what what is what is that, andwhere does it come from, this
feeling of impostor syndrome,Sherry?
Sheri Teodoro (02:59):
I feel that it comes from something that
happened in your childhood orearly adult ages where a
situation where you wereembarrassed or someone made you
feel not not good enough. It'slike a trigger in your brain
that it just makes you feel likethis all the time. So I feel
like everyone sort of has thisfeeling. It's just the way that
(03:20):
you handle it and deal with itthat you can overcome it.
Sam DArc (03:23):
Interesting. Are bet do better leaders handle that
feeling better than others?Like, it seems to me if
everybody has recognize it. Ican correlate with it. Like,
what's the delta there, Araya?
Maybe give us some perspective.Like, is there a diff are there
better ways
Ariah Daniels (03:39):
of doing? Because that was that was probably one
of the biggest takeaways that weall had yesterday is that
reading through the responses.So in the beginning of these
calls, we we send out questionsjust to help everyone to do some
reflection on the topic at hand.And one of the questions was
basically, have you dealt withimpostor syndrome? Are you
(04:00):
confident or comfortable, or doyou feel like you have a little
bit more self doubt in your roleor just in business in general?
And every single person'sresponse had something to do
with there are times that I havedefinitely doubted myself. So
this isn't just to say that, youknow, one person or myself or
you or Sherry deals with it. Itis like a universal feeling.
(04:22):
Like, for whatever reason, thereare times that we step into
things and we just sometimesquestion ourselves and we go
down this rabbit hole ofwondering if we're worthy or
capable of doing something. AndI think to Sherry's point,
there's been a lot of researchdone that some of that stems
from past experiences shapedperceptions of what we've we've
(04:43):
gone through in life.
And some of that's childhoodtrauma and just different things
that lead us to believe thatwhen we're in those situations
that, like, oh gosh, am I reallycapable of this? And you start
to doubt yourself. So, yeah,it's kind of a universal thing.
Sam DArc (04:57):
Is part of a leadership role, like, helping
others kinda get through it,develop through it, get to the
other side of it?
Ariah Daniels (05:04):
Oh, yeah. Absolutely. And that was a big
portion of the call that we hadyesterday was just talking
through, first of all, thefeelings that we face in certain
instances where we do feel thosethings and then the tools that
we can use to overcome andconquer those feelings. And that
was a big part of theconversation yesterday.
Sam DArc (05:24):
So, Sherry, how many were on that call yesterday? And
then and and then you, Sherry,and then Araya, what are some of
the common symptoms or signs ofpeople who are experiencing
impostor syndrome even if theythemselves don't recognize it?
Sherry.
Sheri Teodoro (05:39):
There are probably about 20 to 25 women on
that call yesterday. So quite afew. Mhmm. It was yeah. Good
turnout.
We love that. And I feel like alot of the commonalities are not
being prepared. So if you'regoing into something, I feel
like you should know the topicthat's being discussed. You
(06:00):
should be prepared before goingin. And I feel like surrounding
yourself with the right peopleand having the relationships
with the correct people willreally help your build your self
confidence in going intosomething that you're scared of.
Ariah Daniels (06:16):
Yeah. And another point too is just constantly
having the mindset to learn andreceive feedback on things. So
there was an interestingcorrelation between part of the
conversation to Sherry's pointabout having a good relationship
with the people that are aroundyou when you are trying to
deliver something or, you'reshowing up to give a speech in
(06:36):
front of someone. Right? Like,or giving feedback to someone.
Most of the time, it's easierfor us to receive and give
feedback to a person that wehave a better relationship with
because then we see it as like,okay. This is a coaching
opportunity instead of maybetaking it critically and then
feeling worse about ourself andhaving more self doubt. So the
(06:58):
relationship piece was somethingthat came up yesterday, which I
thought was just so profound totalk about, in in being able to
conquer that impostor syndrome.It's just having good
relationships with the peoplethat you surround yourself with.
Sam DArc (07:11):
So I wanna ask more about relationships, and I wanna
ask about the be prepared piecebecause it's interesting to me.
When you say be prepared, beforewe go into relationships, when
you say preparation, it seems tome like part of impostor
syndrome might be that you can'tbe prepared. Right? Like, there
are moments in our life, in ourwork where even after we've
(07:31):
prepared all we can, like, youcan't prepare adequately for
everything. We go into somesituations unprepared.
I guess throwing that out there.I don't know if you guys have
any thoughts
Ariah Daniels (07:43):
on that. I have, you know, I have something to
kinda rebuttal that. And Okay.You know, so preparation, of
course, is a huge part of it.Right?
If you go into somethingcompletely unprepared, you're
gonna immediately doubt yourcapability to show up in
complete x y z. Right? But Yeah.So I'm a huge believer in doing
hard things and doing hardthings a lot so that when you
(08:04):
continue to keep checking thebox to say, oh, I did that. I
did that.
I did that thing. Even if Iwasn't truly prepared, like, I
knew I got through it, and thathelps callous your mind to know
that you can show up maybe evena little unprepared and not have
those feelings of self doubt. SoI've always believed that that
no matter what, yes, it's goodto prepare. But the more that
(08:25):
you show up to do things thatmaybe you're a little bit
challenging or that you thinkyou have some self doubt on,
showing up and conquering andgetting through that helps
diminish those fears even more.
Sam DArc (08:36):
So can I just restate that? So part of being prepared
is practicing doing hard things.And even if we're in a situation
where we're not prepared, itgives us a reflex that allows us
to handle that. Right?
Ariah Daniels (08:48):
I totally agree. Yep.
Sam DArc (08:49):
Can you can you think of an example of that that came
up in class or that came up onthe call or in life?
Ariah Daniels (08:55):
I'm gonna pick on Carol Lee actually, Carol Lee
and Jessica both talked aboutthe relationship piece or being
prepared for certain things. ButI think just in general, when
Caroline talked about constantlyand continuously improving and,
you know, she's a servicemanager for, for our Lafayette
store and just doing hardthings, maybe having tough
(09:17):
conversations with other peopleon her team that she helps
oversee, the more and more thatshe's done those things helps
her learn how to to deal withthem moving forward. So she's
done done more of those and hadthose hard conversations. And
the more that she does that, themore comfortable she feels about
having them. Kinda similar toJessica's response too about the
(09:39):
relationship piece, which was agood correlation.
Sheri Teodoro (09:41):
Yeah. And on the other side of that too, if I can
add that we all agreed that wedon't know everything. We are
never gonna know everything, andwe're always continuously
learning. So if you come into asituation where you aren't
prepared or fully understandingof the topic, you may have some
failure, but that's okay. Like,we are all going to be okay, and
(10:03):
we're gonna learn from that.
So just take it as a growthopportunity to when you maybe
feel like you didn't do yourbest, and just move on from
there, and you'll be good.
Sam DArc (10:15):
What is it about human nature that, like, we're we
wanna be perfect at everythingwe do. We wanna just show up in
the, you know, perfect shirt,fully prepared, execute 10 out
of 10 every day, but there's nogrowth in that. Right? Like,
what is it about the humanexperience where we want
perfection? But at the end ofthe day, we're not built for
perfection.
We're built to hit our head andget back up, and that's growth.
(10:39):
Like Mhmm. From physical fitnessall the way up. What Mhmm. What
is that paradox?
Ariah Daniels (10:44):
It's a little psychology. You know? I I think
we're our own worst criticsometimes, and we fear maybe
what others think of us or wefear of failure. We we feel, you
know, being embarrassed in frontof our peers or whatever it
might be. But I think so much ofthat is in building your self
confidence.
And one of the questions that wehad yesterday was about kind of
(11:08):
authenticity and thinking aboutwhen have you not been yourself
or have you hidden your trueself out of fear of judgment
from others? And then we talkedabout some of those triggers.
And I loved we have to share,Sherry. Cheryl. Cheryl
Prociones, her answer was soawesome because she stated in
(11:28):
one of her answers basicallylike, hey.
Personally, I've always knownwho I am. It was really
instilled at me at a young ageby my mother. And she basically
said, if you don't like me or ifyou don't like it, then you can
blank blank. I'm like, oh, thatyou know, it's just like but
yeah. The the f word and you.
So she, it was just it wasfunny. Like, you know, we we
(11:50):
laughed about it and had achuckle, but that's just so
Cheryl. And that's definitelygoes to show Cheryl's leadership
and who she is. She just ownsfully who she is. And she, you
know, she said this.
Sometimes she can be a littletoo direct, and sometimes people
don't like that, but she knowsshe's that way. And she so she's
never hidden that part ofherself. And I just I just so
appreciated that. I think justinnately some of those things
(12:12):
come from our own experiences orfear or lack of self confidence.
And when you break through thatis when you can conquer some of
this impostor syndrome we'retalking about.
Sam DArc (12:21):
Interesting.
Sheri Teodoro (12:22):
No, I agree also. I mean, sometimes we all strive
to be more like Cheryl and we'vetold her that too. But yeah,
there are those times that youjust kinda have to not be
yourself to fit in. And I don'tknow if that's a good thing or a
bad thing. Like, she used theexample of she's going to wear a
(12:43):
dress, like, at a fancy dinner.
That's not her, but she's gonnado it to fit in, and that's okay
too.
Sam DArc (12:49):
So it's interesting. That was one of my questions is
what are a few practical toolsor strategies that women in our
organization, but really anyonecan use to push through these
moments of self doubt? And itseems to me, Araya, you gave one
with practicing tough doingtough things. And then and and
then Sherry, Araya gave another,which is who's your mentor? Who
(13:09):
do you look to as someone whohas that level of confidence
that you can emulate, replicate,and grow towards?
Cheryl's a great one. Are thereany other great mentors within
the Ziegler Auto Group that showthat? Not necessarily just
toughness, but they handle thatself doubt well and help others
grow through it.
Sheri Teodoro (13:26):
I think Araya is for sure one for me.
Sam DArc (13:29):
I love that.
Ariah Daniels (13:30):
Yes. Thank you, Sherry. Thank you. It's
definitely something that Icontinue to work on. And I
still, at times, doubt myself.
Right? And I think that just tothe point of being universal, no
matter just different situationswe get into ourselves, sometimes
we get into our own head andsay, oh, am I really capable of
doing this, or do I really havewhat it takes? You know? Yeah.
But it that just, like, to mypoint before, because I I really
(13:54):
try to focus myself on doinghard things, because I know that
mentally builds my selfconfidence.
The more I do those things, themore it calluses my mind. So but
to another point, to answer yourquestion, Sam, and this really
relates to question number threethat we had yesterday was, what
do you believe are your naturalstrengths as a leader, and how
can you leverage them to becomemore influential and inspiring?
(14:17):
So Yeah. To that question andall of the responses, everyone
shared just different traitsthat they have as a leader or
what their strengths were andleaning into those in order to
conquer impostor syndrome andhelp others also get out of
that. So I thought that was sucha great point too.
Sherry, did did you haveanything about question three or
(14:39):
just that conversation we hadabout the strengths portion?
Sheri Teodoro (14:42):
Yeah. Just knowing your own strengths can
really help you, develop as aleader and just give you more
self confidence. Just play onyour strengths. Use use them as
leverage to help your team outand grow your team and yourself.
Ariah Daniels (14:57):
Yeah. Yeah. For sure.
Sam DArc (14:59):
As we're talking about all this and I think about women
leaders at the ZAGG and I thinkabout different classes and
initiatives and things we do,and I think about those
strategies to overcome selfdoubt, how does the Ziegler
culture, in particular, youthink about our drive statement,
you think about our missionstatement, you think about all
the things that we dorepetitively, How does that
culture help foster theconfidence and growth for
(15:19):
emerging women and everyoneacross the auto group?
Sheri Teodoro (15:22):
When we were purchased by Ziegler Automotive
Group, I've never had any sortof employer or automotive group
that would help develop yourpersonal strengths or even
invest in in their employees foranything. So all these training
classes are a tremendous help.Going to them as much as you can
(15:43):
will really help you practice,face your fears, have you speak
in front of people. It's justbeen a tremendous help for me.
Sam DArc (15:52):
So Sherry, Araya, before you share, this is almost
an advertisement here a littlebit, but I'm baffled. And I know
Araya, we talk about this a lot.There are so many opportunities
here at Ziegler for selfdevelopment, for growth, for
leadership. I mean, you'restanding in a room with a
national treasure, Jim Craig.Right?
He's the goalie. And, you know,we all talk about how hard
(16:12):
something like that is, but thehard builds character and
growth. And there are all sortsof opportunities like that. The
biggest miss, it feels like tome as a Ziggler employee, is to
not go to those. It's to notengage, not participate.
And you know what? Candidly, ifyou're that sort of person,
you're probably not evenlistening to this podcast, so
the message is on deaf ears. ButI'm shocked at how many people
(16:35):
just don't engage, and it's ashame.
Ariah Daniels (16:37):
You know, Sherry should share her testimony of
going to her very first JimCraig workshop.
Sam DArc (16:43):
They're terrifying.
Ariah Daniels (16:44):
To see her growth now, to see where she is now is
just exactly why we do what wedo. Right? It's exactly why
Sam DArc (16:53):
we do. Give it to us. Yeah.
Sheri Teodoro (16:54):
So my very first, feeling of impostor syndrome
that I really knew what what itwas was my first Jim Craig
workshop. I had no idea what toexpect. I didn't know who Jim
Craig was. I just thought it wasgoing to be us sitting there. He
was gonna teach us teach usthings, and we would take notes.
But I soon realized that was notthe case. And I walked into the
(17:17):
room, and they were all, men insuits looking very important. I
didn't know anybody. And I soonfelt very small. I felt
unprepared.
I didn't know what to expect orwhat was going on. And I just
really wanted to find any way toget out of that room as fast as
I can. I mean that was myimposter syndrome just kind of
(17:39):
like taking over control of me.But I went through it. I didn't
run.
I faced my fears and the it wentfine. I then learned on my next
gym card workshop, I knew whatto expect. I was very prepared
about the topic when I went inthere. And just knowing all that
helped me build my selfconfidence. I was more calm.
(18:01):
I actually won a jersey thatday, which I was super proud of.
And just having thataccomplishment just builds your
self confidence and grows fromthere. And then I ended up
leaving a Jim Craig Hall, whichI don't even know how, but
that's just the growth thatjourney took me on.
Sam DArc (18:16):
So, Araya, it's interesting. That is exactly the
reason why more people withinthe auto group should get
involved and engaged. What's theobstacle? Why does it if if
Sherry can, experience suchgrowth, confidence, and overcome
that self, kind of doubt, whydon't more more people take
advantage of it?
Ariah Daniels (18:36):
Yeah. You know? And I guess just to piggyback
really quick because SherryYeah. Went through this
workshop, and then she did theJim Craig call. So she led a Jim
Craig call.
She led our women's group callyesterday. So going through
those things that were hard, shefelt more comfortable yesterday
showing up to lead this callbecause she's done the things
(18:58):
that she knows aren't hard. Andso I think that's such a a great
testament to her story and justwanted to really hit that home
and share that piece. But Ithink there's times that people
don't, a, know what they don'tknow. And they're you know, I I
feel like we do a pretty danggood job about sending out all
the the different things thatare available to anyone and
(19:19):
everyone.
And I think sometimes peoplepeople might say, oh, I just am
so busy. I don't have the timeor whatever. And ultimately,
it's gotta be a sacrifice youmake to know that it's an
investment in yourself. You'vegot to make and schedule the
time for your own self growth sothat you You gotta own it. Yeah.
So that you can just pour intoeveryone else. Yeah. So I think
(19:40):
some of it is, you know, wecould say all the excuses, but I
think it's an just anaccountability. Right? Like,
we've gotta hold ourselvesaccountable to know I can attend
these things.
I've gotta make time for them.If I wanna continue to see
growth in myself, it's somethingthat you've got to take hold of
and own. So, yeah, absolutely. Ithink that's the biggest piece.
Sam DArc (20:01):
Well, it's very cool as we think about this class,
women leaders at the ZAG, thatyou've showed the leadership to
bring this group together. Ithink that's awesome. It's gonna
be fun to continue to follow thetrajectory of this class and see
the strength and development ofthose who are involved in this
because I think we're gonna seea lot more success stories.
(20:22):
What's next for the women'sleader at Ziegler series? What
are the topics coming up next?
Ariah Daniels (20:27):
So we don't know. We usually end a call, and then
it's next day. Today is when Ikinda start thinking about
what's our next topic. And sowe'll meet again in September,
but I typically wait a few daysto see if anyone raises their
hand to wanna bring a topic. Andalmost always, I try to just
challenge the group out there tosay, hey, is there a topic about
(20:50):
or inspired to wanna share withour group?
And then we just help build thatcontent out. So we don't have it
yet, but it there is one coming,and we'll meet sometime in
September.
Sam DArc (21:01):
So if if anyone wants to get involved, they reach out
to you and and they can getengaged, get
Ariah Daniels (21:06):
involved for you. Talk to another female that you
know that is, on these calls,and we'll just add you to our
email distribution list and getyou rolling, on the
communication so that you don'tmiss the next one.
Sam DArc (21:17):
As a recap to this incredible conversation,
Sherry's having a little bit ofa technical issues. Otherwise,
she'd come back in. But whatwould you say, Araiyah, to any
women at the ZAG at any woman atat the Ziglar Auto Group who
feels like she doesn't quitebelong at the table despite
earning her seat after thissession.
Ariah Daniels (21:33):
I don't like hearing that. So in you know,
it's funny because in mystrengths answer that we had
answered on our questionsyesterday, one of my strengths
that I I'm most proud of isbeing an. And I don't know where
it comes from, but I've I'vealways wanted to help others
feel included and feel valuedand feel seen and heard. And no
(21:53):
matter where you come from, nomatter what stage of your role
that you're in or you juststarted with us or if you've
been with us for twenty years,you deserve a a seat at this
table with us and to learn fromothers, but also that we can
learn from you. So, that is anopen invitation to anyone
inside, our organization to comebe a part of these calls.
Sam DArc (22:13):
Alright. Alright. Daniel, Sherry, Theodora, we
appreciate you both being on theshow. Thanks for sharing your
perspectives, and thanks forcontinuing to lead at the Ziglar
Auto Group both through theseclasses and the other things
that you do. So thanks for beingon the show.
Ariah Daniels (22:25):
Yeah. Thank you.
Sam DArc (22:28):
To Arai and Sherry, thank you for being bold,
honest, and empowering. That'swhat leadership looks like at
Ziglar. To our driving visionpodcast fans, thanks for tuning
in, and we'll see you nextepisode. Until next week, how
are you driving vision today?
I think just innately some of those things
come from our own experiences orfear or lack of self confidence.
And when you break through thatis when you can conquer some of
this impostor syndrome we'retalking about.
Sam DArc (00:15):
Hey, everybody. Thanks for joining us for another
episode of the driving visionpodcast. Last week, here at the
Ziggler Auto Group, our womenleaders at the ZAG series
featured a phenomenal session onconquering impostor syndrome.
Two remarkable leaders, AriaDaniels and Sherry Theodora, led
the charge in a powerful,vulnerable, and real
conversation about what it meansto own your seat at the table
(00:37):
even when that little voiceinside might be saying
otherwise. Whether you're new inyour role, a seasoned leader, or
anywhere in between, whether inautomotive or outside, this
conversation will resonate.
Let's turn to Aria Daniels andSherry Theodora for a
conversation after the session.Hey, everybody. Welcome to the
special edition of the drivingvision future of Zach today
(00:58):
podcast. And back with us todayis a face we see often, Ariah
Daniels. Welcome to the show.
Ariah Daniels (01:03):
Hello. Thanks for having me, Sam.
Sam DArc (01:05):
And we also have Sherry Tiodoro. Sherry, welcome.
Hi. So, Ariah, this week, youheld the latest episode or the
latest class of women leaders atthe ZAG. What the heck is that,
and why do we have a classcalled back
Ariah Daniels (01:19):
for women thanks, Sam. So our women leaders of the
ZAG is a group that we createdlast year, actually. So we've
been rolling this for about ayear and a half or so. And we
initially started this group asa way for female leaders inside
the organization to get togetherto educate each other, inspire,
share experiences that we've hadin both life and business, and
(01:43):
ultimately just to support eachother and help each other grow.
So this week, we actually had acall on conquering impostor
syndrome that, our dearestSherry Tiodoro was able to share
with our group.
So I'm really excited to diveinto some of the big takeaways
today that we took from thiscall and all left just feeling
(02:06):
so much more inspired, toconquer some self doubt that we
all carry.
Sam DArc (02:10):
Conquering impostor syndrome. Sherry, what is
impostor syndrome? What is that?
Sheri Teodoro (02:15):
So pretty much, it's the feeling of self doubt,
inadequacies, feeling like youare not good enough, you don't
deserve the position that you'rein. Even though you've proven
success or achieved awards, it'sjust that feeling that you are
not good enough.
Sam DArc (02:31):
Where does that feeling come from? Because I
think, you know, it'sinteresting in business.
Evolution or becoming better ortaking different roles, it
involves a level of steppinginto the darkness of the unknown
of, like, can I really do allthis a little bit and doing
those things that you'veprepared for, but you're not
nobody's ever fully ready forthat next role? Right? So so
(02:55):
what what is what is that, andwhere does it come from, this
feeling of impostor syndrome,Sherry?
Sheri Teodoro (02:59):
I feel that it comes from something that
happened in your childhood orearly adult ages where a
situation where you wereembarrassed or someone made you
feel not not good enough. It'slike a trigger in your brain
that it just makes you feel likethis all the time. So I feel
like everyone sort of has thisfeeling. It's just the way that
(03:20):
you handle it and deal with itthat you can overcome it.
Sam DArc (03:23):
Interesting. Are bet do better leaders handle that
feeling better than others?Like, it seems to me if
everybody has recognize it. Ican correlate with it. Like,
what's the delta there, Araya?
Maybe give us some perspective.Like, is there a diff are there
better ways
Ariah Daniels (03:39):
of doing? Because that was that was probably one
of the biggest takeaways that weall had yesterday is that
reading through the responses.So in the beginning of these
calls, we we send out questionsjust to help everyone to do some
reflection on the topic at hand.And one of the questions was
basically, have you dealt withimpostor syndrome? Are you
(04:00):
confident or comfortable, or doyou feel like you have a little
bit more self doubt in your roleor just in business in general?
And every single person'sresponse had something to do
with there are times that I havedefinitely doubted myself. So
this isn't just to say that, youknow, one person or myself or
you or Sherry deals with it. Itis like a universal feeling.
(04:22):
Like, for whatever reason, thereare times that we step into
things and we just sometimesquestion ourselves and we go
down this rabbit hole ofwondering if we're worthy or
capable of doing something. AndI think to Sherry's point,
there's been a lot of researchdone that some of that stems
from past experiences shapedperceptions of what we've we've
(04:43):
gone through in life.
And some of that's childhoodtrauma and just different things
that lead us to believe thatwhen we're in those situations
that, like, oh gosh, am I reallycapable of this? And you start
to doubt yourself. So, yeah,it's kind of a universal thing.
Sam DArc (04:57):
Is part of a leadership role, like, helping
others kinda get through it,develop through it, get to the
other side of it?
Ariah Daniels (05:04):
Oh, yeah. Absolutely. And that was a big
portion of the call that we hadyesterday was just talking
through, first of all, thefeelings that we face in certain
instances where we do feel thosethings and then the tools that
we can use to overcome andconquer those feelings. And that
was a big part of theconversation yesterday.
Sam DArc (05:24):
So, Sherry, how many were on that call yesterday? And
then and and then you, Sherry,and then Araya, what are some of
the common symptoms or signs ofpeople who are experiencing
impostor syndrome even if theythemselves don't recognize it?
Sherry.
Sheri Teodoro (05:39):
There are probably about 20 to 25 women on
that call yesterday. So quite afew. Mhmm. It was yeah. Good
turnout.
We love that. And I feel like alot of the commonalities are not
being prepared. So if you'regoing into something, I feel
like you should know the topicthat's being discussed. You
(06:00):
should be prepared before goingin. And I feel like surrounding
yourself with the right peopleand having the relationships
with the correct people willreally help your build your self
confidence in going intosomething that you're scared of.
Ariah Daniels (06:16):
Yeah. And another point too is just constantly
having the mindset to learn andreceive feedback on things. So
there was an interestingcorrelation between part of the
conversation to Sherry's pointabout having a good relationship
with the people that are aroundyou when you are trying to
deliver something or, you'reshowing up to give a speech in
(06:36):
front of someone. Right? Like,or giving feedback to someone.
Most of the time, it's easierfor us to receive and give
feedback to a person that wehave a better relationship with
because then we see it as like,okay. This is a coaching
opportunity instead of maybetaking it critically and then
feeling worse about ourself andhaving more self doubt. So the
(06:58):
relationship piece was somethingthat came up yesterday, which I
thought was just so profound totalk about, in in being able to
conquer that impostor syndrome.It's just having good
relationships with the peoplethat you surround yourself with.
Sam DArc (07:11):
So I wanna ask more about relationships, and I wanna
ask about the be prepared piecebecause it's interesting to me.
When you say be prepared, beforewe go into relationships, when
you say preparation, it seems tome like part of impostor
syndrome might be that you can'tbe prepared. Right? Like, there
are moments in our life, in ourwork where even after we've
(07:31):
prepared all we can, like, youcan't prepare adequately for
everything. We go into somesituations unprepared.
I guess throwing that out there.I don't know if you guys have
any thoughts
Ariah Daniels (07:43):
on that. I have, you know, I have something to
kinda rebuttal that. And Okay.You know, so preparation, of
course, is a huge part of it.Right?
If you go into somethingcompletely unprepared, you're
gonna immediately doubt yourcapability to show up in
complete x y z. Right? But Yeah.So I'm a huge believer in doing
hard things and doing hardthings a lot so that when you
(08:04):
continue to keep checking thebox to say, oh, I did that. I
did that.
I did that thing. Even if Iwasn't truly prepared, like, I
knew I got through it, and thathelps callous your mind to know
that you can show up maybe evena little unprepared and not have
those feelings of self doubt. SoI've always believed that that
no matter what, yes, it's goodto prepare. But the more that
(08:25):
you show up to do things thatmaybe you're a little bit
challenging or that you thinkyou have some self doubt on,
showing up and conquering andgetting through that helps
diminish those fears even more.
Sam DArc (08:36):
So can I just restate that? So part of being prepared
is practicing doing hard things.And even if we're in a situation
where we're not prepared, itgives us a reflex that allows us
to handle that. Right?
Ariah Daniels (08:48):
I totally agree. Yep.
Sam DArc (08:49):
Can you can you think of an example of that that came
up in class or that came up onthe call or in life?
Ariah Daniels (08:55):
I'm gonna pick on Carol Lee actually, Carol Lee
and Jessica both talked aboutthe relationship piece or being
prepared for certain things. ButI think just in general, when
Caroline talked about constantlyand continuously improving and,
you know, she's a servicemanager for, for our Lafayette
store and just doing hardthings, maybe having tough
(09:17):
conversations with other peopleon her team that she helps
oversee, the more and more thatshe's done those things helps
her learn how to to deal withthem moving forward. So she's
done done more of those and hadthose hard conversations. And
the more that she does that, themore comfortable she feels about
having them. Kinda similar toJessica's response too about the
(09:39):
relationship piece, which was agood correlation.
Sheri Teodoro (09:41):
Yeah. And on the other side of that too, if I can
add that we all agreed that wedon't know everything. We are
never gonna know everything, andwe're always continuously
learning. So if you come into asituation where you aren't
prepared or fully understandingof the topic, you may have some
failure, but that's okay. Like,we are all going to be okay, and
(10:03):
we're gonna learn from that.
So just take it as a growthopportunity to when you maybe
feel like you didn't do yourbest, and just move on from
there, and you'll be good.
Sam DArc (10:15):
What is it about human nature that, like, we're we
wanna be perfect at everythingwe do. We wanna just show up in
the, you know, perfect shirt,fully prepared, execute 10 out
of 10 every day, but there's nogrowth in that. Right? Like,
what is it about the humanexperience where we want
perfection? But at the end ofthe day, we're not built for
perfection.
We're built to hit our head andget back up, and that's growth.
(10:39):
Like Mhmm. From physical fitnessall the way up. What Mhmm. What
is that paradox?
Ariah Daniels (10:44):
It's a little psychology. You know? I I think
we're our own worst criticsometimes, and we fear maybe
what others think of us or wefear of failure. We we feel, you
know, being embarrassed in frontof our peers or whatever it
might be. But I think so much ofthat is in building your self
confidence.
And one of the questions that wehad yesterday was about kind of
(11:08):
authenticity and thinking aboutwhen have you not been yourself
or have you hidden your trueself out of fear of judgment
from others? And then we talkedabout some of those triggers.
And I loved we have to share,Sherry. Cheryl. Cheryl
Prociones, her answer was soawesome because she stated in
(11:28):
one of her answers basicallylike, hey.
Personally, I've always knownwho I am. It was really
instilled at me at a young ageby my mother. And she basically
said, if you don't like me or ifyou don't like it, then you can
blank blank. I'm like, oh, thatyou know, it's just like but
yeah. The the f word and you.
So she, it was just it wasfunny. Like, you know, we we
(11:50):
laughed about it and had achuckle, but that's just so
Cheryl. And that's definitelygoes to show Cheryl's leadership
and who she is. She just ownsfully who she is. And she, you
know, she said this.
Sometimes she can be a littletoo direct, and sometimes people
don't like that, but she knowsshe's that way. And she so she's
never hidden that part ofherself. And I just I just so
appreciated that. I think justinnately some of those things
(12:12):
come from our own experiences orfear or lack of self confidence.
And when you break through thatis when you can conquer some of
this impostor syndrome we'retalking about.
Sam DArc (12:21):
Interesting.
Sheri Teodoro (12:22):
No, I agree also. I mean, sometimes we all strive
to be more like Cheryl and we'vetold her that too. But yeah,
there are those times that youjust kinda have to not be
yourself to fit in. And I don'tknow if that's a good thing or a
bad thing. Like, she used theexample of she's going to wear a
(12:43):
dress, like, at a fancy dinner.
That's not her, but she's gonnado it to fit in, and that's okay
too.
Sam DArc (12:49):
So it's interesting. That was one of my questions is
what are a few practical toolsor strategies that women in our
organization, but really anyonecan use to push through these
moments of self doubt? And itseems to me, Araya, you gave one
with practicing tough doingtough things. And then and and
then Sherry, Araya gave another,which is who's your mentor? Who
(13:09):
do you look to as someone whohas that level of confidence
that you can emulate, replicate,and grow towards?
Cheryl's a great one. Are thereany other great mentors within
the Ziegler Auto Group that showthat? Not necessarily just
toughness, but they handle thatself doubt well and help others
grow through it.
Sheri Teodoro (13:26):
I think Araya is for sure one for me.
Sam DArc (13:29):
I love that.
Ariah Daniels (13:30):
Yes. Thank you, Sherry. Thank you. It's
definitely something that Icontinue to work on. And I
still, at times, doubt myself.
Right? And I think that just tothe point of being universal, no
matter just different situationswe get into ourselves, sometimes
we get into our own head andsay, oh, am I really capable of
doing this, or do I really havewhat it takes? You know? Yeah.
But it that just, like, to mypoint before, because I I really
(13:54):
try to focus myself on doinghard things, because I know that
mentally builds my selfconfidence.
The more I do those things, themore it calluses my mind. So but
to another point, to answer yourquestion, Sam, and this really
relates to question number threethat we had yesterday was, what
do you believe are your naturalstrengths as a leader, and how
can you leverage them to becomemore influential and inspiring?
(14:17):
So Yeah. To that question andall of the responses, everyone
shared just different traitsthat they have as a leader or
what their strengths were andleaning into those in order to
conquer impostor syndrome andhelp others also get out of
that. So I thought that was sucha great point too.
Sherry, did did you haveanything about question three or
(14:39):
just that conversation we hadabout the strengths portion?
Sheri Teodoro (14:42):
Yeah. Just knowing your own strengths can
really help you, develop as aleader and just give you more
self confidence. Just play onyour strengths. Use use them as
leverage to help your team outand grow your team and yourself.
Ariah Daniels (14:57):
Yeah. Yeah. For sure.
Sam DArc (14:59):
As we're talking about all this and I think about women
leaders at the ZAGG and I thinkabout different classes and
initiatives and things we do,and I think about those
strategies to overcome selfdoubt, how does the Ziegler
culture, in particular, youthink about our drive statement,
you think about our missionstatement, you think about all
the things that we dorepetitively, How does that
culture help foster theconfidence and growth for
(15:19):
emerging women and everyoneacross the auto group?
Sheri Teodoro (15:22):
When we were purchased by Ziegler Automotive
Group, I've never had any sortof employer or automotive group
that would help develop yourpersonal strengths or even
invest in in their employees foranything. So all these training
classes are a tremendous help.Going to them as much as you can
(15:43):
will really help you practice,face your fears, have you speak
in front of people. It's justbeen a tremendous help for me.
Sam DArc (15:52):
So Sherry, Araya, before you share, this is almost
an advertisement here a littlebit, but I'm baffled. And I know
Araya, we talk about this a lot.There are so many opportunities
here at Ziegler for selfdevelopment, for growth, for
leadership. I mean, you'restanding in a room with a
national treasure, Jim Craig.Right?
He's the goalie. And, you know,we all talk about how hard
(16:12):
something like that is, but thehard builds character and
growth. And there are all sortsof opportunities like that. The
biggest miss, it feels like tome as a Ziggler employee, is to
not go to those. It's to notengage, not participate.
And you know what? Candidly, ifyou're that sort of person,
you're probably not evenlistening to this podcast, so
the message is on deaf ears. ButI'm shocked at how many people
(16:35):
just don't engage, and it's ashame.
Ariah Daniels (16:37):
You know, Sherry should share her testimony of
going to her very first JimCraig workshop.
Sam DArc (16:43):
They're terrifying.
Ariah Daniels (16:44):
To see her growth now, to see where she is now is
just exactly why we do what wedo. Right? It's exactly why
Sam DArc (16:53):
we do. Give it to us. Yeah.
Sheri Teodoro (16:54):
So my very first, feeling of impostor syndrome
that I really knew what what itwas was my first Jim Craig
workshop. I had no idea what toexpect. I didn't know who Jim
Craig was. I just thought it wasgoing to be us sitting there. He
was gonna teach us teach usthings, and we would take notes.
But I soon realized that was notthe case. And I walked into the
(17:17):
room, and they were all, men insuits looking very important. I
didn't know anybody. And I soonfelt very small. I felt
unprepared.
I didn't know what to expect orwhat was going on. And I just
really wanted to find any way toget out of that room as fast as
I can. I mean that was myimposter syndrome just kind of
(17:39):
like taking over control of me.But I went through it. I didn't
run.
I faced my fears and the it wentfine. I then learned on my next
gym card workshop, I knew whatto expect. I was very prepared
about the topic when I went inthere. And just knowing all that
helped me build my selfconfidence. I was more calm.
(18:01):
I actually won a jersey thatday, which I was super proud of.
And just having thataccomplishment just builds your
self confidence and grows fromthere. And then I ended up
leaving a Jim Craig Hall, whichI don't even know how, but
that's just the growth thatjourney took me on.
Sam DArc (18:16):
So, Araya, it's interesting. That is exactly the
reason why more people withinthe auto group should get
involved and engaged. What's theobstacle? Why does it if if
Sherry can, experience suchgrowth, confidence, and overcome
that self, kind of doubt, whydon't more more people take
advantage of it?
Ariah Daniels (18:36):
Yeah. You know? And I guess just to piggyback
really quick because SherryYeah. Went through this
workshop, and then she did theJim Craig call. So she led a Jim
Craig call.
She led our women's group callyesterday. So going through
those things that were hard, shefelt more comfortable yesterday
showing up to lead this callbecause she's done the things
(18:58):
that she knows aren't hard. Andso I think that's such a a great
testament to her story and justwanted to really hit that home
and share that piece. But Ithink there's times that people
don't, a, know what they don'tknow. And they're you know, I I
feel like we do a pretty danggood job about sending out all
the the different things thatare available to anyone and
(19:19):
everyone.
And I think sometimes peoplepeople might say, oh, I just am
so busy. I don't have the timeor whatever. And ultimately,
it's gotta be a sacrifice youmake to know that it's an
investment in yourself. You'vegot to make and schedule the
time for your own self growth sothat you You gotta own it. Yeah.
So that you can just pour intoeveryone else. Yeah. So I think
(19:40):
some of it is, you know, wecould say all the excuses, but I
think it's an just anaccountability. Right? Like,
we've gotta hold ourselvesaccountable to know I can attend
these things.
I've gotta make time for them.If I wanna continue to see
growth in myself, it's somethingthat you've got to take hold of
and own. So, yeah, absolutely. Ithink that's the biggest piece.
Sam DArc (20:01):
Well, it's very cool as we think about this class,
women leaders at the ZAG, thatyou've showed the leadership to
bring this group together. Ithink that's awesome. It's gonna
be fun to continue to follow thetrajectory of this class and see
the strength and development ofthose who are involved in this
because I think we're gonna seea lot more success stories.
(20:22):
What's next for the women'sleader at Ziegler series? What
are the topics coming up next?
Ariah Daniels (20:27):
So we don't know. We usually end a call, and then
it's next day. Today is when Ikinda start thinking about
what's our next topic. And sowe'll meet again in September,
but I typically wait a few daysto see if anyone raises their
hand to wanna bring a topic. Andalmost always, I try to just
challenge the group out there tosay, hey, is there a topic about
(20:50):
or inspired to wanna share withour group?
And then we just help build thatcontent out. So we don't have it
yet, but it there is one coming,and we'll meet sometime in
September.
Sam DArc (21:01):
So if if anyone wants to get involved, they reach out
to you and and they can getengaged, get
Ariah Daniels (21:06):
involved for you. Talk to another female that you
know that is, on these calls,and we'll just add you to our
email distribution list and getyou rolling, on the
communication so that you don'tmiss the next one.
Sam DArc (21:17):
As a recap to this incredible conversation,
Sherry's having a little bit ofa technical issues. Otherwise,
she'd come back in. But whatwould you say, Araiyah, to any
women at the ZAG at any woman atat the Ziglar Auto Group who
feels like she doesn't quitebelong at the table despite
earning her seat after thissession.
Ariah Daniels (21:33):
I don't like hearing that. So in you know,
it's funny because in mystrengths answer that we had
answered on our questionsyesterday, one of my strengths
that I I'm most proud of isbeing an. And I don't know where
it comes from, but I've I'vealways wanted to help others
feel included and feel valuedand feel seen and heard. And no
(21:53):
matter where you come from, nomatter what stage of your role
that you're in or you juststarted with us or if you've
been with us for twenty years,you deserve a a seat at this
table with us and to learn fromothers, but also that we can
learn from you. So, that is anopen invitation to anyone
inside, our organization to comebe a part of these calls.
Sam DArc (22:13):
Alright. Alright. Daniel, Sherry, Theodora, we
appreciate you both being on theshow. Thanks for sharing your
perspectives, and thanks forcontinuing to lead at the Ziglar
Auto Group both through theseclasses and the other things
that you do. So thanks for beingon the show.
Ariah Daniels (22:25):
Yeah. Thank you.
Sam DArc (22:28):
To Arai and Sherry, thank you for being bold,
honest, and empowering. That'swhat leadership looks like at
Ziglar. To our driving visionpodcast fans, thanks for tuning
in, and we'll see you nextepisode. Until next week, how
are you driving vision today?
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