Navigating the Imposter Syndrome: Claudia is in Conversation with Yrthya Dinzey Flores

In January of 2011 , Yrthya started a new position as the very first Chief Diversity Officer for New York State. This was a huge shift from her previous role at Toyota. Here, she found myself securing the most exciting job she'd never thought she'd get. It was a big role, with lots of potential, great responsibility in an administration that, at that moment in time, was going to transform the way NY State government.

Inspite of saying yes to the role with excitement and lightness, she immediately started suffering from that now well documented phenomenon of “impostor syndrome.” She took the role and 2 days later learned that she was pregnant. She was so worried that she wouldn’t be able to balance it all, do her best and handle the stress.

The job was demanding in and of itself, but doing it while being a first-time mom made it exponentially harder. Yrthya dealt with the pressures of serving in public office, a toxic, male dominated work environment and the incredibly loaded and unfair demands placed on mothers in our society. 

She does not want to diminish how difficult and hard it was. But, it was also such a unique moment to test her metal, if you will, to emerge much stronger, wiser and kinder.

It was a moment, a time period, that taught her so much about herself, about her potential and about developing personal vision. It was a step that redefined the things she valued, reframed my career aspirations, and ignited her passion for my own potential.

Yrhtya learned three very important life lessons:
One, she realized after taking that position that she needs to be the architect of my own career: "The only person who has my career interests at heart was me". 
The second lesson she learned, was that she was powerful and strong. She tapped into energy reserves and a resilience she  didn’t know she had. She was a first-time mom, breastfeeding her baby and commuting once a week to Albany. It all gave her so much perspective into the power of being a woman. 
And thirdly, she learned from that role, that being the first means nothing, if you don’t leave enough behind for someone else to take up the torch.

Follow and learn more about my guest today, check out Yrthya's LinkedIN profile:

LinkedIN: Yrthya Dinzey Flores

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