By | Published On: February 4, 2021 |

This week we are showcasing the work of Dr Robyn Odegaard. She talks about Imposter Syndrome, the impact it has on us personally and in business, and how she has learnt to master it.

What does Robyn do?

With a background as a Volleyball player, Robyn turned Coach and now supports people with her coaching and advice. Robyn has a degree in Sports Psychology and understands nutrition.  She works closely with people to help them master whatever is holding them back from performing well. Robyn and I both recognise that performance isn’t just about physical ability, it’s also about mental agility.

We talk about her TEDx talk in which she describes how she was labelled ‘average’ as a child and that this held her back. It made her feel inadequate and though she has gone on to be successful, she manages her evaluation of herself with consistent effort.

How does she do that?

She believes that’s what’s needed to manage Imposter Syndrome is a recognition that you have to manage the gap between excellence and perfection. “It’s difficult to increase by 2% when you are already operating at 98%. The difference may be immense”. Yet the individual thinks it’s not only reasonable but possible!

Some of it comes about through the things people say to us, but as much comes from the story we tell ourselves. This makes it easy to listen to this ultra-negative voice. In my experience, Executives often ‘mind the gap’, the gap between what they have and what they want. They push themselves endlessly to achieve. The trouble with this is that when they get to the goal or destination they have set, it may not feel enough. They can still be dissatisfied because the competitor in them never feels good enough. This inner critic seems to push even harder to reach perfection.

We explore this topic further in this week’s episode offering tips and tools about how to solve this dilemma and handle the inner critic that is driving you