Episode 102 | Unmasking Imposter Syndrome: How to Recognize and Defeat Self-Doubt

Episode Notes:

Dr. Laura welcomes Cecile Peterkin to the podcast to talk about imposter syndrome. Cecile is a chief transformation strategist and founder of the Leadership Coaching Centre, with 22 years of expertise as a confidence coach and mentor to her credit. Together, Cecile and Dr. Laura explore where imposter syndrome comes from and why it’s often more prevalent in girls and women. They explore building confidence and learning to assert yourself in situations where your instinct says to keep quiet. 

Cecile credits much of her inspiration and success to her late father, and she talks about how the way she was raised enforced her sense of having a voice that should be heard. Imposter syndrome, she says, is more common among women because they are conditioned and nurtured in ways that suggest domesticity and quietude. While this is changing with new generations, there is a lot that women, and anyone, can learn about holding space for themselves and demanding to be heard. Cecile and Dr. Laura explore confidence, how to build it, and why it’s so key to not just career success but to emotional well-being.

“From my experience in a lot of these board meetings, men tend to talk over women because, again, women don’t project themselves to be heard. … And I think, too, that some girls are raised not to be loud. … If a man is talking and you want to speak and you have something to say, there’s no reason why you [can’t say], could you be quiet for a few minutes so I can be heard? Because to me, you get more respect that way than not saying anything…” Cecile Peterkin

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