Music and Metaphors for Imposters
Today's Monday Motivation & Metaphors are brought to you by, My Imposter...
"Imposter! They put my boom boom down.”
OWL be honest, I often wondered what I could possibly bring to the executive coaching world, given that I've never actually worked in "Corporate," or any of my clients' industries. It's not like I speak their language, literally (French, Russian, Romanian, Mandarin...) and figuratively. And my experience presenting to C-Suite and beyond is almost nil. Almost…I sell myself a bit short here.
I didn't have "imposter syndrome," I was just an imposter, a pretender, a great show-woman, if you will, taking OWL the liberties with my experience when I wrote my bio that included coaching Senior VPs and CEOs at Fortune 500 companies.
As I sit here today, embracing my inner imposter and feeling motivated by all the great feedback from my clients this week, including “life-changing" and “GREAT,” I’m feeling particularly grateful for all my imposter taught me about myself. Instead of fighting the inner imposter, trying to ‘tame’ it as some coaches encourage you to do, I decided to set out on a leadership quest to discover what was so GREAT about my non-corporate background that made me the perfect poser, i.e. the right woman for the job, and then I EMBRACED IT!
Witty and wise became, “When I’m not coaching you can find me performing stand up comedy.” Educator and entrepreneur became, “high school history teacher and building and selling my first business.” I leaned into my ability to make people laugh and learn.
It turns out executives don't actually want (or need) this internal knowledge and experience I was told by others would be important. What they want is range; the ability to connect and engage tough audiences, navigate crucial conversations, inspire and motivate their team, develop a strategic circle of mentors/peers, and deliver a kick-ass presentation to their CTO/CEO. And what they need is disruption; to think and see themselves, and others, in a new and different way.
Like Liam Neeson, "I have a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career." Skills that make me the breathe of fresh air for C-Suite executives OWL the way down to front line managers and over to school principals, teachers, students and parents. Skills that allow me to deeply listen, fully understand the gap, and connecting people with what they need to SOAR! Skills that allow me to make you laugh, learn, and empower people to reach their full potential. And unlike Liam Neeson, I am funny, fun and transFormative!
Sorta like the little boy from The Sixth Sense, I see people; real people and their full potential to engage and inspire others around them. And I understand how humans learn; metaphors and music are "sticky," and whoo you are "being" is just as important as what you are "doing."
After a few years of fighting with my inner imposter, I dove head first and decided to ride the wave. The best part of this journey? My clients LOVE to laugh and learn with me just as much as I enjoy laughing and learning with them!
Where in life are you an ‘imposter?’ What about your inner imposter makes you the ‘perfect poser’? More importantly, whoo will help you cultivate this inner imposter and help you SOAR? Is it me? Email katie@owlprofessionalcoaching.com with the subject: Imposter and lets find out!
P.S. If you haven't yet seen the best of Jim Carey's work, click the link below. I promise you won't be disappointed.
