Turning Imposter Syndrome into a Superpower

Are you

Have you ever felt like a fraud? Are you just waiting for someone to figure out that you're not as capable, smart, or worthy as others think you are? Or maybe you are saying one thing to your colleagues, clients or even your kids, but then you don’t always 'walk the talk' on it yourself?

That feeling has a name — Imposter Syndrome — and you're far from alone.

I recently experienced this kind of impostor syndrome when I was at the arena for one of my daughter’s tryouts. As I watched my goalie daughter in the net with shots being fired continuously at her, I confided to another Mom that I was feeling stressed about this process myself.  She said, “Didn’t you post today one of your stress series videos on Instagram?”

She was right, and I consider myself an expert on the topic of stress. But, I would be lying if I said I never feel stressed. In fact, I know stress intimately. So am I a fraud? No way!

Here is what I am learning through my own life as well as through my 15 years of being an Executive Coach at my own firm, Potential Unlimited, working with many amazing leaders. Where we struggle most in life is actually the same area where our superpower lives.  Yes, you heard me correctly.

Where you struggle most in life is what you have the potential to learn the most about, because pain gets our attention and we want to fix and learn, and grow to avoid more pain. So we lean into this. We try to understand it. We begin to learn tools. We sometimes talk to others about this pain point and gain others’ perspectives.  There is a massive learning opportunity that comes when discomfort enters our lives.

Instead of pushing away your frustration with yourself about feeling like a hypocrite, try listening to it differently. What if that voice isn't warning you that you’re a fraud… but reminding you that you're expanding? You're doing something brave.

And here’s where the shift happens: your deepest struggles — the ones you’ve hidden, battled, and risen through — are actually your superpowers.

I know this because I’ve lived it, and as you can see from my example at the arena I mentioned above,  I still live it.  Often, the goal isn’t to completely squash the area of your struggles. I know that if my goal was to say, because of all of my tools and lessons around stress, that I won’t experience it anymore, I would be setting myself up for failure. The goal is around learning tools, rewiring your brain, gaining support in the areas needed, and helping others through the same storms that you have made your way through.

I know that the corporate world can be a tough journey. Years ago, when I was deep in the corporate world, I began to suffer from anxiety for the first time. From the outside, I looked like I had it all together — a high-performing executive, always composed. But inside, I was running on empty. I was wiring myself to become a hard-driving perfectionist. And those tendencies trickled into my personal life. That journey forced me to stop, reflect, and in many ways it led me to coaching.

What I once saw as my weakness — the exhaustion, the fear, the unraveling — became the very reason I could now sit with others in their hardest moments and say, “I get it. And there’s a way forward.”

That experience didn’t disqualify me. It qualified me. Just as your areas of greatest struggle qualify you to do more. To be more.

As a Master Certified Coach, I’ve worked with thousands of leaders to help them rediscover clarity, courage, and calm, especially during seasons of uncertainty. And the greatest breakthroughs often come when we stop hiding the hard parts of our story and start using them as fuel.

When you own your story, you empower others to own theirs. When you stop pretending you're perfect, you give others permission to grow. When you turn your pain into purpose, you become unstoppable.

So the next time you feel like an impostor, pause and reframe it. You’re not faking it — you’re evolving. And your past doesn’t disqualify you. It qualifies you to lead, to speak, to serve, and to shine.

You’re not behind. You’re not unworthy. You’re becoming. Let your struggle be your strength. Let it be the reason someone else keeps going.

If this article resonated with you and you are interested in working with me as an Executive Coach, either for yourself or for your organization, check out my website and reach out to me at ceo@potentialunlimited.ca to plan your FREE 20-minute Discovery Call to learn more! Don’t forget to Sign Up for My Free Newsletter!!