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Imposter syndrome. Two small words with enormous impact, especially for ambitious, high-achieving women who are constantly pushing boundaries, raising standards, and carving out space in male-dominated or high-performance environments. It’s the quiet, internal narrative that whispers you’re not qualified enough, smart enough, or experienced enough. Even when your results and accolades say otherwise.
It’s that subtle but persistent anxiety that your success is somehow unearned, that you’re one slip-up away from being exposed as a fraud. And the cruel irony is, the more you achieve, the louder those doubts can become.
What makes imposter syndrome so insidious is how skillfully it masks itself as humility, caution, or the pursuit of excellence. It often shows up as over-preparing, over-working, or deflecting praise.
It thrives in comparison culture, magnified by social media and the relentless visibility of others’ curated wins.
And while it may not be visible to the outside world, it shapes decisions, stifles voices, and holds back incredible talent from owning their full power.
The good news? It’s not permanent, and there are ways to dismantle it.
In this podcast episode, we’ll be tackling exactly that. Imposter Syndrome in real time: where it comes from, how it shows up, and what it actually takes to break free from its grip.
Where Does Imposter Syndrome Come From?
Yvonne starts off her episode in an unscripted, late-evening setting, drink-in-hand (a non-alcoholic Poppy, for those wondering). Right away, she reminds us that imposter syndrome doesn’t discriminate, it can affect even the most confident, energetic, and bold personalities.
Despite her reputation as a dynamic, “in-your-face” leader, Yvonne explains that imposter syndrome creeps in when she focuses too much on what others are doing. As she puts it, “When I’m paying too much attention to everybody else…doing ‘research,’ watching reels, or checking what others are teaching, I spiral down.” Comparison is a thief of joy and more importantly, of confidence.
She’s even experienced self-doubt triggered by working with coaches who impose cookie-cutter systems, making her question her expertise and reinforcing imposter syndrome.
Recognizing the Symptoms of Imposter Syndrome
Imposter syndrome isn’t just an abstract concept. Yvonne describes clear behavioral patterns and emotional triggers:
Over-consuming content: Social media doom-scrolling, endless YouTube rabbit holes, or obsessing over competitors’ work can feed feelings of inadequacy.
Neglecting self-care: Lack of rest, exercise, or mindfulness can weaken your resilience to self-doubt.
Pushing forward vs. coming home: The temptation to “just push through” often backfires. Yvonne suggests that real strength lies in returning to your center—your own voice, rhythms, and internal data.
Auditing your content consumption and focusing on what truly aligns with you is key to mitigating imposter syndrome.
Data Collection as a Tool Against Imposter Syndrome
One of Yvonne’s lesser-discussed but powerful tools for combating imposter syndrome is personal data collection. She uses her Oura Ring to track sleep and energy levels, insights that help her decide when to create or rest.
The lesson? Understand your own energy flows. Whether through tech or self-reflection, collecting data about what works for you allows you to tune out comparison and tune into your truth countering the internal voices of imposter syndrome.
How to Course-Correct When Imposter Syndrome Hits
Yvonne reveals that imposter syndrome often intensifies when she’s creating content without passion or without real-world experience to back it up.
“If I don’t have a specific use case that we have run, that we have tested, that we have done multiple times, I don’t feel good telling that story,” she explains.
This is a vital insight for any entrepreneur or creator: authenticity and alignment matter. Misalignment can feed imposter syndrome, even when you’re technically “doing everything right.”
To protect your energy:
Stop endless scrolling.
Refuse to mimic others just to fit in.
Delegate tasks that drain you (like moderating toxic comments).
These small course corrections build emotional armor against imposter syndrome.
Break the Imposter Syndrome Cycle
One of the most powerful ways to combat imposter syndrome is to create a confidence-boosting feedback loop.
Yvonne encourages listeners to build a “badass evidence folder”: a digital or physical collection of every kind word, testimonial, or thank-you note received. When imposter syndrome kicks in, revisiting this folder can reconnect you to the tangible impact you’ve made. Alongside this practice, she emphasizes the importance of self-inquiry, asking questions like: Why is this doubt surfacing? Is it rooted in truth, or am I performing a version of myself I think others expect? These reflections can disarm imposter syndrome at its core.
Equally important is the deceptively simple act of keeping promises to yourself. Overcommitting and failing to follow through slowly erodes self-trust, which fuels feelings of fraudulence. By setting realistic goals and completing them, you reinforce your own reliability—each kept promise becoming a brick in the foundation of confidence, and each small win another strike against imposter syndrome.
Practical Steps to Quiet Imposter Syndrome
Yvonne ends her episode with a concise, powerful toolkit for addressing imposter syndrome in everyday life:
Limit social media use. Use timers or breaks to cut down on comparison traps.
Choose aligned mentors. Work with coaches who see you—not those who force their frameworks on you.
Prioritize rest and self-care. Sleep, nutrition, movement, and mindfulness help you resist self-doubt.
Review your “evidence folder”. Regularly remind yourself of your wins.
Keep promises to yourself. Start small, and stay consistent.
Final Thoughts
You have the answers within you. Imposter syndrome is loud, but your truth is louder. As Yvonne says, “You’re here for a reason.” When self-doubt creeps in, don’t let it steal your voice.
Instead, come home to yourself. Protect your confidence. Share your brilliance.
And if you’re ready to share your leadership journey, Yvonne’s podcast She is a Leader is always open to new voices. Maybe it’s your turn to quiet your inner critic and step boldly into the spotlight, imposter syndrome be damned.
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📄 Video Transcription:
Yvonne Heimann [00:00:00]:
As you already can see by my drink of choice, today’s episode is being recorded later in the day. However, and for everybody just listening and not watching on YouTube, I have a big wine glass in my hand with what looks like a rose. However, interestingly enough, it is poppies. Poppies has become my drink of choice when I want to have a cute little drink in the evening and don’t want alcohol. Having said that, based on the drink, this is going to be a evening conversation for us today. And I love your guys’s support and the conversations and the downloads I’ve been seeing on the podcast recently. If that is solo episodes, if that is episodes with my amazing guests, I wanted to give all of you a big shout out and say thank you. You make all of this worth it.
Yvonne Heimann [00:01:13]:
And worth it is exactly the topic I want to talk about today. One of the things that has been coming up more and more recently again is imposter syndrome is the I’m not good enough. I don’t know enough. All of these things, all of these voices, all of these conversations of who am I to do this? Everybody else is doing the same thing. How am I different? How am I ever gonna make money with this? Me included. Me included. I have been going through quite some change behind the scenes. You might have seen, maybe not as Smalls decides to get comfortable somewhere else, that I have not been as active on Instagram stories as I usually am because there’s been a lot of shifting happening behind the scenes because imposter syndrome hit.
Yvonne Heimann [00:02:20]:
And for me, when imposter syndrome hits, I work with it differently. So let’s start with where does my imposter syndrome actually come from? When you meet me on stage or you meet me at a networking event or anything, I’m this at times, in your face, bold personality, right? I show up. I show up with shiny red sparkly heels or a 80s neon yellow blazer. I’m bold, I’m in your face, I’m loud, I’m energetic, I’m passionate. I’m all the things, right? So why would I be struggling with imposter syndrome, right? I’m like, I’m this big personality. Imposter syndrome for me comes up when I’m paying too much attention to everybody else. When working with a coach, actually, yes, working with a coach literally can trigger imposter syndrome for me. And what I have realized is coaches can trigger my imposter syndrome when they are just telling me what to do rather than trying to figure out what is the right thing for me.
Yvonne Heimann [00:03:55]:
So I’ve been talking about this in the past. We’ve done videos on it where I believe a good coach asks questions and a great coach ask question for you to figure out what’s happening inside of you. So with that, if somebody just wants to, to slap their systems, their process, their belief system onto me, it triggers me, and initially it shows up as imposter syndrome and I’m not good enough. Imposter syndrome for me also shows up when I’m paying too much attention to what everybody else is doing. We know how this goes, right? We are doing “research” to figure out what reels are working right now or what YouTube videos we should produce or how we build a good hook or what others are doing in our niche. And honestly, every time I go down that rabbit hole, it ends up in me feeling like shit and like I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about. And with that, I don’t. I don’t even think it’s a pushing forward when imposter syndrome hits.
Yvonne Heimann [00:05:15]:
I think it is more of a coming back home, coming back to yourself. Imposter syndrome to me, literally 95% of the time is because I give too much importance or I pay too much attention to something externally. And so how, how do I work through imposter syndrome? And I’m proud of myself. And there’s. There’s multiple things going on all at the same time. When I feel like I’m not good enough, I don’t know what I’m talking about. I check just how much time I spend consuming content, consuming social media, consuming what other people are doing. And I’m not talking about reading books so much.
Yvonne Heimann [00:06:12]:
It’s usually more social media doom scrolling. It’s usually more of watching YouTube videos and doing research where I start questioning. I’m like, is, is my view of the world just so screwed up what’s happening here? And then the secondary thing I check when, when imposter syndrome hits is have I taken care of myself? So, number one, how much do I pay attention to external things that are happening? Mm. And then number two, how much have I been taking care of myself? As you might have heard, I’ve been really working on, let’s call it optimizing, optimizing my brain function, optimizing what thoughts I’m thinking, what the voices in my head are talking about. Optimizing my sleep, optimizing my movement and really figuring out how I can be my best self, which looks different on each given day of the month as well as throughout the weeks and. And the days. So things do change. I would love to just have a freaking blueprint for every day being the same.
Yvonne Heimann [00:07:43]:
Unfortunately, it’s not, but I have an overlaying framework. I have a good idea that when anxiety hits, chances are I haven’t moved enough that I am a people person. But I also have social anxiety and I get overwhelmed. So really finding this balance between stretching my comfort zone and doing something new and recharging. So, again, how do I deal with imposter syndrome? Number one, eliminate external influences. Number two, come back to what you know works for you. And if you don’t know what works for you, it is time to start collecting data. If you’ve been on my Instagram, you know I’ve been wearing the Oura ring.
Yvonne Heimann [00:08:42]:
Oh, my God, I don’t even know. I’ve had a multitude of these rings now since Generation two. I’m actually grandfathered into their membership. They have replaced it a couple of times. I’m trying to think probably like three years, four years at least. And it’s the one piece that I have never taken off. What I love about the Oura Ring is that it also gives me data. They’re still.
Yvonne Heimann [00:09:17]:
They’re still just starting to really get into the energy levels of women. However, I have collected data thanks to the Oura ring that tells me, don’t even try to be creative today. Don’t try to go crazy. Don’t try to be too active. So even though Oura themselves in their app is just starting to work to really bring women’s health more into their numbers, I have the numbers and can do that calculation for myself. It’s also the. The least intrusive wearable for me, rather than the Apple Watch, which I still wear too. And based on those numbers, having been able to build what’s right for me and understanding the balance better of what my day needs to look like, what I want my day to look like, to feel the best, to be the best I can be.
Yvonne Heimann [00:10:17]:
And with that, some of the most recent changes when it comes to that has been our YouTube channel has been testing specifically YouTube videos and scraping things and being like, no, we are not doing this. Because I realized, yeah, I can teach you the features of ClickUp. I can do all of that. Not a problem. Do I want it? Not always. Not always. I love the series we did back in the day of first look where we just got to play. No expectations.
Yvonne Heimann [00:10:58]:
Nobody expected me to teach you exactly how the thing is going and how to implement it. We just played with it. We Just tested things out and I might just at some point bring that series back. But what I found with my YouTube content is I am not feeling. There were a couple videos where I got done recording and I felt like, shit. I felt dumb. I felt like, what the hell am I doing here? I have no business doing this. Literally right after recording that video.
Yvonne Heimann [00:11:35]:
And I realized the pattern that when I don’t have a physical example and a story that goes along with what I’m teaching in the video, I feel like I have no business doing so. So there is. There is a lot of features in ClickUp. I’m just using ClickUp as an example, right? There’s a lot of features and ClickUp and we are not using every single one of them. And if you’ve been around my YouTube channel, you know that there is things I love doing in ClickUp and there’s things where I’m going to tell you hails to the no, why are you doing this in ClickUp? It makes no freaking sense. So I have never produced videos that I don’t believe in and where I’m saying, you should do this in ClickUp and I do not stand behind it. Now, I had to take this to a whole nother level, meaning I realized that when I teach something that I don’t regularly use, I can tell you the feature. I know how it works.
Yvonne Heimann [00:12:44]:
I know how it integrates. The technical knowledge is there, though. Even though the technical knowledge is there. If I don’t have a specific use case that we have run, that we have tested, that we have done multiple times, I don’t feel good telling that story. I don’t feel good recording those videos. And I realized the pattern that I was really, really fighting back to record those videos. And I didn’t want them. I didn’t want to promote them, I didn’t want to talk about them.
Yvonne Heimann [00:13:20]:
It was like pulling teeth. So coming back around, we talked about, stop listening to the outside, become quiet. Listen within when imposter syndrome hits. Stop researching, stop looking what everybody else is doing. They’re doing their thing. You are doing your thing. Collect. And there’s a little bonus thing that I do, too.
Yvonne Heimann [00:13:46]:
Collect positive feedback. Collect comments from webinars, Collect client testimonials, collect those in your badass Yvi folder. Insert your own name right there. And when the bad voices in your head start telling you you’re not good enough and you shouldn’t be doing this, fall back and let your past clients and your community tell you that you can. And then ask yourself if it’s in a specific situation, if it’s doing, doing something specific and it keeps repeating itself. Ask yourself why this thing keeps coming back around. Why is this coming up? That’s how I figured out that, okay, if I don’t have a full on client use case and a story that I can tell with it and it’s just the dry here is how you need to do this. That’s when, when doubt hits that when, when imposter syndrome comes up.
Yvonne Heimann [00:14:54]:
I saw the pattern and now we literally this morning on the team call went through and Luby is like, okay, what do you want to do? And I’m like, you know what, I really don’t feel this whole five tool video. I feel like we have to do it, but I just don’t. She’s like, no, fuck that, just throw it out. And we just threw it out. That’s the joy of running your own business. Are there always going to be a couple of things that you might need to do for your business because your business needs it and you don’t want to do them? Yeah, yeah, they will come around. But the more and more you listen and you see those patterns that you run when imposter syndrome comes up, the more you see those patterns, the more you’re going to be able to work with them or around them. Either you stop doing certain things or imposter syndrome.
Yvonne Heimann [00:15:57]:
Imposter syndrome, for example, could be triggered by online trolls. We all have them, right? They’re happening everywhere, all the time. It just is. It’s name of the game. If you’re putting yourself out there, they’re going to come now. As somebody that feels deeply, however, I’m also lucky at the point where it’s like really, really, this is your problem, not my problem. When I read a troll, however, I do have days where everything can just hit really deep in the fields. Why not outsource that? Why not outsource the things you don’t want to deal with? If online comments have the tendency to hit you in the fields because it’s your baby, because they’re calling you names for no reason, don’t look at the comments.
Yvonne Heimann [00:16:56]:
Have somebody on your team that monitors comments, that replies to standard questions, that engages, that sends you the comments that only you really have to be commenting on, and then decides what to do with the trolls and the bad people. Heck, there’s even spam bots out there, right? So you can change pattern, you can eliminate things, you can outsource things. And last but not least, one of the biggest lessons in figuring out imposter syndrome and how to manage it, how to have it less and less and be proud of. What I’m doing is keeping promises to myself. And it’s not just so much even that. It’s promises, it is statements. What do I mean by that? If I say in the morning I’m going to get this, this, this and that done sometimes, right? We know how long to do lists can be if that to do list is still the same length by the end of the day and I said I’m going to get this to do list done. I lied to myself, I didn’t do what I said I’m going to do.
Yvonne Heimann [00:18:31]:
And it has taken quite some work because there’s a multitude that feeds into this “Not lying to yourself”. It means you have to clearly understand what each of your tasks, what each of your work entails. So you can’t be doing these oh yeah, it’s just going to take five minutes. I’m going to do this really quick because now you’re going to have five five minute tasks that each take five hours and you end up lying to yourself. Understanding and I’m using the to do list as an example because it’s the perfect example to physically have something. And I have fallen into this habit as of late again where I put more on my plate and I tell my my assistant when she asked me, I love how she helds me accountable when she asks me what are you going to do? What are you getting done today? What are you getting done this week? And as of recent I have started to add way too many things to my to do list again and not finishing it, not finishing it by the dates I’m going to say, not finishing even in the week I’m going to say and guess what has happened? Imposter syndrome is creaking in again. Which is one of the reasons why I also wanted to do this episode to remind me, but also share my journey with you and give you some tips on what has worked for me to really manage this imposter syndrome and the belief I’m not good enough because we all are.
Yvonne Heimann [00:20:22]:
We wouldn’t be here if we weren’t. So with that, let’s recap one more time so that you have a couple of things nice in a list that you can pay attention to. Stop scrolling social media, stop comparing, put your phone on a timer, pay attention how much you are spending on it. If you are finding yourself to scroll because you’re bored, go get a Kindle, go read, go do something, go out of the house, walk the dog, whatever it is. Interrupt that pattern of just scrolling on your phone to “research”. Secondary. What can help with that is set specific time intervals for research. I can’t do research for an hour, 20 minutes of specific research for a specific video and done.
Yvonne Heimann [00:21:14]:
And then get off. Set a timer for it. Get off. And keep that promise to yourself. When that timer goes off, you are leaving social media and putting it down. Stop listening to everybody telling you what you are supposed to do. If your coach, your mentor is not asking you questions to help you figure out which of their systems and frameworks works best for you and how you need to adjust it so it works as well for you. Run for the hills.
Yvonne Heimann [00:21:47]:
All of these systems work, but you’re not going to fit that box. So you need to build your own version of the framework you are being taught. So eliminate people just telling you what you should do. We are not shooting all of ourselves. Pay attention to your body. Pay attention that you get your sleep, that you get your movement. In that, in my case, I can have a drink one night and my sleep is going to completely disintegrate if I have a drink a second night in a row. I know that that’s just how my body is right now.
Yvonne Heimann [00:22:26]:
So I found drinks that give me the same feeling of having a nice fancy big wine glass and a drink that is for me, it’s a drink that is not as sweet as soda, whatever it is. I found my solution. To have something that I like, experience without screwing up my body and be you. You have. You have the answers within you. You have the answers within you. Start collecting how people respond to it. Start collecting the celebration when other people tell you, yes, you are on the right path.
Yvonne Heimann [00:23:15]:
Remind yourself of that because you are amazing. You are here for a reason. You have a message to share. And I don’t want that bullshit of imposter syndrome and the voices in your head of people that are afraid of your possibility stopping you from sharing your message. And with that, I actually want to invite you. I’m going to plop in the application form for the podcast in my description. You want to share your message? Pop in, submit your information. At the moment we are done with this batch recording.
Yvonne Heimann [00:24:10]:
We’re gonna batch record again in a few months. You got a message to share. Kick that imposter syndrome in the ass, hop on my submission list and maybe I’ll see you in one of the upcoming one of the upcoming podcasts. And with that, I’m gonna enjoy my drink. You hopefully enjoyed this podcast and subscribed and followed. So you get to see more of my journey and the journeys my guests have experienced right here on the She Is a Leader podcast. I’ll see you in the next episode.
