Imposter Thoughts: What Horses Can Teach Leaders About Discovering Confidence

Confidence isn’t a permanent state for most leaders. Even highly capable leaders can find themselves questioning decisions, second-guessing instincts, or wondering if they truly belong in the moments that matter most. These “imposter thoughts” are likely familiar to you, and more common than most people realize. They are certainly more real than most leaders will want to admit.In this conversation on the Leading with Instinct podcast, Katie Navarra-Bradley, Professional Facilitator and Leadership Coach with Katie the Coach, and Ginny Telego, President of Collaboration Partners, are talking about our common fears of inadequacy. Drawing from real client experiences, research, and their work facilitating leadership development with horses, they talk about what imposter thoughts actually look like in practice, how they affect decision-making, and why even highly successful leaders wrestle with them privately.Through powerful stories from the arena, Ginny and Katie reveal how horses immediately reflect internal confidence and the lack of it, without judgment, bravado, or performance. Leaders who hesitate, overthink, or avoid uncertainty see those same patterns mirrored back to them by the horses. Takeaways-Imposter thoughts affect leaders at every level, including CEOs-Fear of failure often drives hesitation and overthinking-Horses reflect real confidence, not performative confidence-Speaking self-doubt out loud reduces its power-Grounded confidence comes from internal and external alignment-Past successes can be used to interrupt imposter thinking-Physical posture and breath influence confidence-Clear expectations reduce anxiety and hesitation-Community support weakens isolation and doubChapters00:28 Snowy Days02:28 Introduction04:23 We’re all Imposters09:59 Fear of Public Failure13:43 Confidence in Context15:06 Stories of Client Experiences26:03 Building Self-Image33:03 Physical Confidence41:39 Closing Thoughts and Contact InfoHelpful Links:Korn Ferry’s Workforce 2024 Global Insights Report: https://www.kornferry.com/about-us/press/71percent-of-us-ceos-experience-imposter-syndrome-new-korn-ferry-research-findsWorkplace Impostor Thoughts, Impostor Feelings, and Impostorism: An Integrative, Multidisciplinary Review of Research on the Impostor Phenomenon : https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/annals.2023.0100?journalCode=annalsWorkplace ‘impostor thoughts’ may have a genuine upside: https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/workplace-impostor-thoughts-may-have-a-genuine-upsidePsycho-Cybernetics: Updated and Expanded (The Psycho-Cybernetics Series) :https://www.amazon.com/Psycho-Cybernetics-Updated-Expanded-Maxwell-Maltz/dp/0399176136
Katie Navarra-Bradley, Katie The Coach: https://katiethecoach.com/Ginny Telego, Collaboration Partners: https://www.thecollaborationpartners.com/The Leading With Instinct Podcast is brought to you by Collaboration Partners and KatieTheCoach.com.