In this episode of The Impostor Syndrome Files, we talk about how to take greater ownership of your professional experience. My guest this week is Laura Massetti, founder & CEO of Real Work Ready, who helps early-career professionals build the skills they need to navigate the workplace with confidence.

Laura shares her journey from a successful corporate career to building her own business in Italy. We explore what happens when our professional identity becomes intertwined with our sense of self and why changing our environment can create the space to reexamine who we are and what we want.

We also discuss the unwritten rules that make the workplace feel so confusing, especially as AI changes how early-career professionals learn and grow. Laura shares how feedback, mentorship and stronger workplace skills can help us feel less at the mercy of others and recognize that we have more control than we think.

About My Guest
Laura Massetti is the Founder and CEO of Real Work Ready™ — the operating system for the first five years of work. A two-time C-level executive, Laura spent 15 years hiring, managing, and writing the performance reviews early-career professionals are trying to navigate.

She had succeeded mostly by accident — by access, by being in the right rooms at the right time. Then she left New York, moved to Veneto in northern Italy, and started over. In that stillness, she found the question that changed everything: not how do I train people better, but what are managers actually evaluating? The answer was clear. It had always been clear. Nobody had ever written it down. So she did.

That document became Real Work Ready™ — and The Performance Model Framework™, the six competencies every manager scores, whether they say so or not.

Laura holds an MBA from Baruch College and has completed executive education at Harvard Business School and Imperial College London.

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Connect with Laura:
Website: realworkready.com
Free resource — The Manager Feedback Decoder (the 5 phrases managers say and what they actually mean): realworkready.com/decoder
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lauramassetti
Podcast: Real Work Ready on YouTube — youtube.com/@Realworkreadyhq
Instagram: @realworkready

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Connect with Kim and The Impostor Syndrome Files:

Join the free Impostor Syndrome Challenge:
https://www.kimmeninger.com/challenge

Learn more about the Leading Humans discussion group:
https://www.kimmeninger.com/leadinghumansgroup

Join the Slack channel to learn from, connect with and support other professionals: https://forms.gle/Ts4Vg4Nx4HDnTVUC6

Join the Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/leadinghumans

Schedule time to speak with Kim Meninger directly about your questions/challenges: https://bookme.name/ExecCareer/strategy-session

Connect on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimmeninger/

Website:
https://www.kimmeninger.com

In this episode of The Impostor Syndrome Files, we talk about stress, intentionality and why doing more isn’t always the path to greater success. My guest this week is Trish Walker, executive coach, speaker and former president of home and services at Best Buy.

Trish shares how an unexpected “lifequake” led her to step away from a long and successful corporate career and reconsider what she wanted next. Here we explore the importance of listening to our own signals, asking for help and trusting ourselves when life doesn’t go according to plan.

We also challenge the high-achiever belief that our value is measured by how much we do. Trish shares why slowing down can create greater clarity, focus and confidence, and how small shifts can help us move through work and life with less stress and more success.

About My Guest
As a former Fortune 100 executive, Trish Walker guides leaders to perform at their highest levels and achieve Less Stress. More Success™. By blending C-suite executive experience with mindfulness and neuroscience, she translates insight into practical, real-world strategies. She helps leaders think more clearly, make better decisions and strengthen performance to elevate leadership in the moments that matter.

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Connect with Trish:
Website: https://www.mydaily-dash.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patriciatrishwalker/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@my-daily-dash
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/my_daily_dash/

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Connect with Kim and The Impostor Syndrome Files:

Join the free Impostor Syndrome Challenge:
https://www.kimmeninger.com/challenge

Learn more about the Leading Humans discussion group:
https://www.kimmeninger.com/leadinghumansgroup

Join the Slack channel to learn from, connect with and support other professionals: https://forms.gle/Ts4Vg4Nx4HDnTVUC6

Join the Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/leadinghumans

Schedule time to speak with Kim Meninger directly about your questions/challenges: https://bookme.name/ExecCareer/strategy-session

Connect on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimmeninger/

Website:
https://www.kimmeninger.com

In this episode of The Impostor Syndrome Files, we talk about performance anxiety and why it can affect even the most experienced professionals. My guest this week is Dr. David Lee Fish, a former music professor who now helps people navigate speech fright, stage fright and competition anxiety.

David shares his own experience of freezing during an early performance and the shame that came from believing he was the only one struggling. We explore what’s happening in our bodies when we feel judged or threatened and why our internal “bodyguard” can make high-stakes moments even harder.

We also discuss a different way to respond when anxiety takes over. David explains how mindfulness can help us redirect our attention, why the middle of a stressful moment is the wrong time to debate our fears and how everyday activities can become opportunities to build the skills we need when the pressure is on.

About My Guest
David Lee Fish, Ph.D., works with professionals who are excellent at their jobs but fall short of their potential when they speak in front of others, whether in formal presentations, team meetings, online sessions, or job interviews. His approach to performance anxiety has an unusual origin. He developed it independently through Zen practice, then, years later, discovered that Jon Kabat-Zinn, who brought mindfulness into mainstream medicine, had learned from the same Korean master. They arrived at the same place independently of one another. His counterintuitive method has helped professionals reclaim the confidence that anxiety was suppressing.

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Connect with David:
Website: https://riseupeight.com/

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Connect with Kim and The Impostor Syndrome Files:

Join the free Impostor Syndrome Challenge:
https://www.kimmeninger.com/challenge

Learn more about the Leading Humans discussion group:
https://www.kimmeninger.com/leadinghumansgroup

Join the Slack channel to learn from, connect with and support other professionals: https://forms.gle/Ts4Vg4Nx4HDnTVUC6

Join the Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/leadinghumans

Schedule time to speak with Kim Meninger directly about your questions/challenges: https://bookme.name/ExecCareer/strategy-session

Connect on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimmeninger/

Website:
https://www.kimmeninger.com