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:
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Learn more about the Leading Humans discussion group:
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Join the Slack channel to learn from, connect with and support other professionals: https://forms.gle/Ts4Vg4Nx4HDnTVUC6

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

Connect on LinkedIn:
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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:
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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

In this episode of The Impostor Syndrome Files, we talk about career pivots, self-discovery and why waiting for the perfect time can keep us from pursuing what matters. My guest this week is Niki Lazaridou, who has held a number of entrepreneurial and senior leadership roles.

Niki shares her diverse career background and the journey that led her to finding her purpose. In our conversation, we discuss the balance between having enough pressure to motivate us and having so much pressure that we shift into survival mode. Niki introduces the Greek word meraki, which describes putting a piece of your soul into what you do, and explains why curiosity, effort and personal investment can create a deeper sense of purpose.

Finally, we explore how our core values can help us distinguish impostor syndrome from a work environment that is genuinely out of alignment. Niki shares how identifying directness, empathy and freedom as her three core values helped her better understand her emotional reactions at work, and why saying our fears out loud can release pressure and create stronger human connection.

About My Guest
With 15 years of experience as an entrepreneur and working in senior positions in a variety of corporations and organizations, Niki has been positioned as a Pool of Experts Team in the United Nations, Senior Risk Manager in PWC, and Program Manager in Publicis Sapient.

Currently serving as Strategy Manager at Minc Sweden, she is commissioned to redesign the entire incubator model in order to foster collaboration in the Nordic Region.

She is also a Mentor in Entrepreneurship at Harvard University, as well as a professional advisor at MIT, currently driving her own collaboration initiative between Harvard and CERN in Geneva.

Niki is also a member of Forbes Women connecting to a global network of women leaders, founders, and professionals.

As an entrepreneur, Niki has worked on projects with MIT Media Lab, ABC, BBC, Puma, Amazon, Peabody Essex Museum, Blue Lagoon Iceland, Body Worlds Exhibition while also being published in Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire, Boston Globe, i-D, Cosmopolitan.

She has delivered workshops & Academic Teaching at IKEA, Hyper Island, Apple, and BA courses in Media Technology at BTH. Her education focuses in Software Engineering, Media and Communications, and AI.

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Connect with Niki:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikilazaridou/
Website: https://www.nikilazaridou.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

In this episode of The Impostor Syndrome Files, we talk about the uncertainty that comes with career pivots and why change often triggers so much self-doubt. My guest this week is Juliana Pereira, community builder and co-author of Pivot Quest.

Drawing from her own eight career pivots, Juliana challenges the belief that successful people have everything figured out. We explore how curiosity, self-trust and a willingness to become a beginner can help us navigate change more confidently.

We also discuss how to recognize when it may be time for a change, what our energy can teach us about what we want next and why it’s important to consider the cost of not pivoting.

About My Guest
Juliana Naranjo Pereira is a Future of Work Humanist, community builder, and eight-time career pivoter who has spent her life navigating change across cultures, countries, and industries.

Born and raised in New York to a Colombian mother and Portuguese father, she learned early that identity is rarely fixed and belonging is something we create. Her journey has taken her from advertising at BBDO and product design to luxury fashion PR for brands including Gucci, Burberry, and Tiffany & Co.; from developing world-class retail experiences to founding and successfully exiting a wellness venture; from building traditions and community for more than 10,000 students from over 160 nationalities at IE University to serving as Global CMO of an international technology consultancy.

Through her work building communities and leadership ecosystems around the world, she has helped thousands of people navigate growth, belonging, and transformation.

A TEDx speaker, contributor to Harvard Business Review Deusto, and member of the Board of Trustees of UNICEF Spain, Juliana believes that life's most meaningful transformations begin not when we become someone new, but when we uncover who we have been all along.

She believes that a pivot is not reinvention—it is revelation.

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Connect with Juliana:
Book Website: https://pivot-quest.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliananaranjopereira/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/houseofpivots

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Connect with Kim and The Impostor Syndrome Files:

Join the free Impostor Syndrome Challenge:
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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 how to define success in ways that go beyond traditional performance metrics. My guest this week is M. Nora Bouchard, executive coach, leadership advisor and author of Hidden Metrics: The Coach's Secret to Success That Really Matters.

Nora shares how nearly three decades of coaching leaders has shaped her perspective on what drives meaningful leadership and sustainable career success. We explore why traditional metrics like KPIs often fail to capture what keeps people engaged at work and how leaders can reconnect with a greater sense of purpose without walking away from their careers.

In our conversation, we discuss the importance of creating a personal vision for your leadership that is grounded in your values and strengths. Nora introduces the concept of "hidden metrics" and explains how using your own internal measures of success can increase engagement, strengthen decision-making and ultimately improve performance.

We also talk about why so many leaders never intentionally define what leadership means to them, the importance of making your leadership values visible to others and how greater self-awareness creates more trust and consistency for your team. Finally, Nora shares practical advice for getting started, recognizing where change is needed and asking for support instead of trying to navigate every challenge alone.

About My Guest
M. Nora Bouchard is an executive and leadership coach with over 10,000 hours of coaching experience. Known for her engaging, relatable and insightful style, she helps leaders at all levels reconnect with what matters most in their professional lives—the unmeasured moments of growth, integrity, and purpose that define meaningful work. Over three decades, Nora has partnered with organizations ranging from Fortune 500 companies to ambitious nonprofits, guiding leaders to honor both their results and their values.

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Connect with Nora:

Book: www.hidden-metrics.com

Website: https://www.mnorabouchard.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

In this episode of The Impostor Syndrome Files, we talk about why so many professionals drift through their careers instead of intentionally shaping what's next. My guest this week is Dr. Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer, executive coach, leadership advisor and co-author of Now Near Next.

Cynthia shares her own unexpected career transition after losing a senior executive role and explains how the work she had already done to prepare for her next chapter gave her the confidence to pursue entrepreneurship instead of returning to corporate America. We explore why so many high-achieving professionals become so focused on proving themselves in their current roles that they never create space to think about where they want to go next.

In our conversation, we discuss the importance of identifying your natural talents instead of focusing exclusively on building new skills. Cynthia introduces the ACES framework to help people recognize the strengths that come most naturally to them and explains why these often become the foundation for more meaningful and sustainable career growth.

We also talk about expanding your current role instead of waiting for someone else to create opportunities for you. Cynthia shares practical strategies for identifying business problems you can solve, making the case for broader responsibilities and reframing self-promotion as an act of service rather than self-interest.

Finally, we explore the role fear plays in career decisions and why learning to recognize your body's early warning signals can help you interrupt unhelpful self-talk before it takes over. Cynthia explains how greater awareness, combined with intentional practice, can help us respond more confidently to uncertainty throughout our careers.

About My Guest
Dr. Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer is leading a powerful conversation around the hidden problem of how high-performing individuals and organizations gradually lose alignment, not because they fail, but because they stop examining where they’re headed.

Dr. Cynthia is a human capital strategist, executive coach, and bestselling author who brings over 30 years of experience working with leaders at the highest levels of business. Her work, Stop Drifting: The Discipline of Direction, offers a clear, practical way to interrupt autopilot, make better decisions, and move forward with intention.

She’s also the creator of the 7-Minute Pivot™, a simple daily practice designed to help you shift from thinking to action—one decision at a time.

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Connect with Cynthia:
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/drcynthiabentzenmercer
Website: www.dr-cynthia.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

In this episode of The Impostor Syndrome Files, we talk about how to communicate more effectively under pressure. My guest this week is Salvatore Manzi, communications coach and author of the forthcoming book Clear and Compelling.

Salvatore shares his own journey from debilitating public speaking anxiety to helping professionals communicate with greater confidence and clarity. Here we explore the unique challenges facing introverts and analytical thinkers in environments that reward quick responses and spontaneous conversation. We also explore strategies for communicating more effectively in such moments.

Throughout our conversation, Salvatore shares practical techniques for contributing earlier in meetings, creating space to organize your thoughts, making complex ideas easier for others to follow and using simple communication frameworks to stay clear under pressure.

About My Guest
Salvatore Manzi is a leadership communications coach helping leaders amplify their influence and impact. He’s coached leaders presenting at the United Nations, guided startup founders and investors through fundraising rounds, including one that raised $100 million over their goal, and has helped biopharma and nuclear scientists present their work globally. With emphasis on frameworks, principles, and techniques, Salvatore supports leaders in connecting authentically and navigating high-stakes engagements with confidence. His book, Clear and Compelling, was picked up by a NY publisher and scheduled for re-release in October 2026. It combines his research into neuroscience, psychology, and organizational behavior, and decades of coaching into practical strategies for turning insights into influence. He’s passionate about fostering collaborative team environments that integrate diverse perspectives through effective communication.

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Connect with Salvatore:
Book: https://www.clearandcompellingplaybook.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/salvatorejmanzi/

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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