The Masterclass

A month ago, I was invited by a particular Woman empowerment group to hold a Masterclass on “Imposter Syndrome.”

My class was full of Working Woman leaders mostly mid-level professionals, each trying their ways to break the glass ceiling or, should say, rather find the most effective ways they can adapt for their respective career growth and development.

I had designed the class as a blend of concept and practice followed by a very effective mindful meditation technique that they can come back to every time, they seep into Self-Doubt!

If you want to listen to it, you can do so here .

During the question hour session, a participant asked me If I could share an example of how Imposter Syndrome can be dealt with, when it lingers on.

On that, I replied with a recent example from my own life.

The Story

While there, I was teaching more than 70 emerging Woman leaders the way Imposter Syndrome manifest in our work, hindering our career progression

On the other end, a week ago, I was experiencing it myself.

Here’s the story that I bring to you today from that class.

————————————————————————

I have been on LinkedIn as a member, both premium and regular, for the past 20 years, and I have also been very active in sharing my feedback with its product team on several occasions contributing to the many ways the platform could be improved.

My relationship with LinkedIn is as old as my career journey which started as a recruiter way back in 2004.

LinkedIn at that time was the only leading professional network both for job hunters and job seekers.

My Role as a recruiter made me

• visit it almost every day
• explore every inch of LinkedIn
• scouting profiles
• Establishing networks that also include Vendor management, with agencies and service providers and that’s what made my connection and followers list grew heaps and bounds.

The Road less travelled

However, several years later, when my role and goals in life changed, I did not find any use for LinkedIn, and for years, my account was active but dormant as my engagement with the platform reduced to almost nil.

2024 Present day today – the start of this year, I’ve deleted most of my social media accounts including Facebook and was planning to do the same with LinkedIn, but wanted to give it some time before I would do that.

Then came the month of August 2024, and I decided to delete the LinkedIn account, as most of my clientele and connect with me on a direct basis and through my website. 

While I had not set any particular day for DELETING it, I had plans that by end of August I shall do the needful.

I soon forgot all about it, and then, during one of my coach calls with my client, when we were discussing a particular communication strategy, there was a mention of the LinkedIn Newsletter; I got curious and, after the call, went back to explore it.

I told myself; Let me try this out, and if it does not work, I shall delete it all.

Next,

I pulled out an old blog post from my Blog site, created a post, and in a matter of few hours, published my first newsletter; while I had no particular goal or aim attached to the work I was doing, the only thought that lingered in my mind was

will it be seen, viewed and read?

And if not, what do I do next 

Do I publish more or scrap the whole thing, including my account?

I took a deep breath and gave out a long sigh!

And went to sleep.

The next day, after a client coaching session, I logged in to LinkedIn to find,

————————————————————————-

I had more than 413, yes 413 subscribers and counting, people who have decided to subscribe to my newsletter.

————————————————————————-

Overnight I was filthy rich by 413 connections who were eager to be part of my journey.

When I shared this story with the Woman Leaders, most of them were deeply moved, some of them very emotional like me, fighting back tears, as I narrated my self-doubt story.

I closed the masterclass with a major learning I had on that day –

It was not the number of subscribers, but my own self-worth I was undermining, I was playing small, caught in numbers and stats or mere likes or responses. While there were hundreds and thousands of people waiting eagerly to hear what I had to share ! 

 

This experience made me reflect

How easily self-doubt made me totally forget the treasure trove of expertise I carry and the life I have changed and transformed.

& That day, I promised myself never to undermine my work and my self-worth.

I promised I am ready to be a failure but not someone who would not give it a try!

————————————————————————-

Just like me, if you are underplaying your potential or are enveloped with What-ifs or some vague fears that are hindering your progress, both personal or professional.

I invite you to give yourself permission to Fail, BUT not without giving your best shot!

More power to you.

Thank you for your time and attention

© Mehnaz Amjad 2017-2024

Mehnaz Amjad | Coach
Hyderabad, India