The CUInsight Experience podcast: Imposter syndrome (#207)

Welcome to episode 207 of The CUInsight Experience podcast with your hosts, Randy Smith, co-founder of CUInsight.com, and Jill Nowacki, President and CEO of Humanidei.

This episode is sponsored by Alacriti—a leading payments fintech helping credit unions compete with challenger banks and digital wallets. Alacriti delivers seamless, real-time money movement experiences for loan payments, A2A transfers, digital disbursements, and bill pay. With a single, cloud-native platform that connects to The Clearing House, Fedwire, ACH, and FedNow, credit unions can modernize without overhauling legacy infrastructure. Learn more at Alacriti.com.

In this season, Jill and I will have conversations centered around leadership, credit unions, and living our best lives. We will have some of the most respected leaders from around credit unions who we are grateful to call friends join us in the discussion from time to time too.

In this episode, we discuss a challenge that many of us deal with—imposter syndrome—that annoying voice in your head that’s trying to convince you that you aren’t good enough and you don’t deserve to be here. We talk about how it shows up and shapes how we lead, interact, and self-sabotage.

We talk about first jobs—where a “fake it ‘til you make it” mindset was the norm—and moments that made us question if we belonged where we were. Imposter syndrome sometimes hides behind perfectionism, micromanagement, and/or hesitation to take risks, and we discuss what that can do to a workplace culture.

Join us as we offer up some tools to help you recognize that it isn’t just you—literally everyone is flawed!

[00:58] – Although often unspoken, imposter syndrome affects 70% of people—including accomplished leaders.
[02:21] – Randy recalls early jobs where “faking it” made self-doubt feel like a given.
[04:09] – Jill’s drive to prove herself after a speaking invitation is an example of imposter syndrome’s double edge.
[07:09] – Subtle doubts from others and ourselves can discourage leadership growth.
[10:27] – Self-doubt can spiral, but reflection and vulnerability help leaders manage imposter syndrome.
[13:24] – Randy recommends breaking goals down into small wins to overcome imposter syndrome.
[14:14] – Reflecting on how small progress can help counter imposter syndrome and boost your impact as a leader.
[17:42] – Leaders facing imposter syndrome often overcompensate, via perfectionism and micromanagement.
[18:38] – Imposter syndrome can also manifest as overworking or self-sabotage.
[21:46] – Randy points out that self-awareness can help leaders recognize when imposter syndrome influences decisions.
[23:31] – Randy says that he would look for a new opportunity if a leader with imposter syndrome were unhelpful.
[24:28] – Jill stresses balancing resilience with mental health when dealing with a toxic work environment.
[27:18] – Jill encourages a curious, not critical, mindset when addressing mistakes, both in oneself and others.
[30:31] – Randy suggests separating facts from feelings and reframing thoughts to combat negative self-talk.
[32:13] – Jill and Randy’s key takeaways from the episode