What’s the antidote to imposter syndrome?

Plus—an invitation to co-create leadership guidance

Author

Jess Yuen
January 08, 2025

In partnership with

What if no one reads this? What if I have nothing valuable to say? What if I can't keep up? Looking back now, I realize those fears were telling me something important — that this newsletter matters to me, and that connecting with you matters even more.

- From overthinking in the margins to moving forward with intentionality

Almost a year ago, I launched The Left-Hand Column with shaky hands but a clear purpose: to share the patterns and insights I've gathered from decades of guiding teams, organizations, and leaders to clarity and growth.

Ten issues later, I'm humbled by your responses, your shared challenges, your forwards to colleagues facing similar struggles—they've all confirmed what I've observed in my practice: 

[Clarity x Intentionality]^Practice = Leadership Confidence

I've packed a whole lot into this pseudo equation, centered around an element that keeps surfacing in nearly every executive conversation I have: confidence.

Engineering Quiet Confidence

Many of you know I studied engineering through undergrad and grad school before taking a sharp left turn into management consulting. (Why? That's a story for another newsletter.) What's relevant here is the jarring shift: I went from engineering's concrete complexity—where problems had parameters and provable solutions—to business complexity, where even defining the problem was part of solving it.

Every day demanded that I speak up, synthesize messy information, and make recommendations with incomplete data. No longer could I revel in my introverted thinking. In my first month at McKinsey, I remember a leader asking me to "run with this workstream" and feeling my internal operating system crash. I didn’t have any context. I didn’t have any data. Come up with a solution with no variables or constraints and few inputs?  It didn't compute.

This feeling—being out of your depth, wondering if you belong, wanting to somehow transform into a different person entirely—it's remarkably common among the executives I work with today. That overwhelm, that imposter syndrome, that fear and uncertainty... they're not bugs in the leadership journey, they're features.

About a year later at McKinsey, something shifted. I found my sea legs, my confidence. Not because I suddenly had all the answers, but because I learned to trust my ability to find a way forward. When asked to "run with a workstream," instead of freezing like a deer in headlights, I could say, "Yeah, I got this." Not because I knew exactly what to do, but because I trusted I could figure it out—through research, conversations, frameworks, and good old-fashioned trial and error. I had gained that elusive quiet confidence—the calm assurance that comes from knowing you have the skills, the resources, and the support to navigate any challenge.

The Real Work 

For my clients, this journey from overwhelm to "I got this" isn't about accumulating perfect knowledge or transforming into some idealized version of a leader. It's about building two fundamental practices: clarity and intentionality. Clarity helps you see the situation, your role, and your resources accurately. Intentionality ensures your actions align with your purpose and values.

When you practice these consistently, they become second nature—and that's where real confidence takes root. Not the showy, performative kind that needs to be the loudest voice in the room. Not the fragile "fake it till you make it" variety that crumbles under pressure. 

Instead, this is quiet confidence—a deep self-trust born from truly knowing who you are and what you bring to the table. With this self-awareness, you can effectively leverage your unique strengths while shoring up your growth areas. It's the self-assurance that empowers you to say "I don't know" or "I'll figure it out", because you trust in your ability to navigate whatever comes your way.

This journey—from overwhelm to “I got this”—is what I want to support in the coming months.

Reflection:

As we explore this rich topic of building quiet confidence in leadership, I'd love to hear your perspective:

  • On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your current leadership confidence? What factors influenced your rating?

  • What is your relationship with the concept of “confidence?” How do you recognize confidence in yourself or others?

  • Where in your leadership journey do you feel most confident? Where do you feel most uncertain? 

  • What practices or insights have helped you develop your own quiet confidence as a leader?

More Info

Your experiences and challenges help shape my understanding of how leaders navigate this journey. What topics around leadership would be most valuable to explore together?

Reply to this email or connect with me on LinkedIn to share your thoughts—I read every comment!

Keep reading, keep leading, 

Jess

P.S. Missed any issues from 2024? Browse the archive here.

If you've found value in The Left-Hand Column, please share it with other leaders who might benefit. 

Ready to find your quiet confidence? Schedule a free discovery session today to unlock your potential and accelerate your leadership journey. 

For more, follow me on LinkedIn or check out my website.

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