Social Change Roles and the Imposter Complex with Deepa Iyer

Amidst the complex emotions that of course I’m experiencing and certainly bearing witness to while navigating the realities of the current uncertainty precipitated by COVID 19, one of the most common threads I can discern is a well-intended but despair-filled sense of, “but what can I DO?” “I’m not DOING enough.” And this DOING, and this enoughness, that need for identity has been one that has caused a lot of struggle and confusion and inefficiency. Comparison too.  So when my friend and former Ready Enough Podcast guest, Staci Jordan, shared a Medium post on Facebook called “Mapping our Social Change Roles in Times of Crisis,” it rang a LOT of bells and ticked a LOT of boxes. I found myself bringing into my coaching conversations, and into my group program called Your Impeccable Impact. It’s been so helpful to guide people into an understanding of where they, you, I are best suited to serve in THIS current situation, context, and season. And once we see where we are best suited, we can dive on in and not feel the need to wear all the hats or capes. But we MUST fill our role as best we can. We are all needed. That’s my rallying cry. So in this episode of Ready Enough, I am joined by the author of this amazing article, Deepa Iyer. Deepa is a Senior Advisor at Building Movement Project and Director of Solidarity Is, a project that provides trainings, narratives, and resources on building deep and lasting multiracial solidarity and sustainability of social change ecosystems. Iyer is a South Asian American writer, lawyer, strategist, facilitator, and activist whose areas of expertise include the post 9/11 America experiences of South Asian, Muslim, Arab and Sikh immigrants, immigration and civil rights policies, and racial equity and solidarity practices. And so in this episode, we dig into her framework from the “Mapping our Social Change Roles in Times of Crisis” article, how the Imposter Complex shows up when we’re navigating these roles, how the Imposter Complex shows up for Deepa, and what went into her writing her book, We Too Sing America. Find full show notes for this episode here.   More from Deepa Iyer: DeepaIyer.com Solidarity Is Solidarity Is This Podcast We Too Sing America @dviyer on Twitter   More from Tanya Geisler: tanyageisler.com @tanyageisler on Instagram Join the Overcoming the Imposter Complex Facebook Group Take my quiz to learn what Imposter Complex behavior is standing in the way of your unshakable confidence Sign up for my email list  

Eli Trier joins me on the Ready Enough Podcast in this episode, and she knows a thing or two about when people come up against the Imposter Complex. Eli coaches community leaders in building their communities through Online Community Projects. And when it comes to finding a sense of belonging in community, the Imposter Complex loves to show up — both for community members, but also for community hosts. As Eli so beautifully reminds us at the beginning of our conversation, “We all feel like we don’t belong.” So we get into it. We talk about the Imposter Complex and creating a Culture of Belonging. Then, Eli shares truthfully, honestly, and generously about her experience of the Imposter Complex, but then how a diagnosis really opened up her whole life to see what else was making her feel like a square peg in a round hole and how neurodiversity fits into creating a Culture of Belonging. Find full show notes for this episode here.   More from Eli Trier: EliTrierCommunities.com @elitriercommunities on Instagram   More from Tanya Geisler: tanyageisler.com @tanyageisler on Instagram Join the Overcoming the Imposter Complex Facebook Group Take my quiz to learn what Imposter Complex behavior is standing in the way of your unshakable confidence Sign up for my email list  

Janelle Allen helps folx get their brilliance out into the world through courses and course creation. With a background in academia, she uses her skills in understanding how adults learn to create online courses that deliver results — which is of course exactly where the Imposter Complex loves to hang out. We talk about how Janelle hasn’t necessarily identified with the Imposter Complex, how Janelle’s program Finish Your Damn Course! (brilliant name, no?) was basically a response to her clients that kept getting tripped up by the Imposter Complex and how the Imposter Complex shows up for folx at all levels of business, and how “fake it till you make it” is a very privileged mindset. Find full show notes for this episode here.   More from Janelle Allen: Zen Courses @janelleallen on Twitter   More from Tanya Geisler: tanyageisler.com @tanyageisler on Instagram Join the Overcoming the Imposter Complex Facebook Group Take my quiz to learn what Imposter Complex behavior is standing in the way of your unshakable confidence Sign up for my email list  

I’m so happy to get to share Nicole Lewis-Keeber with you all today. Her work is deep and has that resonance of popcorning ahas. Nicole is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker turned business therapist and mindset coach who helps entrepreneurs identify the patterns that cause friction and dysfunction in their businesses. She helps them identify trauma of all kinds, rework habits, and redefine relationships—with themselves, their team members, and their businesses. Nicole and I have known each other for several years now, so we are intimately familiar with each other’s work. Nicole shares that the Imposter Complex shows up for her in People Pleasing and Leaky Boundaries and how it’s a delicate and tricky process to determine when those things are a symptom of the Imposter Complex and when they are a symptom of trauma—because they can look very similar. I was struck by the simplicity with which she named that the Imposter Complex is the wounding around how you see yourself. Super clear and super powerful. Nicole shares some of her own experience in a school system that did not support her learning, and then how trauma can show up in your business as an entrepreneur when we replicate patterns that are disruptive and harmful to ourselves. We also talk some about our inner kiddos, as she calls the sweetest part of our formative selves whose desire for safety cannot be betrayed. I think you’ll love this conversation as I did. Find full show notes for this episode here.   More from Nicole Lewis-Keeber: nicole.lewis-keeber.com @nicole.lewiskeeber on Instagram   More from Tanya Geisler: tanyageisler.com @tanyageisler on Instagram Take my quiz to learn what Imposter Complex behavior is standing in the way of your unshakable confidence Sign up for my email list  

The deeply wise, deeply generous McKensie Mack joins me on Ready Enough today to share a rich interview that digs deep into boundaries, healing from systemic injustice and inequity, and will give you plenty of food for thought and room to grow if you let it in. McKensie is an anti-oppression consultant, coach, and facilitator, working with organizations to develop cultures of accountability that dismantle racism and gender inequity at the individual, interpersonal, and institutional levels. Together we talk about determining whether we’re deserving or worthy (spoiler: the answer is always yes), dismantling systems of harm vs. being used by the system to perpetuate harm, why we give up on our own healing, setting your boundaries, and dealing with leaky boundaries. Find full show notes for this episode here.   More from McKensie Mack: McKensieMack.com @mckensiemack on Instagram   More from Tanya Geisler: tanyageisler.com @tanyageisler on Instagram Take my quiz to learn what Imposter Complex behavior is standing in the way of your unshakable confidence Sign up for my email list  

Today the incomparable Lena West joins me on the Ready Enough podcast. Lena is a unique blend of coach, techie, marketing whiz, cheerleader, and intuitive guide. She helps women-identified entrepreneurs get real about business growth and what it truly means to show up for yourself and your business. Over the years, I’ve come to count on her honesty, directness, brilliance, depth, hilarity, power, and profound generosity. Lena has done my Imposter Complex work, and in this conversation, we talk about worthiness and mistrust of ease. I’ve witnessed Lena’s ability to SEE a business model bigger than people can see for themselves and we talk about why folx are afraid of that vision. This is part of Lena’s gift in helping folx reclaiming the title of CEO and what that means for them. We also talk about the pain of not feeling yourself surrounded by the right people and Lena shares a fabulous analogy of diminishment being a booty call. And the Imposter Complex being smoked gouda that will forever make me laugh. Find full show notes for this episode here.   More from Lena West: LenaWest.com @lena_west on Instagram   More from Tanya Geisler: tanyageisler.com @tanyageisler on Instagram Take my quiz to learn what Imposter Complex behavior is standing in the way of your unshakable confidence Sign up for my email list  

Today I am thrilled to have the brilliant light that is Elizabeth DiAlto on the show with me. Elizabeth’s energy is infectious and pretty much NOTHING is off the table. We talked about her Queen status, and how you can embrace yours, how perfectionism is extremely isolating, and how we tend to romanticize, dramatize or minimize in all our relationships. We talked about her relationship with shame, and why transparency is a huge part of WHY she doesn’t struggle with the Imposter Complex as much as many of the folx I meet. And Elizabeth breaks down the four parts of her curriculum, Arc of Power, which have allowed her to deepen into this work as well. What I really appreciate is how HONEST Elizabeth is about having a hard time trusting people...because even with best intentions, if they’re not looking at their stuff, what’s being acted upon can be really damaging and harmful. Which I just think is such a great argument for being in INTEGRITY with yourself, right? Be in integrity SUCH THAT you are trustworthy. That’s what I endeavour to do in any case. Find full show notes for this episode here.   More from Elizabeth DiAlto: WildSoulMovement.com Elizabeth’s podcast: Truth Telling with Elizabeth DiAlto @elizabethdialto on Instagram Elizabeth DiAlto on Facebook   More from Tanya Geisler: tanyageisler.com @tanyageisler on Instagram Take my quiz to learn what Imposter Complex behavior is standing in the way of your unshakable confidence Sign up for my email list  

In this episode of Ready Enough, you will hear how fond I am of my guest, Nic Strack. Nic was in my Starring Role Academy in 2018 and watching them do the brave work of deepening into who they were becoming was a profound privilege and joy. Nic is a parenting coach and so in this episode, we talk some about what Nic calls “against the grain parenting” which they know a lot about as a non-binary parent. We talk about how exhausting this can be and as such why self-care matters and what self-care really is (hint: it’s not just about sheet masks and massages...though it can be that too). Of course as ever, we talk about how the Imposter Complex insists upon perfection, how even thinking about “ready enough” may presume that we aren’t taking responsibility for doing harm, and as such why reparations are vital in this space of swinging out imperfectly. Find full show notes for this episode here.   More from Nic Strack: NicStrack.com @nicstrack on Instagram   More from Tanya Geisler: tanyageisler.com @tanyageisler on Instagram Take my quiz to learn what Imposter Complex behavior is standing in the way of your unshakable confidence Sign up for my email list  

Today on the Ready Enough Podcast, I have the joy of speaking with the deeply wise and powerful Meg Lightheart. Meg is a presentation coach for people with a vision and a leadership coach for people facing uncertainty, complexity, and mess. She particularly likes supporting people who feel in over their heads and who sense that what's got them to where they are isn't going to get them through this next set of challenges. So together, we’re talking about where the Imposter Complex show up for folx doing presentations and other types of performance. We talk about where the Imposter Complex shows up in leadership and the ever-so-vital distinctions between independent leadership and interdependent leadership. But more specifically, we talk about how the Imposter Complex loves to get into and under or activate our perfectionism and how it tag teams with humility to become diminishment. Meg shares her experience in how the Imposter Complex shows up for her as a trans feminine person who uses she/her pronouns. Because the Impostor Complex is obsessed with binaries and certainty and all or nothing. So, we get into where this plays into the idea of “trans enough.” I think you’re going to love this conversation. Find full show notes for this episode here.   More from Meg Lightheart: MegaLightheart.com Presentation Now Meg Lightheart on Medium @megalightheart on Twitter @megalightheart on Instagram Meg Lightheart on Facebook   More from Tanya Geisler: tanyageisler.com @tanyageisler on Instagram Take my quiz to learn what Imposter Complex behavior is standing in the way of your unshakable confidence Sign up for my email list  

Staci Jordan Shelton is one of my absolute favorite teachers. She is a performance consultant and coach working with leaders, creatives, and entrepreneurs to uncover—to unravel—the things that influence and impact their performance, processes, and overall results. Staci is all about releasing Humans from captivity and the tyranny of limited beliefs, behaviors, and binaries—self-imposed or otherwise. By helping humans get free of the lies that hold them hostage, she is helping in cultivating a lifestyle of powerful self-love, self-acceptance, agency, freedom, and abundance. And those lies that keep us hostage? They are the tools of white supremacy, patriarchy, and the Imposter Complex. And so, I invited Staci here on the Ready Enough Podcast to go deep with me in unraveling some of these holds that the Imposter Complex—or other systems—have on us. Find full show notes for this episode here.   More from Staci Jordan Shelton: StaciJordanShelton.com UNRAVELED Collective @stacijordanshelton on Facebook @stacijshelton on Instagram   More from Tanya Geisler: tanyageisler.com @tanyageisler on Instagram Take my quiz to learn what Imposter Complex behavior is standing in the way of your unshakable confidence Sign up for my email list