Are You a Hidden Leader Because of the Imposter You Feel You Are?

Howdy, partner. 

Did you hear tell about the mysterious stranger people been seein’ about town? They’re saying they move about the shadows, always keepin’ themselves hidden. I’m not about to go believin’ everything I hear, but I’d like to know who it is and why they ain’t showin’ themselves. Though I’ve got a pretty good idea…

[And so begins our latest installment of Legacy Louisa and the legacy leadership framework. Remember, this is a story about how a new sheriff (aka a legacy leader) ran The Man (aka an old model of leadership) out of town and established a new frontier of leadership (aka legacy leadership framework) in the Wild West (aka male-dominated industries).] 

In the other posts, we’ve talked about the authentic leader (high in authority but low in influence) and the inspirational leader (low in authority and high in influence). 

Introducing The Hidden Leader, Bull. 

Today, we’re digging our spurs into another quadrant of The Legacy Leader Framework– the Hidden Leader (low in authority and influence). This is the face that remains out of the spotlight. This is the voice you can’t hear in the crowd and the leader whose contributions often go unnoticed.

But it’s not because they don’t show up, contribute, or generate brilliant ideas. The Hidden Leader is someone who may be fully present in meetings and tasks but is still overlooked. Why? Because somewhere along the way, they’ve either never found the confidence to claim their worth, or they've lost it through the pressures of their environment.

I call this person a Hidden Leader because, despite their potential, they struggle to assert their value. They don’t fully understand their own worth— or perhaps they’ve forgotten it in a culture that doesn’t always recognize their contributions. This quadrant of leadership highlights the internal battles many face in male-dominated industries. They aren’t just leaders waiting to emerge— they're leaders who need to rediscover the belief in themselves so they can step into their authority and influence.

For example, I’m currently producing a musical— something I’ve never done before, even though I’m familiar with theater and stage performance. Recently, I was given some feedback that instantly made me doubt myself. The confidence I had in how I was approaching the production vanished. I felt myself shrinking…

…at least until I took a moment to step away. I went to the bathroom, muttering under my breath, and gathered myself. In that moment, I realized I had two options. One: I could accept the feedback as the absolute truth, feel terrible about it, and stay silent. But doing that would only allow the low-confidence feeling to fester and grow.

Or, I could collect my thoughts, go back, express how this feedback made me feel, and have a productive conversation about how we could move forward together. By choosing the second option, I would reclaim my leadership, my confidence, and my sense of direction.

I chose the second. But let me be clear— there have been plenty of times in my life where I didn’t. I let someone else’s comments and my internal reactions to them rule the day. And that’s okay. No judgment here. We all have moments when we rise to the occasion and others when we can’t.

The bottom line is that the Hidden Leader is in the rodeo ring, facing off with a big, unruly bull called Imposter Syndrome. (See what I did there? I crack myself up sometimes...) And what happens in the ring is on a continuum. Sometimes, you stay on the bull longer, sometimes shorter. Sometimes, you know how to tame the beast, and other times, it bucks you off.

With that in mind, let’s just call our hidden leader, Bull. 

Everyone say, “Hi, Bull!”  

Now wave that red flag and get its attention. Let it see you and head straight for you. Don’t be nervous. You’re going to show Bull who is actually boss.

For Bull, any number of things could have contributed to their feelings of being an imposter. Maybe somebody called them out in a meeting, and it embarrassed them, or they were called upon for an answer and felt ill-prepared. Maybe someone once took their idea and framed it as their own. Any number of factors, some layered on top of others, could have led to someone becoming a hidden leader. 

Stepping Out of Being a Hidden Leader 

When you get sucked into a toxic culture– and there are a lot of those inside the male-dominated industries such as STEM– it’s easy to forget who you truly are. But that doesn’t mean you can’t find your way back to yourself. It doesn’t mean you can’t learn to be confident. It doesn’t mean you can’t remember your brilliance, your worth, your value…

The way to disrupt the imposter syndrome that is contributing to you being a hidden leader is to make it your superpower. Now, I do want to be sure I’m clear that imposter syndrome is never going to go away fully, which is why turning it into a superpower is the way to go. Because when your amygdala is being hijacked (which is pretty much what’s happening when imposter syndrome is kicking up its back legs, trying to throw you from its back), you can learn how to think about, notice, observe, and then respond to your thoughts. You know, the ones telling you, you suck, you can’t, you shouldn’t, you’re not good enough… 

Let me hear you call bull on that.

I mean, just think…How much time do you spend feeling like you don't belong? Or that you don't deserve your position? How many times have you held back your opinions or your ideas? How often have you made up excuses for why you didn’t go for the promotion, that deal, that chance to present?

If you were able to make imposter syndrome your superpower and master this on a scale of one to 10, what impact could that have? Think about that.

A Story About Some White Pants (She’s got her white pants on)

Ferrell and Fallon jokes aside, let me share with you a story about my client, Jess, a very successful business owner. She had started and sold two businesses and was starting a third business after ending a decade-long business partnership with another woman. Jess felt anxious, burnt out, and was never satisfied with her results. 

In our work together, we identified the brain pattern that got triggered when she was a little kid. When she was 10 or 11, she was at her aunt's house, and her cousin had a bunch of name-brand clothes. All the cousins were allowed to take whatever they wanted. She was excited to see what she could get. She pulled out a pair of white jeans, held them up, and was met with her aunt’s harsh words. “Oh, honey, you're too big to try those on.”

Now, if that had been me, I would have put them down and walked away. Not Jess. She said to herself, “I'll show you.” She went into the bedroom and shimmied those jeans right up. 

What she didn't realize is that in the moment when she felt embarrassed by her aunt, her brain immediately began to ensure she would never experience embarrassment again. This translated into Jess being very driven to succeed, always subconsciously thinking, “I’ll show you.”

Here was the kicker, though. No matter how successful she was, she was never satisfied with the results and was driving herself crazy. (Oh, and by the way, she had never put on a pair of white jeans since. She was in her forties when we worked together.)

Once she identified the brain pattern, she couldn’t unsee it. She couldn’t unsee that an upset 11-year-old had been running the show since that moment. She just wanted to be satisfied with her success. 

Now, she is a very successful speaking coach and small business owner. She also went out and bought herself a pair of white jeans. And she rocks them. (Everyone’s talking about her white pants…She’s got her white pants on…)

The Reality of Women and Imposter Syndrome

Here's the dealio. 

KPMG found that 75% of executive women reported having imposter syndrome at various points in their careers. It affected their ability to seek leadership positions. Despite their competence, the internalized fear of being exposed as a fraud made them less likely to put themselves forward. Can you see how this creates hidden leaders?

This has a huge impact, not only for you, but for whole companies. McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace reported that 25% of successful companies have women executives on their teams. So if imposter syndrome is running the day, and it’s keeping hidden leaders out of positions of authority and influence, whole teams and companies suffer. Women who can make their imposter syndrome their superpower and stop being the hidden leader can find success in ways they never even thought of. 

Get Unhidden, Hold on Tight, and Stay on the Bull

What I always say to my clients is if you don't have imposter syndrome, you're not playing a big enough game. What do I mean by that? The feelings and thoughts associated with imposter syndrome are an amygdala hijack, as I said before. Our amygdala is the reptilian part of our brain, which only gets triggered when we take risks.

I don't know about you, but it’s when I take risks, step outside of my comfort zone, and go out on the skinny branches that I learn, grow, expand, and sometimes, make my wildest dreams come true. In other words, you're not going to have imposter syndrome if the only thing you're doing is bingeing Netflix and eating chocolate-covered cherries on your couch. 

So, if that’s not what you’re doing and you’ve got imposter syndrome, then know that this is a hallmark of you playing a bigger game. This is you up on that damn rodeo bull, holding on tight, and staying on until the buzzer sounds. Winner, winner chicken dinner! 

Welcome your imposter syndrome. Embrace it. Make it your superpower. Get unhidden. We need your leadership. Are you ready to unleash it?

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If you’re ready to step into legacy-making leadership you’ll need to level up your authority and influence, but you can’t do that without first addressing the elephant in the room– Imposter Syndrome, those limiting thoughts keeping you small, still, or stuck. We all have it, so there’s no shame in that game. In male-dominated industries, many women experience self-doubt, questioning their achievements and potential. 

But I know a secret. Lean in a little closer….(psst…Imposter Syndrome can actually become your superpower.) When you know how to look at and leverage the positive side of Imposter Syndrome it’s a total game changer. That’s why my Make Imposter Syndrome Masterclass is so powerful. This Masterclass helps you identify your unique version of Imposter Syndrome and turn it into a source of strength and confidence. When you conquer Imposter Syndrome, you elevate your leadership and career. 

👉 Join Make Imposter Syndrome Your Superpower Now and become the leader you were meant to be!