hosted by: Jessica Guzik

3 | Impostor syndrome, self-worth, & building soft skills with Kaitlin Maud (Part 1)

This show was designed to do two things: share real stories about personal growth from real working women, and give young women honest, helpful career advice.

Kaitlin Maud, digital brand strategist, seriously over delivered on both of these goals. I was blown away by her honesty, eloquence, and her intense passion for supporting the inner growth of other women.

In this two-part conversation, I talk with Kaitlin about what it was like to navigate her early career days and push through impostor syndrome. At the time, she didn’t even realize that she was battling issues of self-worth. Like myself, she thought it was normal to be questioning her ability to contribute and finding ways to overcompensate for a perceived lack of competence.

If someone as smart, gifted, and talented as Kaitlin felt this way – I think it’s safe to say that this struggle can be pretty universal for women.

Kaitlin also talks about the challenges she faced working in the male-dominated advertising vertical. Her stories are funny yet haunting, and they serve as a powerful reminder of the privilege that men hold in the workplace and the ways in which men can cause harm without intending it or realizing it.

My conversation with Kaitlin made me feel energized, excited, and empowered. Kaitlin’s strong presence inspired me to become even stronger in my own presence. Her honesty made me see that speaking up and owning our experiences is an act of courage.

I truly hope that she does the same for you.

Here are links to the books and resources that Kaitlin mentioned in our discussion:

Crucial Conversations book:

https://amzn.to/2DnaaYm

Google study on team dynamics:

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/what-google-learned-from-its-quest-to-build-the-perfect-team.html

HBR article on women being less likely to get raises:

https://hbr.org/2018/06/research-women-ask-for-raises-as-often-as-men-but-are-less-likely-to-get-them

Only 11% of creative directors are women:

https://www.adweek.com/digital/pinterest-right-the-ratio/

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