Help Wanted – "Imposter Syndrome Is Stunting My Growth. Help!"

Date: October 7, 2025
Hosts: Jason Pfeiffer (Entrepreneur Magazine Editor-in-Chief), Nicole Lapin (Money Expert)
Caller: Dina Marie

Episode Overview

This episode tackles the pervasive issue of imposter syndrome and its impact on career advancement. Dina Marie, a caller, seeks advice on overcoming self-imposed limitations holding her back from breaking through to true leadership roles. Jason and Nicole guide her through reframing her achievements and strengths, ultimately highlighting how the qualities she doubts are actually evidence of leadership. The conversation is honest and practical, blending personal anecdotes with actionable guidance.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Caller’s Dilemma: Ceiling Between Manager and Leader

• Dina Marie articulates her struggle with self-doubt despite significant professional achievements. She senses an invisible ceiling between “manager” and “leader,” feeling inexperienced and undeserving when contemplating more senior leadership.
  • Quote:

    "Even though I've accomplished so much...I hit these moments where that voice inside me says, not quite good enough. Why are you reaching so high? Isn't right here fine?" (Dina Marie, 02:44)

• She wonders if others feel similarly and recognizes her own self-imposed limitations.

2. Defining Leader vs. Manager

• Clarification by Jason & Nicole:
  • A manager "executes someone else's vision."
  • A leader crafts vision, inspires, relies on instincts.
    • Quote:

      "A manager is taking orders from someone above and making sure everyone below them is following... A leader is driving vision from within them." (Jason Pfeiffer, 05:33)

  • Dina Marie agrees, noting a leader "receives input, gets buy-in, and helps truly lead the organization forward." (Dina Marie, 05:04)

3. Imposter Syndrome Origins and Superpowers

• On confronting imposter syndrome, Dina traces it back to early life (“I wasn't great at sports, I didn't get fantastic grades”) but asserts her "magnetic" ability to connect people is her superpower.
• Nicole encourages reframing: sometimes that “am I okay?” voice is healthy, prompting genuine self-inquiry rather than toxic hustle.

4. Leadership redefined through Connection and Feedback

• Dina Marie describes her approach—connecting people, collecting relationships, and valuing feedback (“platinum level customer service”)—as central to her work in sales and customer service environments.
  • Quote:

    "I collect relationships and people...I hold onto and carry their stories forward and connect them to others." (Dina Marie, 10:15)

5. Realization and Mirroring: Recognizing Leadership Already Present

• Jason and Nicole point out that Dina’s connecting and team-cohering skills ARE leadership.
  • Quote:

    "You do this thing, you collect these people, and you get them to cohere to a vision. What you're describing as leadership is literally just the thing that happens after that." (Jason Pfeiffer, 14:02)

• Nicole uses humor and analogies (“girl math”) to highlight the logical connection between Dina’s strengths and leadership:

  "By the transitive property...being a good leader is this superpower you have." (Nicole Lapin, 15:44)

6. Growth Mindset and Permission

• The conversation turns to the myth of born leaders. Everyone feels like an imposter at first—even Mark Zuckerberg.
  • Quote:

    "No one has had leadership experience out of the womb...everybody at some point has that imposter syndrome." (Nicole Lapin, 17:39) "You grow into it." (Jason Pfeiffer, 18:24)

• Jason underscores the “scalability” of Dina’s superpower—being able to gather and align people is valuable whether in small or massive settings.

7. From Intangible to Tangible: What Do You Want?

• Nicole pushes Dina to clarify whether she wants a leadership title (executive/C-suite) or simply wants to continue leading.
  • Quote:

    "Is it the leadership? Can we get you to a place where you’re already doing the leadership, but really what you want is a bump in pay or something more tangible?" (Nicole Lapin, 25:35)

• Dina admits she rarely asks directly for what she really wants.

8. Action Steps and Self-Recognition

• Jason lays out a two-track approach:
  • What’s available now: Fully recognize and own her leadership abilities—stop seeking external permission.
  • What’s available next: Proactively communicate to her boss what she actually wants (promotion, new role, etc.), now that the internal confidence is there.
• Nicole suggests analyzing specific traits and metrics she admires in current leaders and mapping how she already mirrors these.
• Final empowerment:
  • Quote:

    "If you need to ask somebody's permission to be a leader, you can ask us. You're a fucking leader." (Nicole Lapin, 29:12)

Memorable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• [04:58] Nicole Lapin & Jason Pfeiffer: “It’s interesting that you say manager versus leader...Define that. What are the differences?”
• [10:15] Dina Marie: “People travel...and they collect souvenirs and I collect relationships and people...I see myself as that connector piece.”
• [13:25] Dina Marie: “I’m seeing someone who’s really strongly focused in a direction and able to pull together different personalities...to get a cohesive focus.”
• [15:44] Nicole Lapin: “This is girl math for you, you know, then being a good leader is this superpower that you have.”
• [17:39] Nicole Lapin: “Leaders had to start leading at some point. Like...Mark Zuckerberg was in his dorm room making Facebook...Nobody collects that before they start doing it. So everybody at some point has that imposter syndrome before they start.”
• [18:24] Jason Pfeiffer: “Nobody knows how to do that. You grow into it.”
• [25:35] Nicole Lapin: “What do you want? Is it the leadership? ...Or do you want something more tangible?”
• [29:12] Nicole Lapin: “If you need to ask somebody's permission to be a leader, you can ask us. You're a fucking leader. You are a leader now.”

Important Segments & Timestamps

• [02:44–04:58] – Dina Marie describes her imposter syndrome and feelings of self-imposed limitation.
• [05:01–06:31] – Distinguishing manager versus leader.
• [10:15–11:06] – Dina Marie’s “superpower” of connectivity and relationships.
• [14:02–15:44] – Jason and Nicole help Dina realize her leadership is already active.
• [17:39–20:49] – Discussion on growth into leadership, Zuckerberg anecdote, and skill scalability.
• [23:14–24:30] – Dina recognizes she hasn’t explicitly asked for a leadership role.
• [27:05–29:12] – Conversation distills Dina’s two parallel tracks: acting as a leader now and aiming for the next step.

Summary Takeaways

• Imposter Syndrome is common—even for successful professionals—and often stems from undervaluing one’s strengths.
• Leadership is about vision and connection, not just titles or outcomes.
• The very qualities Dina doubts are actually her leadership powers in action.
• The path forward: Recognize current impact, communicate goals, and take action—no permission required.
• You can’t wait for someone to anoint you; leadership starts with self-recognition.

Final Empowerment:

"You're a fucking leader. You are a leader now." – Nicole Lapin ([29:12])

This episode offers a relatable, energizing guide to reframing imposter syndrome, validating unique strengths, and stepping confidently into leadership—however you define it.