May 22, 2019 4:00 am Published by

Episode 7: Intentional Greatness and Overcoming Self-Doubt, with Alexandra Stieglbauer

For this unique episode of the Intentional Greatness Podcast, I’m joined by Ali Stieglbauer. Ali is the co-author of my book, Chasing Perfection: Shatter the Illusion; Minimize Self-Doubt & Maximize Success. Ali is a remarkable and driven leader and the Marketing Manager at my company, YESS! Your Extraordinary Success Strategies, Inc. And most importantly, Ali is my daughter. In this episode, Ali and I take turns interviewing each other about our experiences as unf♥<kwithable women leaders, shattering our own illusions and self-doubt, breaking through our barriers, and maximizing our own success to become exceptional leaders.

What You Will Learn:

  • Ali and I discuss our experiences working together as mother and daughter, and we talk about the ways in which we support each other and help one another break through our limiting beliefs and self-doubt.
  • We talk about how being women leaders in different life stages alter our perspectives of the opinions of others. We also share how we each deal with criticisms, both in our reactions to others and in our own internal responses.
  • Ali discusses how she deals with often being the youngest person in the room, and how she maintains professionalism without questioning herself or doubting her place. Ali discusses the kind of pressure she puts on herself to excel.
  • I share with Ali why gratitude has been important to me. I discuss how I got through a dark period of my life, by taking care of myself and through consistent, incremental daily actions like journaling.
  • I discuss my feelings on putting in the hard work to earn my victories. I explain why many people use excuses to avoid doing the hard work and instead try to look for shortcuts to success.

 

Resources:

 

Intentional Greatness and Overcoming Self-Doubt

You’re here because you know that learning never ends. You’re the kind of entrepreneur, business owner or leader who realizes that the pursuit of a perfect life, while a worthy goal, is also an impossible one. You know there is no end to the race, and you’re ready to power through anyway. You know that the climb to the top is endless, and you’re going to make the climb anyway. In short, you’re ready to become an unf♥<kwithable leader.

For this episode of the Intentional Greatness Podcast, I invited Alexandra Stieglbauer to join me for a mutual interview. Ali works with me at YESS! and she is the co-author of my book Chasing Perfection: Shatter the Illusion; Minimize Self-Doubt & Maximize Success. Ali is also my daughter, and the gap in our ages gives each of us a unique perspective on being women leaders and the challenges and opportunities of operating in the business world.

For this episode, we discuss self-doubt and the importance of developing strategies to overcome it. We ask each other questions about the struggles we have faced in our careers, and we share our perspectives from different points in our careers. Ali and I have each had different challenges to overcome and different areas of our lives that have triggered imposter syndrome or caused us to question ourselves. We have each learned to break through and overcome these feelings.

A Younger Perspective

At age 26, Ali is generally the youngest person in the room in her professional life. This means that she has to show up with confidence and a self-assured attitude to show that she is more than capable in her role, despite her youth. As Ali explained in our conversation, her self-doubt varies depending upon the situation.

Ali’s age also means that she sometimes has trouble speaking up in situations, and one of her challenges has been learning to find her voice. She has done a fantastic job of this, but as Ali admitted during the podcast episode it can still be a struggle. However, she has recognized the importance of acknowledging her own abilities and her capability of handling any situation.

An Older Perspective

Things are a bit different for me. With age comes experience, and I have found that I’m less concerned with criticism from others. However, I’ve had my own difficult periods in my life where I questioned myself. Even today, I sometimes struggle against these feelings. I think it’s natural for any leader, and especially women leaders, to struggle with imposter syndrome.

I’ve learned the importance of self-care and of reminding myself daily that I am worthwhile. During a dark period of my life, I found journaling to be a powerful tool against self-doubt. The important thing for me was maintaining these daily activities, no matter what, even if I didn’t feel like doing them. I learned to develop the discipline necessary to stick with my daily activities, and I can tell you that it made a world of difference. Incrementally, day by day, I was able to get through the tough times. Hard work and discipline are so critical to success, and I encourage others to develop these vitally important skills themselves.

Download Your FREE Chapter of Chasing perfection

Get the first chapter of Sue’s book, Chasing Perfection: Shatter The Illusion along with the companion toolkit, the Maximizing Success Journal!

Categories: Uncategorized