Challenging moments in a new leader’s journey.

Throughout my career, I’ve had several opportunities to mentor aspiring future leaders. I was recently catching up with one of my mentees who shared they had stepped into a new leadership role at their company. (Proud mentor moment 🫶)

Honestly, I had no doubt about their ability. They know the business inside and out, have high emotional intelligence, work collaboratively, strong communication skills, and possess so many of the qualities strong leaders need. But after sharing the exciting news, they followed it with, “Lisa, I don’t know if I’m in over my head. Everyone has way more experience than me. The imposter syndrome is a real thing for me.” What they shared immediately took me back to my own first leadership role many years ago.

I remember questioning myself constantly:

“Do they take me seriously?”

“Am I saying the right things?”

“Do I even belong in this role?”

Here’s what I learned over time—and what I shared with my mentee:

Confidence in leadership doesn’t come from having more experience than everyone else or knowing all the answers. It comes from how you show up, communicate, and learn to trust yourself and your team.

It’s built when you:

✔️ Recognize your role — you were hired for a reason. Age and years of experience alone do not define leadership success.

✔️ Speak up — even when your voice feels uncertain.

✔️ Make decisions — even when you don’t have every answer.

✔️ Leverage your team’s experience — allowing others to contribute and take ownership builds trust and creates opportunities to learn from one another.

✔️ Stay grounded in your role — even when you feel challenged, remind yourself that growth and discomfort often go hand in hand.

Over time, I realized I didn’t need to prove I knew more than my team. I needed to lead in a way that was clear, respectful, and authentic. And that shift changed everything. If you’ve ever felt this way stepping into leadership, you’re not alone.

And more importantly, you’re not unqualified — you’re growing into the role. Confidence isn’t something you wait for before you lead. It’s something you build because you lead. 🌟