Meet Erin Diehl

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Erin Diehl. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Erin, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

For a long time, I played small. I stayed in what felt safe and familiar. I hid behind my improv team instead of stepping fully into my own voice. I told myself I had nothing to say before I launched my podcast. I convinced myself it would be terrifying to stand on a stage alone. My own thoughts and limiting beliefs were the biggest thing holding me back.

I learned that our thoughts and our words are wands. They shape the world we live in. So I got to work on changing them.

In 2023, I suffered a concussion and dealt with post concussion syndrome for five and a half months. It was one of the hardest seasons of my life, and I would not wish it on anyone. But it taught me something powerful. It forced me to slow down, pause, and really look at my priorities. It made me realize that my most valuable asset was not my business or my schedule. It was me and my mindset.

Now, every morning, I start by celebrating my wins from the day before. I name ten things I am grateful for. I say ten I Am affirmations out loud. And I co create my day with the universe before I give my energy to anyone else. That daily practice changed everything.

It helped me step into my power. It helped me stop shrinking. It helped me realize I am not here to play small. I am here to serve. And when I shifted my focus from proving myself to serving others, imposter syndrome stopped having a seat at the table.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I’m a business improv edutainer, keynote speaker, and the founder of improve it!, a professional development company that uses improvisational comedy and experiential learning to help leaders and teams communicate better, adapt faster, and reconnect with their people. What we do is rooted in play, empathy, and real human connection. We do not just talk about leadership. We create experiences where people get to feel it, practice it, and live it.

What feels most special about my work is watching people remember themselves. Watching a leader soften. Watching a team start listening to each other again. Watching individuals who walked in guarded leave more open, more confident, and more connected. There is nothing more powerful than seeing someone realize they are allowed to be human at work!

We are so lucky to partner with organizations like Amazon, LinkedIn, McKesson, and The Obama Foundation, I host a top 1% global podcast called Workday Playdate with improve it!, where I share stories and practical tools around leadership, communication, and culture through the lens of humor and heart.

I am also the author of I See You! A Leader’s Guide to Energizing Your Team Through Radical Empathy, an Amazon best seller that focuses on what it really means to see and honor the people around you.

Right now, I am focused on expanding that mission through The I See You! Movement, an upcoming membership community inspired by my book. It will bring leaders together both online and in person throughout 2026 to deepen their leadership through play, empathy, and connection. I am also in the early stages of writing my next book, which is both exciting and terrifying at the same time!

At the heart of it all, my work is about helping people feel seen, safe, and brave enough to show up as their full selves. That is where transformation begins.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

When I look back at my journey, three things stand out as the most impactful.

The first is perseverance and resilience. I have always had an engine that keeps running, even when things feel impossible. After everything we went through in 2020, I realized I am far more capable than I ever gave myself credit for. Failure does not discourage me anymore. It challenges me, stretches me, and strengthens me. I now see failure as a muscle I get to build. Every time I fall down, I am actually gathering information, building grit, and moving closer to the next breakthrough. The more I try, the more possibilities open up.

The second is my ability to truly see people. I have always had a deep instinct to meet people where they are and lift them up from that place. Making someone feel seen, heard, and valued is not a small thing. It can change how they show up in a room, in their work, and in their life. That ability to connect, encourage, and champion others in an authentic way has shaped everything I have built and everything I care about.

The third is passion. I genuinely love what I do. I love being in a room with people. I love facilitating workshops. I love stepping onto a stage. I love hearing people’s stories, learning their struggles, and helping them move through them. That love is not performative. It is the fuel behind everything. People don’t just hear my words. They feel the energy behind them. And that passion is what keeps me going when it gets hard, when I am tired, or when the path feels unclear.

For anyone who is early in their journey, my advice is to give yourself quiet space and actually listen to your inner voice. We fill our lives with noise, obligations, and productivity, and in the process, we drown out the very voice that is trying to guide us. That small nudge, that idea that keeps coming back, that feeling you cannot shake, it is not random. It is calling you forward. When you are given a vision, it is yours for a reason. Honor it. Sit with it. Give yourself room to dream without rushing it. And when you know in your bones that something is meant for you, don’t ignore it. You owe it to yourself and to the people you are meant to serve to see it through.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

One of the most impactful books in my life has been *The Artist’s Way* by Julia Cameron. I first worked through it in 2017, and it is not a book you rush through or read in one sitting. It is a twelve week experience where you commit to daily morning pages, weekly artist dates, and deep, reflective questions that gently pull you inward and ask you to listen to yourself in a new way.

During that time, I started to see things more clearly than I ever had before. I realized I deeply wanted to become a mother, and I also realized I needed to live somewhere with ocean air, palm trees, and warmth. At the time, my husband and I had been living in Chicago for over a decade, and even though we loved that chapter of our life, I could feel my soul craving a different kind of environment. The book helped me name what my heart already knew but I had not given myself permission to say out loud.

By 2020, those visions became real. After years of infertility, I became a mom in 2019, and we moved our family to Charleston, South Carolina shortly after. Now I can get to the ocean in a quick jog. I see palm trees outside my window while I work. I am surrounded by sunshine, green space, and water, and I feel more grounded here than I ever have. I truly believe that The Artist’s Way helped guide me to this place at exactly the right time.

From 2020 through 2023, I went through some of the darkest and most difficult seasons of my life. Those years stretched me in ways I never expected. And I am so grateful that I had already planted roots in a place that gave me access to nature, reflection, and stillness, because that is where I found my way back to myself.

What I love most about this book is that it is not just for artists or writers. It is for anyone who has creativity inside them, which is all of us. It helps you reconnect with what brings you joy, what your soul actually needs, and what parts of your childhood and your heart deserve to be remembered and honored. I recommend it to anyone who feels lost, disconnected, or unsure of what their next chapter is. It has a way of gently guiding you back home to yourself.

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