Meet Lisa Conners

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lisa Conners. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lisa below.

Lisa, 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.

Overcoming imposter phenomenon, now often referred to as imposter syndrome, is a journey for anyone who is continuously elevating their skills.

As a Keynote Speaker and Workshop Leader who used to be very scared of public speaking, I’ve worked at overcoming that feeling of not being qualified. Part of that work involved creating hundreds of Ever Better Today podcast episodes. In the early days of considering creating a podcast and producing the first 50 episodes, my self-talk sounded like: “Who are you to create and publish a podcast? Why would anyone want to hear what you have to say?”

Here are five tactics that I used to overcome imposter syndrome that can be applied to podcasting, public speaking or any project, job, or idea.

1) Become part of a supportive community or create your own community.

Joining a community of podcasters and creative thinkers who applauded my idea of creating a podcast to put positive stories into the world helped me to overcome my negative self-talk. The community helped me to figure out the technical, operational, and marketing aspects and supported me as questions arose. It was incredibly valuable to have people I could call on to remind me of what was possible. As my experience grew, I was able to help others in the community who struggled with similar mental and technical challenges.

2) Do the work to improve your skills every day, even when you’re being your own harshest critic.

I overcame my imposter feeling by doing the work every day, even when I didn’t want to. After I published each episode I could step back and see that I had published a meaningful conversation that could literally change people’s lives. This continuous work forced me to decrease my perfectionist and self-critical tendencies that drove me to spend several hours editing, even after my editor had done a great job!

3) Remind yourself of positive feedback.

Getting positive feedback from listeners and podcast guests helped me to turn my negative self-talk around. If I craved encouragement, I would read positive reviews and think about the discussions I’d had and how the information I was sharing made a difference. Internal validation is way more important that getting pumped up by others. But…when your supporters tell you that you’re doing something well, take note, write it down and come back to those messages when you feel like you need a boost.

4) Remember how you’re helping others.

Everything that you do in the world impacts others. When I create a podcast, I think about the people who will benefit from hearing about tactics for overcoming challenges, and the podcast guests who told me that they gained clarity from answering my interview questions. With public speaking, podcasts, and any other project, keep your focus on the people it will benefit and remind yourself that it’s about them, not you.

5) Hire a coach or consultant to help identify key areas of improvement and to accelerate development of your skills

Through my 10-year, off-and-on podcast journey, I’ve always had a podcast editor/consultant to help me improve every aspect of my production. As a Keynote Speaker, I work with a coach to help me continuously elevate my presentation, marketing, and mindset. And as an Executive and Leadership Coach, I help my clients to identify behaviors, mindsets, or patterns that are holding them back so that they can accelerate their professional and personal development. Hiring a professional who can quickly address your challenges, is one of the best investments you can make to overcome doubts.

In summary, there is no shortcut for overcoming imposter phenomenon. Doing the work, getting support and supporting others, while keeping your attention on the people you’re benefiting, will allow you to step into your next level of success.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

As a speaker and coach, I help high-achievers to be even more successful. This involves identifying and addressing anything that is holding them back from elevating their success in their personal and professional lives. In my keynotes, I discuss the Seven Secrets of Success that all high-performers should know but often don’t.

After a full thirty-year career across a variety of industries with leadership roles in e-commerce, consulting, retail, marketing, communications, and non-profit management, I became an Executive and Leadership Coach. I was then asked to create and facilitate leadership workshops and retreats and this led to keynote speaking. Today, I truly enjoy the business that I have created to help others elevate their success through coaching, workshops, retreats and being a keynote speaker.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

1) Curiosity
2) Willingness to take a risk
3) Communication skills

These are three areas that are critical to entrepreneurial success. To develop in these areas, keep taking on new challenges and know that if you’re achieving everything with perfection, then you’re not taking enough risks.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

Playing Big by Tara Mohr.

Many people aren’t making the impact they could be because of a variety of factors including societal messages and traditional roles and expectations. Tara’s research and writing helped me to see that these feelings and experiences were universal.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.everbetteru.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisaconnersvogt/
• Other: Ever Better Today Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NXLreGZY2qsHAeaoGJfSN