The Five Imposter Identities with Aoife O’Brien
The Remarkable Leadership Podcast
Release Date: 07/17/2025
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info_outlineHave you ever felt like a fraud or doubted your accomplishments? In this episode, Kevin welcomes Aoife O’Brien to discuss the often-misunderstood phenomenon of imposter syndrome. Aoife shares research that led her to identify five distinct imposter identities: The Overachiever, The Comparer, The People Pleaser, The Procrastinator, and The Success Fearer, and explains how these behaviors show up and affect individuals and teams. They also talk about how common imposter syndrome is in the workplace, how it can hurt performance and confidence, and how leaders can recognize and support team members who might be struggling. Aoife also introduces her simple ABCDE framework as a practical tool for overcoming imposter thoughts.
Listen For
00:00 Intro to Imposter Syndrome
00:30 Welcome to the Remarkable Leadership Podcast
01:25 Kevin introduces his book “Flexible Leadership”
02:10 Introducing Aoife O’Brien
03:00 Aoife's professional journey and inspiration
05:00 Organizational culture and work fulfillment
06:00 Connecting imposter syndrome to workplace happiness
07:00 Aoife's personal imposter syndrome story
08:30 Being featured in a national newspaper
10:00 Defining imposter syndrome
12:00 The impact on individuals and teams
13:00 Imposter syndrome vs. confidence
14:00 How widespread is imposter syndrome?
15:30 Common triggers and barriers
17:00 What leaders can look for in team behavior
18:40 Examples of behavior linked to imposter syndrome
20:00 Real-world feedback from the audience
21:20 Aoife’s 5 Imposter Identities
23:15 The Overachiever
23:45 The Comparer
25:20 The People Pleaser
26:15 The Procrastinator
28:00 The Success Feeler
30:00 Aoife’s ABCDE Framework
31:00 Acknowledge
31:40 Build Belief
32:30 Courageous Action
33:30 Do It Anyway
34:00 Everyday Practice
35:00 What Aoife does for fun
35:50 What Aoife is reading
36:30 Where to find Aoife online
38:00 Kevin’s “Now What?” challenge to listeners
Aiofe's Story: Aoife O’Brien founded Happier at Work in 2019 because she witnessed firsthand the impact of poor workplace culture on both organizations and employees. Using her research-based Happier at Work framework, she partners with Global Talent & HR Leaders to cultivate human-centered workplace cultures that prioritize wellbeing, career growth, and meaningful impact. She supports employees to build their confidence, gain career clarity and reach their full potential, while driving increased engagement and retention in organizations. Her clients hire her to speak, train and deliver corporate programs. She has worked with global organizations like Meta, MSD, Ciena, AbbVie, Logitech, and HubSpot. Her award-winning podcast, Happier at Work®, has a global audience of over 125k.
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Flexible Leadership is every leader’s guide to greater success in a world of increasing complexity and chaos.