Team
Sapience’s consultants and coaches collaborate to meet and exceed our clients expectations. As experts in our respective fields we mobilise quickly and adapt to our clients' rapidly changing businesses. Read some of our current thinking below and on the Blog.
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Thought pieces
Insights from Sapience Coaches
01. Imposter Syndrome fact or fiction?
John Quaile, Associate Coach
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You have worked hard and achieved throughout your life and are highly regarded within your organisation. Yet, occasionally, a low level of anxiety is in your stomach about competency, some nagging doubts about how you are perceived by your colleagues. As a response you have focused on the next challenge, yet self-doubt lingers…
Recently I have been working with several successful female executives who have experienced this which may be perceived as ‘Imposter syndrome’. Research suggests that 70% of the population have shared this experience at some point.
Can anything be done to manage the situation, or should we accept it as common and to be expected? Current thinking suggests that Imposter syndrome is not a diagnostic classification. Drs. Clance and Imes first coined the term ‘Imposter Phenomenon’ in 1978 and it has been the subject of much research since then. Current thinking is that Imposter syndrome may result from the natural combination of thoughts, behaviours and feelings that can have a significant impact on your emotional functioning (Cozzarelli & Major, “Exploring the Validity of the Imposter Phenomenon”).
I believe that much can be done to reduce the severity of these feelings. I have found the
3 C’s model in “Own Your Greatness” to be a useful approach to overcome Imposter syndrome. The strategy offers a structure for:
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‘Clarifying’ your imposter story and the triggers that have created the situation in the past;
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‘Choosing’ how you think about it and silencing the negative mental narrative; and
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‘Creating’ the conditions for optimal performance.
Their work offers clear explanations and practical advice for anyone being held back by this phenomenon. If you feel that you would benefit from an initial chat about how you can engage with these feelings, please contact me at Sapience Consulting.
02. Doing more of what matters – living life on purpose
Jane Newman, Associate Coach
As a coach, reflective practice is an integral part of how I work. Recently, my own reflections have turned to the importance of purpose and values in the lives of my clients. I very often work with individuals who, when I meet them, have been through a period of potentially very difficult organisational change. This has often meant that those individuals have found themselves not only looking for new opportunities but have also begun to ask themselves really ‘big’ questions: ‘what is my purpose?’; ‘how can I engage with meaningful work?’; ‘how can I be connected with, and making a contribution to what is important in the wider world?’
These questions seem to be coming up with increasing regularity, but it is not just the posing and exploring of those questions, but also the considerable courage and determination of these clients to move beyond discussion and into action.
Their circumstances may be different. For example, individuals who have moved into the charitable sector from finance, or those who are on a mission to support individuals who have been diagnosed with cancer, or those whose focus is on supporting young people with their mental health challenges; but they are all united by their desire to live with purpose and to make a difference to whatever it is that is important to them.
They have taken the time to notice and explore what is important, they are intentional about what it is that they are ‘moving towards’ and they take committed actions, even when it is difficult to do. This may be a road less travelled, but it is a very rewarding endeavour - I know this because I’ve had the privilege of witnessing individuals as they take those brave steps into the very heart of their purpose and it has been an absolute joy.
03. Personal Organisation
Steve Lewis, Associate Coach
Over the last 18 months, I have been surprised by how common a simple recurring theme has come to the fore in conversations and how impactful a set of simple suggestions has been to clients. I begin this conversation by always saying that I see myself not as an expert, rather as a fellow traveller who has been challenged by this all my working life. The simple question is ‘how can I get it all done?’
There is a quick response, or perhaps roll of the eyes from those that know me well, and we will have a conversation about ‘doing to much’, and only doing ‘one thing at a time’, yet for all time I have enjoyed variety in my work, and just love having two or three things on the go at the same time.
If you are fully organised, and always follow the same routine, and perhaps even take great pride in having your task list fully crossed off at the end of the day, then I am taking my hat off to you now! 
I also know from my client work that you may just be sitting at the other end of the personal organisation spectrum and might be driving yourself very hard to reach perfection and may also find it very hard to switch off, and ‘just be’ in life.
I have spent many years buying books, reading blogs, and exploring ways to improve how I organise myself each day, week, month and year, and over the last 18 months or so I have felt more comfortable just being honest to say – ‘hey this is a challenge for me, and this has always been a challenge, so can I share a few ideas so you can decide if these might work for you?’
1. Build a ‘daily practice’, which can be location dependent and can be just for a particular part of your day.
2. Master Email management technology, and don’t let it take over your life.
3. Recognise that different work needs different work modes, so for example writing this short blog needs focus and concentration, whereas clearing my inbox and sorting our my desk can be done at the same time as listening to the radio, and listening to someone else talk.
I am always happy to talk to clients, and non-clients, about this challenge and share ideas because they can often help me as much, or more than I can help them.