Imposter Syndrome and Perfectionism
Dr. Claire Ashley
Book a demo →from €2,250 for your whole company
Book a demo →from €2,250 for your whole company
This one runs as a masterclass: Dr. Claire Ashley takes your colleagues through the research and the thinking behind it, with live questions throughout.
Dr. Claire Ashley is an internationally recognised expert on burnout, workplace wellbeing, and sustainable success.
All sessions by Dr. →In this session, participants explore two of the most common yet rarely discussed drivers of workplace stress: imposter syndrome and perfectionism. These patterns, often internalised and invisible, can erode self-confidence, reduce productivity, and lead to chronic stress or burnout if left unaddressed.
Drawing on evidence-based insights and practical tools, Dr. Claire Ashley unpacks the psychological roots of these challenges and explains how they manifest in high-achieving professionals. Participants will learn to recognise key warning signs, challenge unhelpful thought patterns, and develop strategies to build self-trust and resilience.
The session empowers attendees to shift from self-doubt and overdrive to a mindset of sustainable success - where striving for excellence doesn’t come at the cost of mental well-being.
During the expert session, Dr. Claire Ashley engages the audience through various means, including a Q&A session, live demonstrations of techniques for managing imposter syndrome and perfectionism, and interactive exercises using the Mentimeter app.
Understanding the power of recognizing and challenging negative thoughts is crucial in breaking free from imposter syndrome and perfectionism cycles. Techniques like cognitive-behavioral therapy, focusing on evidence that contradicts negative thoughts, and developing alternative, balanced thoughts can significantly improve mental well-being and reduce burnout.
Keeping an evidence diary to record accomplishments, achievements, compliments, positive feedback, and things one is proud of can help counteract feelings of imposter syndrome and improve self-confidence. Regularly contributing to the diary and reviewing it during moments of self-doubt provides tangible evidence of personal successes and strengths.
While more research is needed, there appears to be a correlation between neurodivergent conditions and imposter syndrome and perfectionism. Individuals who identify as neurodivergent may benefit from additional resources and support in managing these experiences.
In this expert session, Dr. Ashley explores how imposter syndrome and perfectionism show up in professional life, and why, left unchecked, they can reduce confidence, drain energy, and contribute to stress and burnout.
Dr. Ashley explains imposter syndrome as the persistent sense of not deserving your success or fearing you’ll be “found out” despite clear evidence of competence. She describes perfectionism as a closely related pattern: setting unrealistically high standards, becoming overly focused on how something is done, and interpreting small imperfections as failure, often amplifying anxiety and self-criticism.
Dr. Ashley emphasises that these patterns are common across roles and backgrounds (with research suggesting up to 70% of people experience imposter syndrome at some point), and can be shaped by personality traits, early experiences, societal expectations and workplace dynamics.
A key takeaway is that imposter syndrome isn’t solved by promotions or achievements; it often persists as a cycle of self-doubt that continues even when things are going well. Perfectionism can intensify that cycle by shifting attention away from progress and achievements toward perceived shortcomings, increasing the risk of burnout over time.
To break the pattern, Dr. Ashley focuses on practical, evidence-based approaches: noticing negative thought loops, challenging them, and replacing them with more balanced, reality-based interpretations (drawing on CBT principles).
She also introduces helpful habits such as an “evidence diary”, capturing accomplishments, positive feedback, compliments, and moments of pride, so there is something concrete to return to when self-doubt spikes.
In the Q&A, Dr. Ashley discusses the distinction between healthy self-doubt (which can support reflection and improvement) and imposter syndrome (which undermines wellbeing and performance). She also touches on neurodiversity, noting that while there may not be direct evidence linking specific neurodivergent conditions to imposter syndrome, these experiences can overlap as risk factors for stress and burnout.
Finally, she notes that imposter feelings typically affect capable people, most individuals experience a mix of self-doubt and confidence at different points in their lives.
Overall, the session offers a clear framework for understanding these patterns and a set of practical tools to build a healthier mindset, strengthen resilience, and sustain performance without compromising wellbeing.
No prior knowledge is assumed. It is built for a general working audience, and people who already know the subject get the research and the practical side rather than an introduction. What the hour itself covers: In this session, participants explore two of the most common yet rarely discussed drivers of workplace stress: imposter syndrome and perfectionism. These patterns, often internalised and invisible, can erode self-confidence, reduce productivity, and lead to chronic stress or burnout if left unaddressed.
A masterclass. Dr. Claire Ashley takes your colleagues through the subject and the reasoning behind it, and answers live questions. It is practical in what people take away, without the hour turning into an exercise class.
Dr. Claire Ashley is one of the experts we auditioned ourselves, and we produce every session so we see how each one lands. Participants rate this session 4.1 out of 5, across 16 responses, and rate Dr. personally 4.2 out of 5.
It is interactive, and the block higher up on this page says exactly how for this session. Nobody has to speak up who does not want to: the chat and the polls carry most of it, and the questions can come in anonymously.
It runs 45 min / 15 min: the talk, then live questions. All you do is pick a date. We brief Dr., produce the session, host and moderate it, run the Q&A, and send you the report within an hour of the end.
A team, a department, an employee network or every single employee at once, with no cap and no per-seat price. It runs inside your own Microsoft Teams, Zoom or Google Meet, or on a branded page we build. No integration, no login, no company device or e-mail.
The session is delivered in English. You can add high accuracy live subtitles in 8, 16 or 24 languages, so everyone follows in their own. That is a paid option, priced by the number of languages you need.
No, and that is by design. There is nothing to install, nothing to integrate and no connection to your systems, so there is nothing for IT to validate: we join your own Teams, Zoom or Meet as a guest speaker, or we host a page and your people open a link. No software, no accounts, and no data of yours that we can reach. It is why hundreds of companies, among them some of the largest technology and financial firms in the world, were able to start within a day.
We never receive or hold personal data about your employees. Because the session runs in your own environment, attendance and identity stay with you, and what we report back is aggregated: numbers, ratings and survey answers, not people. That is also why IT approval usually takes minutes rather than weeks.
You keep the recording and can share it internally. You also get attendance over time, participant ratings for the content and the speaker, the survey answers, and the topics your people asked for next.
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