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The Path To Leadership
We podcast about strong leaders, loyal employees, avoiding burnout, and raising profits building strong cultures. Everyone is a leader, but the path isn't always easy. Developing critical skills to build stronger, more successful and profitable organizations.
The Path To Leadership
Stop Faking It: Why Authentic Leadership Matters More Than You Think
"Fake it till you make it" might be one of the most damaging pieces of advice ever offered to aspiring leaders. This simple phrase sets us up for imposter syndrome, erodes our authenticity, and creates an exhausting façade that eventually crumbles under pressure. But what's the alternative?
Drawing from years of leadership experience, I offer a powerful reframe: "Learn it till you earn it." This approach celebrates curiosity over pretense, growth over performance, and authenticity over imitation. When we embrace learning openly, we not only build genuine skills and confidence but also create psychological safety for those around us. Real leadership isn't about having all the answers—it's about asking better questions and committing to growth.
The episode also tackles the comparison trap that plagues so many professionals. As Theodore Roosevelt wisely noted, "Comparison is the thief of joy," and nowhere is this more evident than in leadership development. We measure our complete, messy reality against others' carefully curated highlight reels, forgetting that everyone's path is unique. Success looks different for each person, and trying to copy someone else's journey is a losing game. Instead, discover practical strategies for defining success on your terms, tracking your progress, surrounding yourself with supporters rather than detractors, and embracing your authentic leadership style.
Your path to leadership is yours alone—that's what makes it powerful. You don't need to pretend to be someone else to be an effective leader. In fact, your unique combination of experiences, perspectives, and values is precisely what will make your leadership impactful. Take a moment this week to reflect: Where have you been faking it? What would it look like to shift into authentic learning mode instead? What small step can you take today to move forward as your true self?
Follow Catalyst Development on LinkedIn @catalystdevelopment and @drkatieervin
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Hi everyone and welcome back to the Path to Leadership. So excited to have you back and if you're a first-time listener, welcome. I love to do this podcast because I love sharing tips and tricks and stories and things that I've experienced through my career. I call it the Path to Leadership because it's not a straight line. We all have these wavy, sharp turns, gentle turns, things that we learn and experience through our career that just take us through our leadership journey. Today is going to be a single show. Sometimes I have guests, sometimes I am by myself, just sharing with you things that are on my mind and on my heart.
Dr. Katie:Today I want to talk to you about a phrase that I hate. I cringe every time someone says just fake it till you make it. I have heard that my whole life and it just makes me numb when I hear it. And the reason why is because when I hear fake it till you make it, it is pretend to be someone you're not. It is you know what. Just lean in and do it and you know, tell people you're fine. And it sets us up for this not just imposter syndrome, but this idea that we have to pretend to do or be or to know something that we don't know, and so, about five years ago, I started using the phrase learn it till you earn it, and that, to me, is so much more authentic. It allows us to really tell people you know what. I haven't mastered this, but those people who've heard the name, carol Dweck, you know she really focuses on growth mindset and what she always says is to use a really powerful word at the end of a phrase where it's like I'm not good at golf yet, yet is that powerful phrase? I'm not good at this yet. And that means we're working, we're growing, we're trying, we're learning it while we earn it. And to me, being fake is not who I want to be and I certainly don't want to be seen that way. I'm in too many rooms seen that way. I'm in too many rooms, whether it's boardrooms or classrooms or meeting rooms, where people are pretending to be someone they're not.
Dr. Katie:And when we talk about imposter syndrome, when we talk about confidence, we are always trying to figure out who we are as a leader. And pretending to know it all, pretending to have it all together, pretending to be someone else entirely because you think that that will help you be successful, that is exhausting. It is you faking it and that could be the worst thing. It chips away at your confidence. It chips away at your credibility. It chips away at your authenticity. People chips away at your credibility. It chips away at your authenticity. People can sense when you're not being real.
Dr. Katie:I see this not just in person, but you see it on LinkedIn, where someone will take a social media class and a social media influencers will say you know, you should be doing it this way and you should be doing it this way and you should be, you should be doing this and that. And I kind of chuckle, because I've seen it a lot recently where there you can tell there's a couple of people that have taken the exact same social media class. And it doesn't mean that influencers don't have good things, that we can kind of pick up tips and tricks, but to change our whole identity around, you know a $79 course that someone says you should be doing your LinkedIn like this, or you should be branding like this, or you should have your elevator pitch like this. I always tell people if it doesn't work for you, do something else, take some lessons from it, but don't be that person that you're not. And let's be honest.
Dr. Katie:Pretending doesn't build real skill. Learning does, and so how we learn, learn things and then adapt them and grow them is actually more powerful and it's more authentic. So, really, when we learn it till you earn it, is doing the real work. It's about showing up curious instead of pretending to have all the answers. It's about investing in yourself reading the books, asking the questions, making the mistakes, getting better, telling people that you're learning it, telling people that you're working on it, giving people that look at your authentic self. It's about patience. You earn the trust, the credibility, the role by not faking it, but by learning and applying, and growing is really where you build that credibility, and growing is really where you build that credibility. And when we are faking it, we get to a point where it's hard to mask, it's hard to cover, and we get to that breakdown point where we're like I can't do it anymore and that just doesn't set us up for success.
Dr. Katie:I was recently coaching a client who was feeling behind. They kept comparing themselves to other people whether it be online or in person, same age, same industry, and they were constantly saying you know, I don't feel like I'm where I should be at this point in my career. I don't feel like my organization is where they should be. I don't want people to see me like I don't know what I'm doing, and I had to remind them of one of my favorite truths, which is comparison is the thief of joy. I'm going to say that one more time Comparison is the thief of joy. We've all done it.
Dr. Katie:We can pair our messy middle to someone else's highlight reel. Remember, when people don't have the confidence, when people are struggling with imposter syndrome, when people are struggling with their own identity, they're only going to show you their highlight reel. Going to show you their highlight reel. They're only going to tell you the greatness when they're not comfortable, being vulnerable. They're only going to tell you things that make them look perfect and shiny and wonderful. But when we're chasing someone else's path, we're in this losing game. You can't copy and paste someone else's success. You have to create your own version.
Dr. Katie:I'm doing so many talks right now. It's really fun because it feels like the end of school years are coming, graduations are happening, leadership programs are graduating. I'm getting ready to do a talk this week for the Leawood Leadership Graduation, which I'm so excited about, and my whole talk is about creating your own path to success. What does success look like to you? Someone else's level of success is different than yours, and so, while my level of success is that I want to have positive impact and influence on people daily, I want people's interactions with me to be positive and insightful. I don't want to be draining someone else's cup. I want to be filling it up. Now, other people's level of success may be. I want to close as much business as possible in the next month, because I want to. You know, book a private jet and, you know, fly to Aruba and you know, have my own private house on the beach. That is awesome, and I would love to do that too, but if that means that I don't have positive impact on people's lives, then I don't wanna do that, and that's okay.
Dr. Katie:The people that don't care like they measure their level of success by their bank account. That's okay. That's their level of success, and so you gotta figure out what that is. So how do we stop the comparison cycle? How do we do that? Have you been caught in this trap? Here's a few things to help you. Unfollow or mute people, the people who make you feel like you're not enough. Stop it.
Dr. Katie:I've talked about this on podcasts. Before, stop the drain. What are the things that are draining you? What are the things that are pulling you down? Eliminate those. I have done that a lot recently where I have seen the people that I'm like, oh, you're not being authentically who you are. You're showing up how you think people want you to show up and there's no level of kind conversation. You don't care and that's okay too. That is your path and not mine. So I have just unconnected with them and that's okay. We connect with your values and your goals. Another thing I talk about all the time is what is your leadership philosophy? Who do you say you want to be? What are your guiding values? Who do you say you want to be? What are your guiding values? And making sure you're reconnecting with those. Keep a progress journal to remind yourself how far you've come. This doesn't have to be a big, fancy, expensive journal. I've talked about this recently on the podcast that I do these monthly check-ins on the podcast. That I do these monthly check-ins. How am I going towards my goal of cultivation? What are my success? What are my start, stop, continues. What do I need to work on? And pay attention to that, and I do intentional work around that and then surround yourself with people who will celebrate your journey, not just this shiny milestones.
Dr. Katie:There are a lot of people that want to be standing next to you when you're in the limelight. They want to be in the spotlight with you. But who are those ride or dies? Who are the people that want to be with you Good, bad, indifferent. They're going to pick you up on your hardest days. They're going to help shine the light on your great days. They're going to be cheering for you. Who are those people? Surround yourself with that? Create an advisory group of people around you that want you to be successful, no matter what. They don't see you as a threat. They don't see you as someone that they need to hold back. Do you have those anchors in your life that are continually trying to pull you back, that are continually trying to limit your growth? Eliminate those, limit your time around them. Find ways to not have them. Hold you back and, most importantly, be you. That's the real magic in this. Is who you are, is who you're supposed to be.
Dr. Katie:It doesn't mean that we don't keep growing, that we don't keep developing, but just knowing that your path is unique, what you were put on this earth to do and what you put into the world is unique. We all have our own unique level of skills and experiences and tools and resources. Leadership is not a one-size-fits-all, and neither is success. You don't need to act like someone else to be seen as a leader. In fact, the best leaders that I know are the ones who lead with authenticity. They don't forget, they own where they are and they commit to growing. So, wherever you are in your journey whether you're just starting or you're scaling big choose to learn, choose to earn it. You do have what it takes. You just don't have to pretend to be there yet. We can all keep growing and growing and experiencing.
Dr. Katie:So this one's a little short today. I just wanted to jump on here and share some really cool conversations I'm having, but I do want you to spend some time in reflection this week. Where have you been faking it? What would it look like to shift into learning mode instead of faking it, and what's the one small step that you can take this week to start moving forward authentically? I will also ask you if this episode resonates with you, please share it with a friend or a teammate who also needs to hear it. And if you're in a place where comparison is creeping in, remind yourself your path is yours. That's what makes it powerful, and I also want to tell you that we're going to do on the next episode.
Dr. Katie:We're going to talk about the myth of overnight success, because, let me tell you, those overnight wins that you see that a lot of people are putting out there on social media they're usually 10, 20, 30 years in the making. I will have people say about Catalyst Development I cannot believe that you're gonna be three years old in July. It feels like you've been doing this work for so long. Spoiler alert I've been doing it for 27 plus years. It is not an overnight success, and not every day is a success either. So until then, keep learning, keep leading and keep showing up as your true self. That is your path to leadership. Thank you so much for joining me and I will talk to you next time on the path to leadership. Go out there and be great.
