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She is the woman who was credited for “changing everything” by Steven Bartlett.
Katy Leeson worked alongside the Dragons Den star for over half a decade, and rose to become managing director of his Social Chain enterprise.
Katy, who Steven has described as “exceptional”, was responsible for scaling the business from 30 to over 750 employees, across 24 offices worldwide.
You’d therefore think Katy would be one of the last people to suffer from imposter syndrome. In fact the opposite is true.
In an interview with London Keynote Speakers Agency the Manchester-based entrepreneur said: “I think the most important thing to be mindful of about imposter syndrome is to understand it never ever goes away.
“I suffered from it myself, and still do. I was made MD of Social Chain after being in the company for only six months and at that point I was still trying to learn what the company did. I used to sit in meetings not saying a word, frightened I would damage the reputation of the company by getting it wrong. Thankfully, Social Chain has a therapist as one of the benefits so I went to see her, she identified it as Imposter Syndrome and helped me to understand why I had it and how to manage it.”
Sharing her tips on how to best navigate imposter syndrome she continued: “It’s vital to understand that it never goes away, every move I make it comes back but now I know it’s my signal to step up, learn and grow. I wouldn’t want to be stagnant so I don’t let it paralyse me. I use it as a motivator now.”
As well as working alongside Steven she later became CEO of Relentless Media, Gary Neville’s media company where she led the media team at Salford City FC and launched the club’s social channels.
She drove the marketing strategy for the award-winning Stick to Football, and helped launch The Overlap, which is now one of YouTube’s leading UK sports shows and also tours the UK.
Explaining what she learned from the pair Katy, the UK’s leading female inspirational speaker who was voted UK’s no.21 keynote speaker on imposter syndrome, says: “The biggest lesson was the power of visionary leadership combined with a willingness to challenge. They taught me to trust my instincts, push boundaries, and always put people first. The main thing that both of them have though, is an incredible way to envisage what is next, before anyone else has a clue and I’ve tried to absorb a bit of that from both of them in how I think now.
Describing the biggest leadership lesson she learned from scaling Social Chain, Katy added: “The biggest leadership lesson I learned from scaling Social Chain was the importance of great marketing strategies to tell your story, communication, being transparent, listening actively, and constantly reinforcing values.
“I look back on Social Chain with pride at what we built and how we created something special. The pace was intense, but the experience taught me so much about resilience and the power of a strong team.”
Sharing her advice for aspiring leaders she concluded: “One, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Two, invest in relationships at all levels, as you never know where someone may end up. And finally take time to reflect, learn and celebrate – growth comes from both success and failure.”
For more information about Katy visit https://www.female-motivational-speakers.com/
Also read: Self-Motivation: 9 Essential Ways To Build Self-Confidence & Drive
Image source: female-motivational-speakers.com
