Every single one of us has a question, idea, or a perspective that has the power to profoundly impact a meeting—whether it’s unlocking a solution, clarifying confusion, or offering a perspective that will shift the entire conversation.
If only we could have shared it in the meeting instead of keeping it to ourselves.
This struggle is more common than you might think. Last year, we asked our community what keeps them up at night. Across industries and experience levels, one response appeared again and again—and it surprised us. Not “leading through a crisis” or “handling difficult conversations” or “earning a promotion.” It was: “I second-guess myself in meetings.”
At some point in our careers, most of us grapple with imposter syndrome, the persistent fear that we’re intellectually inadequate or about to be exposed as a fraud. Early in his speaking career, Simon experienced this himself. But he learned something profoundly simple: We’re in that meeting because someone already asked us to be there. Our worth has been recognized. The vetting happened. We passed.
“In my early days on stage, I’d be at these amazing conferences with incredible speakers, and I’d think, ‘What am I doing here?'” Simon said. “Then I remembered that somebody else already vetted me. I didn’t have to prove I was worthy of being there. Someone else had already decided I belonged on that stage. So either they were an idiot or I should trust they know what they’re doing. I chose to trust that they knew what they were doing.”
The same goes for the people who hired us and invited us to these meetings.
If we can’t learn to trust the people who chose us to be in the meeting, we risk treating every meeting like an audition or every comment like a test. We exhaust ourselves trying to prove our worth over and over.
The good news is, there are practical strategies that can help: grounding yourself physically and deep breathing, preparing a single question in advance, and contributing early in the meeting rather than later. (According to Google’s Project Aristotle, the longer we wait, the more we overthink; once we’ve spoken once, it becomes easier to speak up again.)
But the most powerful shift starts with a simple reminder.
The next time self-doubt surfaces during a meeting, pause, take a breath, and tell yourself: “Someone already said yes to me being here.”
Then ask: “What do I have to contribute right now?”
Someone already opened the door. Now walk through it.
