Walk with me, brother
Why Imposter Syndrome Is Hurting Leaders
A conversation with Robb Pollard on Walk with me, brother. Published January 27, 2026. 47 minutes.
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THE CONVERSATION
Stepping into visibility and quietly wondering whether you belong there? Robb Pollard, newly in front of the camera himself, asks Salvatore what imposter syndrome actually is. The answer reframes it as a sign of growth, then gets practical: a three-step process for the moment it hits, what confidence really means, and how to train a nervous system for pressure.
KEY IDEAS
Imposter syndrome means you are growing
The brain is wired for protection. Whenever it notices unfamiliar territory it sends up signals to back off, and those signals arrive as thoughts: I don’t belong here, what if they find out I know less than they think. Salvatore’s reframe for 2026 is that this is good news. The feeling marks the edge of a known identity, and identity sits at the heart of it. His own version came after college, moving from Kansas to New Zealand, where nobody knew his story and he could write it again. Liberating, and confounding. Imposter syndrome never goes away. If it does, you have stopped evolving.
Three steps for the moment it hits
First, name it to tame it. Naming the feeling moves the brain from emotional processing, where uncertainty breeds anxiety, to rational processing, where strategy becomes possible. Second, use the body. The brain responds faster to physical cues than to thoughts, so breathe into the stomach, let the shoulders go back, set the feet a little wider, take up more space. That signals there is no immediate threat and reopens access to the prefrontal cortex. Third, take the next step. Only the immediate one, since there is no time in that moment for the next hour or the next fifteen years. Afterward, work out which part of your identity was being challenged.
Why the most capable feel it most
The people with the longest list of credentials often feel the least equipped in the moment, because all that learning has to be applied right now and it feels overwhelming. The reflex is to take another class. The bigger driver, in Salvatore’s view, is comparison. Comparison is the thief of joy. He borrows a line from a yoga teacher: don’t look around and assume they are better, you have no idea how many muscle relaxers that person took. Watching someone crush it on a stage shows a flash of success with the whole backstory removed, and it is easy to measure yourself against that and come up short.
Confidence is comfort meeting authenticity
Companies hire Salvatore because an executive is not showing up confident, and the first job is to ask what that means. Confidence, for him, is presence. Having every answer has nothing to do with it. He coaches it by bringing the person back to their authentic self: what is going on right now, where is the energy in the body. Head and overwhelm cost you the connection. An early coach told him to use the word comfort with men, since confidence lands as a trigger. The working definition for everyone: confidence is where comfort meets authenticity, across the content, the audience, and the room. It also includes being able to say I don’t know, and I will find out.
Train the nervous system on purpose
In a high-stakes moment the brain reads danger and pulls one of three levers: fight, flight, or freeze, the possum hoping nobody calls on it. Access to the prefrontal cortex, where the content lives, drops away. The first tool is the breath, and the key is a slow exhale, which slows and calms the system. Then name it, use the body, find the next step. Regulation also comes through training. Preparing a client for the United Nations, Salvatore has them do twenty jumping jacks and ten push-ups, then deliver the first line out of breath, so the voice learns calm while the body is heightened. He also recommends improv, which forces you to speak before it feels comfortable.
Allies, north stars, and honest leadership
Two practices carry people through. Know your ally before you walk in, especially in boardrooms where women still get talked over, and ask yourself what that ally would say at the hard moment. Then name five people who embody what you want to become and list what they do. If you can spot it, you have got it. Salvatore’s own north star is Obama: the ability to hold a room, hold the pause, and make dense content relatable. Men are taught to hide fear. The leader people fall in behind is the one who says here is what we know, here is what we don’t, and here is how I believe we should move forward.
IN HIS WORDS
“Imposter syndrome is a good thing because it’s telling me I’m starting to move outside of my comfort zone. Our brains are wired for protection.”
“Name it to tame it is a neurological hack that changes the brain from emotional processing to rational processing.”
“When I am coaching anybody, any gender, I will offer that confidence is where comfort meets authenticity.”
LISTEN AND FOLLOW
Thank you to Robb Pollard for the invitation and the questions. Subscribe to the show for the rest of the catalog.
The frameworks behind this conversation.
Clear and Compelling collects the principles, strategies, techniques, and frameworks Salvatore teaches on shows like this one, written for analytical, technical, and introverted leaders. Morgan James Publishing, October 2026.