BRUNS Renee, DBA

A former executive working in the US commercial property and casualty insurance space, Renee Bruns started her career working in customer service and operations. She became a people leader managing large, remotely disbursed teams across the US. In this role, she developed a passion for people development and now works as a consultant in this space.

She defended her Executive Doctorate of Business Administration (EDBA) in October 2025, on the theme “The Impacts of Coaching and Positive Psychology on Imposter Syndrome in the Workplace” under the supervision of Professor Jean-Luc Cerdin, Professor at ESSEC Business School France.

Prof Hagen Birgit, Prof Cerdin Jean-Luc

The impacts of coaching and positive psychology on imposter syndrome in the workplace

The purpose of this research project is to address the implications of imposter syndrome on an individual’s performance in the workplace and the corresponding impacts of coaching and positive psychology for those individuals. According to executive coach Olivia Fox Cabane, many of today’s top leaders suffer from ‘imposter syndrome’—the feeling that you do not know what you are doing and someone will eventually realize this and expose you as a fraud. (“There’s An Impostor Among Us,” 2015, p. 24)

There is existing research on imposter syndrome, coaching, and the intersection of coaching with imposter syndrome. Coaching is a branch of psychology used to help individuals reach their maximum potential. However, there is very little to no research on the impacts of coaching combined with positive psychology on imposter syndrome in the workplace. As presented here, the following topics and authors were reviewed as part of my completed literature review.
This research project aims to answer the following questions:
• How can the utilization of coaching and positive psychology contribute to addressing imposter syndrome in the workplace?
• What are the impacts of applying coaching and positive psychology on a long-term basis to individuals experiencing imposter syndrome in the workplace?

I used a mixed research methodology, conducting both qualitative and quantitative research. First, six life story interviews were used for inductive reasoning. They allowed me to take an interpretivism approach with participants. I conducted all interviews virtually using Microsoft Teams and collected data pertaining to each individual’s experience with imposter syndrome and the impacts it has had on their careers. I also asked questions about how frequently they were using positive psychology in the workplace. Three of the participants had received coaching, and additional questions were asked of those participants about their experience with coaching and how it has helped them with imposter syndrome and/or positive psychology.
Second, I conducted a longitudinal survey to validate my findings from the life stories and used deductive reasoning and a positivist approach. I used Prolific to collect data at two points in time; 618 responses were collected for Time 1 and 536 for Time 2. Data was collected to measure each participants degree of imposter syndrome and positive psychology use. Coaching information was collected and used as my independent variable. I also measured neuroticism (personality) and used this variable as my moderator. Finally, additional data was collected to measure the impacts of each variable on career satisfaction, job satisfaction, life satisfaction, exhaustion, and overall health.

The results of my research project prove that both coaching and positive psychology have positive effects on imposter syndrome. Of particular note is that positive psychology has a stronger effect on imposter syndrome, and other career and job outcomes, than does coaching.
From an academic perspective, this research project fills a gap in the literature on the impacts of coaching and positive psychology on imposter syndrome (and other outcomes) in the workplace. Four managerial recommendations are provided to help alleviate imposter syndrome using a combination of coaching and positive psychology in the workplace.