UNSHAKEABLE HER: Silence imposter syndrome, build real influence and get promoted on your terms
Sep 23, 2026 · 14 min · 9 segments
**Whose standard are you actually trying to meet—and what is your Perfectionism costing you as you step into Bigger Roles?** Perfectionism can look like ambition, conscientiousness, and high…
Caroline EstersonHostLet's start today by looking at the multidimensional perfectionism model devised by Paul Hewitt and Gordon Flett.
Hewitt and Flett identified three distinct types of perfectionism and their impact is different depending on which one you experience.
This means you have high internal standards coupled with a really strong motivation to achieve.
It correlates with conscientiousness and high performance, but you need to be watchful that when the pressure is on, it doesn't tip you into rigidity.
Have you ever worked for someone like that? I have, and it was really tough.
That is not what we're talking about today, but I did want to flag it for you as a watch out.
Now, the one that we're really going to be talking about today is socially prescribed perfectionism.
And this is about the belief that other people expect you to be perfect and that you will be negatively evaluated if you fall short.
This is the type that correlates most strongly with anxiety, burnout, depression, and the specific paralysis it generates in someone who struggles to submit something because submitting it means it can be judged.
In Monday's story about Cara, this is the standard that Cara was holding herself to on that document.
Let's start today by looking at the multidimensional perfectionism model devised by Paul Hewitt and Gordon Flett.
Hewitt and Flett identified three distinct types of perfectionism and their impact is different depending on which one you experience.
This means you have high internal standards coupled with a really strong motivation to achieve.
It correlates with conscientiousness and high performance, but you need to be watchful that when the pressure is on, it doesn't tip you into rigidity.
Have you ever worked for someone like that? I have, and it was really tough.
That is not what we're talking about today, but I did want to flag it for you as a watch out.
Now, the one that we're really going to be talking about today is socially prescribed perfectionism.
And this is about the belief that other people expect you to be perfect and that you will be negatively evaluated if you fall short.
This is the type that correlates most strongly with anxiety, burnout, depression, and the specific paralysis it generates in someone who struggles to submit something because submitting it means it can be judged.
In Monday's story about Cara, this is the standard that Cara was holding herself to on that document.
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