I struggle with imposter syndrome, which was way more present yesterday during the first day of the Cambridge MBA programme than usual. 

Not just for me, but this was echoed by many classmates and even alumni who told us about their time at the University of Cambridge.

Imposter syndrome is primarily a fear response – fear about not being good enough or being found out as a fraud by other people. This fear is not functional; it is not useful in any way. 

Yet between the feeling of fear and your reaction, is an empty space. An empty space in which you can choose how you react to that fear. And this fear can be paralysing. 

Professor Juliana Kozak Rogo, the Director of our programme challenged us to go beyond our fears and choose to act regardless. She shared this powerful quote by Franklin D. Roosevelt: 

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important.”

When leaving Cambridge Judge Business School building yesterday, after my first day and thinking about all I had heard, I was greeted by the flag pictured: “We’re in the business of Transformation – Individuals, Organisations and Society”. 

Even though transformation is scary, it will be worth it if you pursue something more important.

I wish all my classmates an absolutely amazing and transformative year – not without fear, but in pursuit of something more important!