The Blog

Insights From a Higher Altitude.

Ideas on impostor syndrome, confidence, leadership, and doing hard things, from a former NASA propulsion engineer who’s lived it. Grab a coffee and stay a while.

Gray Chevrolet sedan with significant front-end hood damage after a low-speed parking garage collision. The driver's door is open, and the car remains drivable despite the crumpled hood.

Fender Bender, Refusal, and Responding Under Pressure

I got front-ended on July 4th. Not the fireworks-and-flag-waving kind of story you’d expect from that day. Instead, it’s the parking-garage kind. I was stopped in line, waiting to pull

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Bell X-1 beneath a B-29 mothership, illustrating the historic breakthrough Maureen Zappala references to show how challenging long-held assumptions can lead to extraordinary results.

The Sound Barrier Was Never the Problem. The Assumption Was.

NASA Dryden Flight Research Center Photo Collection, http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/gallery/photo/index.html X-1E Loaded in B-29 Mothership on Ramp, NASA Photo: E55-02072, Date: 1955,

Two wireframe heads face each other with brain visualizations and connecting waves.

Be Like Mel

Be Like Mel: The Leader Mind-Reader Because what you see isn’t always what your team is thinking In the movie

Notre Dame commencement program

Confidence, Courage and Impostor Syndrome

What I Learned From Not Being The Smartest Female in Engineering! Do you know the difference between confidence and courage?

Brown leather dress shoes and black heels on concrete. Gender roles in the workplace.

When Gender Meets Impostor Syndrome

Imagine two coworkers, Tim and Jenny, both at the top of their game, both wrestling with that sinking feeling of

Dog watching a video call on a laptop with colleagues, coffee nearby. Working from home during lockdown.

Locked Down and Shaken Up

If change triggers impostor syndrome, then the COVID pandemic was like throwing gasoline on a fire. Virtually overnight, our workplaces,

American Eagle planes at an airport gate, one being serviced. Includes text "American Eagle" and "Power Stow.

You mean I’m normal?

You mean I’m normal? Understanding the sources of Impostor Syndrome If you’ve ever thought, “If they only knew I have

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Five Ways to Defeat Self-Doubt

Silence the impostor and trust what you know. See how self-doubt works, and five proven ways to beat it.

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