Maureen Zappala
- “The Go-To Expert” on Impostor Syndrome
- Licensed presenter for Impostor Syndrome Institute
- Former NASA rocket scientist
- Author and Award-winning speaker
Travels From
Nevada
Maureen Zappala Speaker Biography
Maureen Zappala, an award-winning speaker, author, and founder of High Altitude Strategies, works with successful, skilled, and smart people to show them how to overcome the hidden self-doubt of the Impostor Syndrome. A native of NYC, she has a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Notre Dame, and she spent more than 13 years at NASA’s Lewis Research Center in Cleveland (now Glenn Research Center) conducting aircraft engine research. Yes, she’s a “rocket scientist!”
She became the youngest and first female manager of NASA’s Propulsion Systems Laboratory, a jet engine test facility. Despite stellar credentials and numerous accomplishments at NASA, the annoying Impostor Syndrome was her constant companion, causing her to think, “I’m not as smart as everyone thinks I am, and they’re going to figure it out!” This led to her passion of helping successful and smart people silence those condemning voices that stand in the way of embracing their success and advancing in their world. She teaches them to match their confidence to their competence so they have more influence. Audience members have called her strategies “game changers.”
In 2009 and 2020, she was in the top 10 of 30,000 contestants in the Toastmaster International World Championship of Public Speaking contest. As a presentation coach, she works with people who want to launch their speaking skills to the next level. She is the author of 4 books, including her most recent one “Pushing Your Envelope: How Smart People Defeat Self-Doubt and Live with Bold Enthusiasm.” She co-authored (with Jack Park) “Buckeye Reflections: Legendary Moments from Ohio State Football” (yes, she’s an Irish Buckeye!)
Her hobbies and interests include fitness, college football, decorating and sewing. After 35+ years in Cleveland, Ohio, Maureen moved to Las Vegas in 2019. She still can’t find her winter coat, and she’s totally ok with that.
Pushing Your Envelope: How to Overcome the Self-Doubt of Impostor Syndrome, Once and For ALL!
You’re talented, accomplished and successful. People think you have it all together. Yet you still think to yourself “Oh my gosh! I don’t t know what I’m doing! And everyone is about to figure it out! They’re on to me!”
You feel like a fraud, an impostor. You discount your success, often explaining it away as due to luck, or an accident or perhaps an administrative error. You live in near-constant state of being discovered as incompetent or stupid. This drives you to work harder, accomplish more, and strive for more goals. But the fear of being discovered never leaves you.
You suffer from the Impostor Syndrome or the Impostor Phenomenon.
It’s exhausting. It’s draining. And it’s killing your enthusiasm.
It’s estimated that 70% of all people suffer from this. That alone should give you encouragement: You are not alone. But, be even more encouraged! These proven strategies, called the “Fraud-Free Framework” can silence that impostor voice so you can embrace your success and be confident to move further ahead without fear of being unmasked as a fake. You can be released from the clench of the counterfeit so you can match your confidence to your competence, so you have more influence. You can enjoy your own success and begin to believe you really are as smart as everyone thinks you are.
Leadership is NOT Rocket Science: How to Turn your Superstars into Supernovas
You’d never believe that your high performers have THIS problem. They seem confident and secure, but something is secretly killing their creativity and sapping their energy. Even though you’ve provided all the best training and resources, there is something lurking beneath the surface of their performance.
It’s a little-known fact: the #1 issue blocking truly epic performance is Impostor Syndrome.” Even the smartest, most accomplished people experience this secret self-doubt that causes them to second-guess their abilities.
It could be costing you. It causes lost time, lost opportunities, lost revenue, lost engagement.
The solution is not just a mindset adjustment. Its a thought-process overhaul. The Fraud-Free Framework that Maureen will explain can eliminate the fears and self-doubts, unleash your team’s productivity, explode their confidence, and transform your organizations culture.
How to Add S.P.I.C.E. to Your Speeches!
Have you ever had a deliciously seasoned meal that you remembered and relished long afterward? Why not create the same experience for your audience with your words? In this workshop, you will learn the Five Non-Negotiable-Must-Have-But-Often-Omitted-Game-Changing-And-Astoundingly-Simple Ingredients that makes every presentation an awesome experience.
When you add the five S.P.I.C.E. elements, you will add the extra flavor to your message that will cause your audience to take action to make their lives better. You can be on the road to becoming a master communicator because your speeches will transform people, giving them an experience that they will remember and ideas they will use.
Find the Glory in Your Story
We all have a great story to tell. And we all should tell our stories. But, unless you find the “glory” in the story…the real MESSAGE of the story, you are shortchanging your audience. In this workshop, you will learn:
- How to catalog your memories and experiences so you can develop a list of stories from which to draw.
- The litmus test that determines if a story is a GREAT story that has the potential to change the listener’s perspectives.
- How to transfer that value to your audience by pulling out a powerful message for them.
- How to encourage your audience to take action after being inspired by your story and the message.
