Anca Grigoras: From Imposter to Integrated Leader

Some growth journeys don’t start with ambition.

They start with a quiet question:

“Who am I now?”

When Anca joined the Leadership Landing, she was a seasoned software developer with over a decade of experience. She had recently returned from maternity leave, navigating life with a young child, rebuilding her professional rhythm, and questioning her next steps.

On paper, she was doing fine.

Inside, she felt stuck.

Not because she lacked skill or intelligence, but because parts of her no longer fit together.

Before, capable, committed… and quietly doubting

Before the program, Anca described feeling:

🖤 Stuck in her role, with a sense of “there’s more, but I don’t know how to reach it”

🖤 Confident in knowledge, yet questioning her right to step forward

🖤 Pulled between roles: engineer, mother, professional, human

🖤 Carrying imposter syndrome that whispered: “Be grateful. Don’t ask for more.”

Leadership, to her, meant inspiration.

Impact meant contributing to people and community, not grand gestures, but meaningful presence.

What she didn’t yet have were the tools, or the inner permission, to fully live that.

The turning point, when things are said out loud

One of the most powerful moments for Anca wasn’t a single insight, but a realization:

“Many things weren’t new, but they were finally said out loud.”

Through layered work on values, convictions, courageous conversations, worthy goals, and purpose, something shifted.

A session on worthy goals triggered unexpected anger.

Not outward, inward.

She began questioning:

🤨 Are these goals actually mine?

🤨 Or did I inherit them from expectations, culture, and survival mode?

Another turning point came through deep human connection.

In small breakout rooms, across cultures and continents, she discovered something profound:

Different backgrounds.

Different stories.

The same human needs: to be seen, heard, valued.

That’s when leadership stopped being an external role,

and became an inner alignment.

The dragon she met and didn’t fight

Anca didn’t slay her dragon.

She sat with it.

Her dragon carried imposter syndrome, sensitivity to criticism, and a long-held belief that she needed to earn her place before taking space.

Instead of pushing it away, she learned to listen.

Like a dragon guarding a treasure, this part of her wasn’t the enemy, it was protecting something tender: her worth.

Once she stopped fighting it, she could integrate it.

And that changed everything.

After, grounded, present, integrated

After completing the Leadership Landing (and continuing with mentoring: the Leadership Boost), Anca noticed tangible shifts:

💚 She engages in courageous conversations all the way through, calmly and grounded

💚 She receives feedback without internalizing judgment

➡️ “This is about you, not about me.”

➡️ She listens without interrupting, allowing space for others to find their words

➡️ She makes decisions based on what she needs to thrive, not on guilt or comparison

➡️ She shows up more whole: as a leader, a mother, and a human

Not louder.

Not perfect.

But integrated.

As she put it:

“The parts of me that felt scared and not good enough are still there, but now they’re accepted, not driving the wheel.”

The real impact, quiet, sustainable leadership

Anca didn’t leave the program with a new title (although she did change jobs and is stepping toward a leadership role now!) or a dramatic career leap.

She left with something far more sustainable:

💚 A grounded sense of self

💚 Language for her needs

💚 Tools she continues to use

💚 The confidence to grow without abandoning herself

And perhaps most importantly:

“Maybe… I am worth it.”

That sentence alone tells you everything.

Why this matters

The Leadership Landing isn’t about fixing people.

It’s about integration.

About bringing together:

❤️‍🔥 knowledge and emotion

❤️‍🔥 ambition and care

❤️‍🔥 strength and sensitivity

So leaders don’t burn out trying to be someone else but lead powerfully as who they already are.

💚 Dragon Wisdom

A dragon doesn’t become powerful by growing new scales.

It becomes powerful when it stops hiding its fire.

If you see yourself in Anca’s story

if you’re capable, committed, and quietly questioning

The Leadership Landing might not give you answers.

But it will help you ask the right questions.

And that’s where real leadership begins. 🐉