Finding My Feet at INSEAD

Before joining INSEAD, I was excited about the prospect of studying at one of the best business schools in the world. I threw myself into preparing for it: connecting with future classmates, travelling, taking on projects and completing an internship. By the time I arrived, I felt ready to make the most of everything the MBA had to offer.

What I had not prepared for was how quickly that excitement would become tangled with self-doubt! The first few weeks were a whirlwind. Between classes, study group assignments, socials and school events, there was barely time to process one experience before the next began. I was meeting people and learning something new every day, yet somewhere in that rush, I began to question my place here. The accomplished classmates I had been so eager to learn alongside became the people against whom I measured myself. Yes, the imposter syndrome had found me again.

For those of us experiencing this uncertainty, it is rarely one big moment. It might be a concept someone understands immediately while we are still working through it, an achievement mentioned casually in conversation, or the impression that everyone else is managing the experience more confidently. Each moment is small, but together they can create a persistent feeling that we are trying to catch up. 

Coming from political science, I have felt this particularly strongly in finance and accounting. I have been accustomed to examining arguments, understanding context and thinking about people and institutions. Suddenly, I was spending hours on calculations that some classmates seemed to navigate with ease. In those moments, I gave far more weight to what I had yet to learn than to the strengths I had brought with me.

An MBA brings together people with very different foundations. Yet when we encounter something unfamiliar, it is easy to forget that difference and judge ourselves against someone who has spent years working with it. We can mistake a gap in experience for a gap in ability. My PLDP coach had warned me that the opening weeks would pull me in several directions and leave considerable room for insecurity. As the period unfolded, I understood what they meant. So much of what usually made me feel capable was being tested at once: my academic confidence, my social ease and my sense of where I could contribute.

Now, approaching the end of the first period, I can see that my response to this discomfort has been more complicated than simply retreating. 

Sometimes, it has made me braver. 

I have taken on cultural leadership roles I had not planned to pursue, signed up for competitions I might otherwise have watched from the sidelines and pushed myself to join social experiences despite feeling uncertain. In trying to find my place, I have explored more of what INSEAD offers and discovered interests and opportunities that preparation alone could never have revealed.

Those experiences have also reminded me that our contributions extend beyond how quickly we understand a financial model. The ability to connect with people, consider different perspectives and bring others together has a place here too. My social sciences background remains part of how I think and lead, even as I develop new skills.

I am also trying to be more deliberate about what I say yes to. There is value in asking ourselves what draws us to an opportunity: curiosity, a chance to learn, or the hope that another achievement will finally make us feel good enough. Recognising that motivation can help us decide when to stretch ourselves and when to pause.

Making room for that pause has become part of my MBA experience too. 

I am paying closer attention to my energy and mental well-being, and trying to meditate regularly. In a schedule that encourages us to keep moving, we also need time to absorb what we are experiencing. A difficult class becomes easier to approach when we stop treating it as a verdict on our ability.

There will always be days we feel behind. 

But the beauty of this journey is the realisation that we are all so different and so rich in our own individual experiences.

Celebrating these differences has helped me measure my own progress through what I understand now, what I have dared to try and how thoughtfully I use my time. For those of us who recognise ourselves in this experience, these may be fairer measures than how we perform against our classmates in an exam or a competition. 

Before arriving, I imagined making the most of INSEAD would mean embracing as many opportunities as possible. A period in, that ambition has become more personal: to leave with greater knowledge, meaningful relationships and more trust in my own judgement. 

Learning to manage self-doubt is becoming part of that education, and perhaps a part many of us share more than we realise.