You’re Not the Problem. But Your Saboteurs Might Be Making You Think You Are.

If you’ve ever walked into a room and immediately started scanning to see if you belong there then you already know what I’m talking about.

You’ve worked hard to get where you are. You’ve navigated systems that weren’t built with you in mind. You’ve learned to read the room fast, adapt quickly, and carry more than your share and often without anyone noticing the weight.

And somewhere along the way, a quiet voice started telling you that maybe the problem was you.

That voice has a name. In Positive Intelligence coaching, we call it a Saboteur. And for underrepresented leaders, those Saboteurs tend to run loud.

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The Hidden Tax of Leading While Underrepresented

There’s a particular kind of exhaustion that comes from leading in spaces where your presence still raises eyebrows. It’s not just the work, it’s the extra layer of work underneath the work. Proving yourself. Softening your edges. Second-guessing your instincts. Managing others’ discomfort on top of your own.

And the cruel irony? The mental habits that helped you survive those spaces, the hyper-vigilance, perfectionism, people-pleasing, conflict avoidance, can quietly become the very things holding you back from the kind of leadership you’re actually capable of.

I know this because my own top saboteurs are the Pleaser and the Avoider. I spent years coaching from a place of wanting to be liked, terrified to disappoint, and avoiding the harder conversations that actually create change. It looked like empathy on the outside. On the inside, it was my nervous system trying to keep me safe.

That’s what saboteurs do. They start as protection. They end as limitation.

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What Changes When You Actually See Them

Here’s what I’ve learned in my own life and in working with leaders: you can’t outwork a saboteur. You can’t logic your way past it. But you can learn to recognize it, name it, and interrupt it before it hijacks your leadership.

That’s the shift from your survivor brain to your sage brain, from reactive to resourceful, from threat-scanning to possibility-thinking.

When that shift happens? Things get quieter. Decisions get clearer. You stop over-explaining and start trusting your read of the room. Conflict stops feeling like a five-alarm fire and starts feeling manageable. You show up differently and people around you notice.

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Introducing: The Underrepresented Leader Group

I created this group for leaders who are done white-knuckling it through spaces that weren’t built for them and ready to build something better inside themselves first.

This is a 3-month group coaching program grounded in Positive Intelligence (PQ) that helps you:

• Discover your self-sabotaging habits — the specific patterns that are costing you the most right now
• Turn those patterns into strengths — because every saboteur has a gift, once you stop letting it run the show
• Quiet your inner critic — not forever, but reliably, when it matters most
• Shift from survivor brain to sage brain — and lead from a place of clarity instead of reactivity

The results leaders experience are real: reduced stress and anxiety, stronger emotional intelligence, improved focus and calm, better conflict resolution, and a kind of self-compassion that actually sticks.

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What’s Included

When you join the group, you get:

• 1 individual “Unpack Your Saboteur” session — a private coaching call to map your specific patterns and set the foundation for your work in the program
• 12 group coaching calls with access to recordings — so you never miss a session and can revisit the content as you go
• 3 months of access to the PQ Program App — guided sessions, daily focus and recharge practices built right into your routine
• Ongoing access to a community of leaders who actually get it

This isn’t a course you take and forget. It’s a practice you build, one that compounds over time.

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The Investment

The next cohort starts April 1, and right now the program is available at a special offer price.

That’s three months of weekly coaching support, a private 1:1 session, daily app practices, and a community of people who are walking the same path for less than the cost of a single private coaching session.

If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to do this work, this is a pretty good one.

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This Might Be for You If…

• You’re leading in a space where you regularly feel like the exception rather than the rule
• You’re high-functioning on the outside and quietly running on empty on the inside
• You know you’re capable of more, but something keeps getting in the way and you suspect it might be you
• You want to belong in your leadership, not just survive it

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Ready to Find Out?

Well start with the free PQ Saboteur Assessment. This takes about 5 minutes and gives you a personalized look at which saboteurs are running loudest for you right now.

Then we’ll talk about whether this group is the right fit.

Ready to take the assessment?

Because belonging in your leadership isn’t a luxury. It’s the whole point.

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Dean Rasmussen is a Positive Intelligence (PQ) coach and life coach based in Edmonton, AB. He works virtually with underrepresented leaders worldwide through Rasmussen Coaching and Consulting. Learn more at rasmussencoachingandconsulting.com.