For Richardson, overcoming ‘career fear’ is all about setting intentions and goals for the future, and then taking action to ensure we’re not sabotaging ourselves along the way. It breaks down to four simple tips:

1. Take responsibility for your fear

“It’s really important to take 100% responsibility for making change in your life because you’re the only one who can do it,” Richardson says. “You can have all the coaching and mentoring and read all the magazines and self-help books on the planet, but if you don’t take responsibility for overcoming your own fear, you’re never going to change.

“You have to give yourself permission to step into your full potential.”

2. Say no to negative self-talk

“As women, we’re very good at talking negatively to ourselves all the time,” Richardson says. “We might tell ourselves we don’t look good enough or question whether we said the right thing to someone. And I think until we start to use positive language to talk to ourselves, it’s very difficult to overcome that fear.”

Check out our guide to engaging with – and controlling – your inner-critic to find out more about saying no to negative self-talk.

Imposter syndrome and self-doubt: how to stop ‘career fear’ holding you back at work