The Imposter Roster: The Secret Lives of Capable Women

She Took Over Mom's Business — Two Months Before the World Shut Down

Episode Summary

What happens when the family business you swore you'd never join becomes the thing you can't imagine living without? Michelle Gleba Rafalski — Managing Partner of Gleba & Associates — quit her job at 30, called her mom, and accidentally found her calling. But stepping into leadership just months before the world shut down meant learning to make decisions before she felt ready to make them. In this episode, Michelle gets real about navigating imposter syndrome in layers — from being afraid to ask questions, to managing people with more experience, to earning her Series 24 and wondering "what do you mean I'm in charge?" She shares her mom's brilliant analogy about knowing which balls are glass and which are plastic, and the one phrase that defuses every workplace conflict: "We're battling the problem, not each other." If you've ever powered through while quietly wondering if you belong, this one's for you.

Episode Notes

What happens when the family business you swore you'd never join becomes the thing you can't imagine living without?

In this episode of The Imposter Roster, Christine Chubenko sits down with Michelle Gleba Rafalski — Managing Partner of Gleba & Associates — who quit her job at 30, called her mom, and accidentally discovered her calling in the business she grew up in.

Michelle stepped into leadership just months before COVID shut everything down, and suddenly found herself making decisions for a team that had more experience than she did — with zero playbook. Her imposter syndrome didn't hit once and disappear. It evolved, leveling up every time she did.

Christine and Michelle explore what imposter syndrome looks like when you're not starting from scratch — you're stepping into a legacy — and how powering through doesn't mean pretending the doubt isn't there.

They also discuss:

• Why being afraid to ask questions is the most dangerous form of imposter syndrome
• Her mom's glass-and-plastic ball analogy for juggling work and motherhood
• How Michelle and her mother drew up a contract to protect both their business and personal relationship
• The difference between battling each other and battling the problem together
• What it feels like to supervise people with more experience — and what to do when they push back
• Why hiring people smarter than you is a sign of confidence, not weakness
• How Artemis 2 reminded her that even the smartest people in the room never stop asking questions

Michelle's leadership style is equal parts grit, humility, and common sense. Her approach: power through, ask the questions nobody else wants to ask, and let the plastic balls drop.

If you've ever been the one everyone looked to for answers while you were still figuring it out yourself, this episode is your permission slip to keep going anyway. Michelle has stepped boldly off the imposter roster and into her spotlight.