What if the quiet, reserved parts of you are actually your greatest professional advantage?
Chris Thomson sits down with Claire Thompson, a Queen’s University graduate who joined Student Works as a self-described quiet, reserved 18-year-old and turned that into a two-decade career now leading business development at a Boston economics consulting firm.
They get into why introverts can become powerful, trusted leaders, how a strong EQ and relentless networking opened doors, and why imposter syndrome can both fuel you and hold you back.
If you have ever worried you are too quiet or too far behind to lead, this conversation shows you how to take the risk now and build a career day by day. Listen now.
Timestamped Highlights
03:48 – Who Claire was before Student Works, and the quiet trait she never outgrew
05:00 – The out-of-character choice her parents still call her inflection point
06:41 – The life most people miss by not working 20% harder for a season
06:58 – “Complacency is death,” the commandment she still lives by
08:45 – The skill she honed at 18 that became her strongest professional weapon
14:06 – From the first US transplant to legal marketing: how her path really unfolded
16:15 – Why she chose a corporate team over the entrepreneur dream she once had
17:48 – The Scott Galloway line on the smartest risk-adjusted path to wealth
21:38 – A “healthy” dose of imposter syndrome: how it helps and where it hurts
25:55 – The day-by-day discipline a marathon taught her to trust
28:13 – Turning “slower to respond” into the thing people value most
33:14 – What the leader of tomorrow really needs, and it is not more screen time
About the Guest
Claire Thompson leads business development at Analysis Group, an economics consulting firm based in Boston, where she heads a team of about 15 people working with the firm’s partners on their growth and marketing plans. At the time of the interview, she was the Director of Business Development at The Brattle Group. A Queen’s University graduate, she joined the Student Works Management Program in 2003, was named Operator of the Year, and spent four years as an operator, coach, and general manager, leading the Ottawa region before becoming the program’s first transplant to the US side of the business. Over more than a decade in legal and professional services marketing, Claire has built a career defined by strong relationships, a sharp EQ, and a belief that quiet, thoughtful leaders can be the most effective ones.
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