Date · Wednesday, 6 May 2026, 15:00 to 16:00 CEST
Hosted by · IOM, IMO, and WFP
Session page · UNOG learning
Speakers
- Katarina Posa · Career Development and Transition Expert, IOM · Bio
- Lucia Carrera · Talent Management Specialist, WFP · Bio
- Mirka Packard · Head of Organisational Development, IMO · Bio
This session introduces the saboteurs concept from the Positive Intelligence framework, which explains how certain habitual thought patterns, such as self-criticism, avoidance, over-control, or perfectionism, can quietly undermine our confidence, choices, and career progress. These “inner saboteurs” often operate automatically and feel like self-protection, yet they can limit visibility, risk-taking, and openness to opportunity. In this session, participants explore the most common saboteur patterns and learn how becoming aware of them can help shift unhelpful mindsets, strengthen decision-making, and support more intentional, empowered career development.
Key takeaways
- Every person has the Judge as their master saboteur, plus typically two or three dominant accomplice saboteurs. The goal is not to eliminate them but to become aware of when they are running the show.
- Saboteurs are not fixed. Neuroplasticity means that deliberately pausing and reframing automatic reactions, over time, repeatedly, rewires the brain. Change is possible.
- The four-step in-the-moment framework: Notice (name the negative emotion and the saboteur) → Pause (breathe) → Shift (ask a more curious, sage-level question) → Act (take one small, different action).
- For pleasers: train yourself to buy time before saying yes. “Let me get back to you on that” is enough.
- For sticklers: decide upfront which tasks belong in the 20% bucket (deserving full effort) and which in the 80% bucket (where good enough is sufficient). Not everything warrants the same standard.
- For hyperachievers: before starting the next thing, ask “Am I choosing this intentionally, or am I proving something?” Build in recovery time and completion rituals.
- For avoiders: use the five-minute rule. Start for five minutes. Don’t wait until you feel ready.
Mirka Packard
Mirka introduced the neurological foundation of the Positive Intelligence framework, developed by Shirzad Chamin from a research base of roughly one million participants. The framework identifies two operating modes in the brain: the limbic system (the “survive” region), which generates automatic, emotionally driven responses rooted in perceived threats; and the prefrontal cortex (the “thrive” region), which enables rational thinking, perspective-taking, empathy, and long-term planning. Saboteurs originate in the limbic system and were once useful, they helped us navigate danger and social environments early in life. The problem is that the brain cannot reliably distinguish real threats from perceived ones, and staying in saboteur mode impairs creativity, clarity, and the ability to connect with others. Sage mode, by contrast, produces endorphins rather than cortisol and adrenaline, leading to more sustainable performance and a greater sense of well-being. Mirka also walked through several of the nine accomplice saboteurs, the hyper-rational (which overvalues logic at the expense of emotion, can come across as cold or arrogant), the hypervigilant (constantly scanning for risk, generating chronic anxiety), and the pleaser (compelled to say yes, seek approval, and prioritise others’ needs to the point of burnout and resentment). She offered a practical illustration of how quickly people can shift out of an emotionally reactive state, the “granny story”: in a heated argument, a neighbour’s unexpected arrival at the door is enough to snap everyone instantly into composed, well-mannered behaviour. The capacity to shift is already there; the work is to activate it intentionally.
Lucia Carrera
Lucia explained why saboteurs form and why they deserve empathy rather than judgment. Core beliefs like “to succeed, I must be perfect” or “I need everyone to like me” were encoded early in life as adaptive strategies. The session was not about silencing those voices but about outgrowing them, building awareness of when they activate and creating the pause needed to choose a different response. Lucia introduced neuroplasticity as the scientific basis for change: every time you interrupt an automatic reaction, pause, and respond from a more deliberate place, you strengthen new neural pathways. Over time, this becomes the default. She also walked through the restless saboteur (constantly seeking novelty, jumping between activities, avoiding stillness), the stickler (perfectionism taken too far, a rigid sense of what “right” looks like), and the victim (identifying strongly with painful feelings, a sense of being uniquely disadvantaged). Throughout, she grounded the content in career-relevant examples, for instance, a strong stickler might not apply for a role because they don’t tick every single requirement, closing doors unnecessarily.
Katarina Posa
Kata anchored the framework in practical, in-the-moment strategies. She introduced the four-step model, Notice, Pause, Shift, Act, as the core mechanism for breaking out of saboteur mode: first, notice the negative emotion and name the saboteur responsible; then pause and breathe; then shift by asking a more open, curious question from the sage perspective; and finally take one small, concrete action. She walked through each of the nine accomplice saboteurs with specific inner-voice examples and corresponding techniques. The avoider responds to the five-minute rule: just start, for five minutes, without waiting to feel ready. The controller benefits from explicitly asking what can realistically be influenced, then practising small acts of delegation. The hyperachiever needs to pause before moving to the next thing and ask whether the choice is intentional or driven by the need to prove something, and to schedule completion rituals and recovery. For the stickler, Kata shared her personal system: a 20% bucket (tasks that require 110% effort) and an 80% bucket (where good enough is good enough). She also ran a live poll with the approximately 700 participants: the pleaser and hyperachiever emerged as the most prevalent saboteurs in the group, followed closely by the avoider.
Frameworks and models
| Name | What it stands for | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Positive Intelligence (PQ) (umbrella, no framework page) | Framework by Shirzad Chamine identifying 10 saboteur patterns (limbic/reactive mode) vs. 5 sage powers (prefrontal/deliberate mode) | Identify which automatic thought patterns are limiting you, then practise shifting into sage mode through awareness, pause, and reframing. (Considered for promotion to a framework page but not promoted: PQ is the theoretical umbrella; the actionable tools that come from it are documented separately as Notice-Pause-Shift-Act, the Saboteur Catalog, and the 20-80 Bucket System.) |
| Notice, Pause, Shift, Act | Four-step in-the-moment routine for shifting out of saboteur mode | When you feel a negative emotion: name the saboteur, breathe, ask a more open question from a sage mindset, then take one small constructive action |
| Saboteur Catalog | Reference page for the 10 saboteurs (Judge plus 9 accomplices), with inner-voice patterns and counter-moves | Used as the lookup for step one of Notice-Pause-Shift-Act; identify the dominant patterns under pressure |
| 20-80 Bucket System | Divide tasks into two buckets: 20% requiring full excellence, 80% where good enough is sufficient | Before starting any task, assign it to a bucket. Reserve your best energy for the 20%; release the perfectionism for the 80% |
Resources
| Resource | What it is / What it’s for | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Positive Intelligence self-assessment | Free online tool that identifies your top accomplice saboteurs based on your responses | https://www.positiveintelligence.com |
| Session worksheet | Speaker-created worksheet to apply the saboteur framework to your own career context | Shared in session chat |
| Positive Intelligence by Shirzad Chamin | The foundational book on the PQ framework; also available as talks on YouTube | Available via major booksellers |
Last updated 2026-05-10.