Rethinking Imposter Syndrome (And How To Overcome It!)

Imposter syndrome has been defined as feeling like you’re a fraud, doubting your abilities, downplaying your accomplishments, and feeling insecure, inadequate, and anxious about what’s in front of you. And it’s traditionally associated with high achievers.

It’s that running narrative inside your head that seems difficult to turn off and asks, “Am I ready?”, “Is anyone going to listen to me?”, “Will I be successful?”, “Am I worthy of this new role?”, “Do I really have something important to say?”. Overcoming imposter syndrome is a combination of confronting these doubts and asking why they’re showing up in the first place.

Imposter syndrome can show up at any point in your career...

• The first time you get into a management, director, or VP-level role.
• The first time you lead a function or town hall.
• When you switch organizations.
• Or the first time you have to manage peers or someone else who was in the running for your position.

We want you to know that it’s completely normal to feel a little anxious and wonder if you’ll be successful. It can be a little nerve-wracking when we stretch beyond what we’ve always known or done and try new things or step into a new role.

Self-Doubt Is Universal

And it can show up in both your personal and professional lives.

I remember coming home from the hospital with our second child in the car. I suddenly felt like I wasn’t equipped to parent. While it could’ve been the hormones or lack of sleep, I think it was actually self-doubt rearing its sneaky little head.

Rather than spinning out about it, I mentioned it to the lovely postpartum doula waiting to welcome us home. She hugged me empathetically, laughed a bit, and reminded me of the facts. I’d just been through this. I had a child at home who was just over one and had done a beautiful job learning how to be his parent with no experience. Here I was now, with all that experience under my belt.

We all need to be reminded (or remind ourselves) that we’re capable of facing the challenge in front of us every now and again.

The Benefits Of Imposter Syndrome

Imposter Syndrome might motivate you to work harder, consider more perspectives and ask for feedback. It can also increase our resilience and ability to “fail forward.”

And Wharton researcher Basima Tewfik found that the motivation to do better meant those with imposter syndrome had better interpersonal skills like empathy and active listening. She found it was linked to acquiring expertise more quickly and that these individuals were rated as more “likable,” contributing to their success.

Of course, it can become a problem if you feel like this chronically or with tasks that you usually excel in, it can become a problem.

When Self-Doubt Becomes A Problem

You don’t want fear and anxiety to run the show and prevent you from doing your best work or bringing your best self to the table.

If you disbelieve compliments, recognition, or praise, if you’re constantly worried that others will find out you don’t belong here, and if you’re feeling stressed out, anxious, or second-guessing yourself, it will take a toll on your mental and physical health.

If you’re plagued with self-doubt every day, you can’t possibly reach your full potential.

“The greatest obstacle for me has been the voice in my head that I call my obnoxious roommate. I wish someone would invent a tape recorder that we could attach to our brains to record everything we tell ourselves. We would realize how important it is to stop this negative self-talk. It means pushing back against our obnoxious roommate with a dose of wisdom.” - Arianna Huffington, CEO of Thrive Global.

Strategies For Managing Self-Doubt

FIRST -

Acknowledge how you’re feeling. Say it out loud to a trusted friend, ally, or mentor. No trusted advisor around? Grab a journal or laptop and write it down or stand in front of a mirror and say it aloud to yourself..

SECOND -

Remember that feelings (while valid) are not facts. Byron Katie suggests asking your inner critic (with all its fears, doubts, and what-ifs), “Is that true?”

THIRD -

Collect the facts. They can counter the doubts you considered up above.

You can do this in 3 different ways:

01 //  Look at the experiences and competencies you bring to the table.

02 //  Remember all the people who believed you to be capable of this - including the hiring committee.

03 //  Think back to a time when you used a skill or faced a situation and got through it - maybe even soared through it.

We use these “coaching moves” (questions and observations) to invite people to shift their perspectives all the time. I’m sharing them here so you can use them yourself.

It Might Not Be You

When this type of self-doubt is labeled a “syndrome” (especially one that disproportionally affects high-achieving women), these universal feelings become a problem for you to fix. A personal obstacle or flaw for you to overcome. And the opportunity to ask why so many women feel this way (anywhere from 75 - 90% depending on the study you look at) is missed.

We miss examining the workplace culture where women so often face misogyny and sexism. They are told to “speak up” and, in almost the same breath, “not to be so aggressive.” Plus, a host of other contradictions can leave you feeling like you’re walking an impossibly thin line or that you don’t really belong.

In other words, you might be doubting yourself because you’re receiving cues (even subtle ones will get under your skin) all around you that you should doubt yourself.

It becomes death by a thousand cuts, and the cumulative effects can leave you searching for a role or company where you do feel like you belong.

And this is compounded when you consider the intersectionality of race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, disability, and even fat phobia. The more marginalized groups you belong to, the more likely you’ll encounter discrimination and microaggressions that leave you doubting your abilities.

Organizational Changes

It’s worth considering the biases that exist within your organization and asking what changes you can make so every employee can succeed.

It will require trust and honest conversations about spoken and unspoken expectations and why team members feel like they don’t belong. Because if several employees on your team are struggling with imposter syndrome, it’s a sign that the culture needs to shift.

Managers can help by:

• Reinforcing beliefs in employees' abilities and rewarding their success.
• Promoting the benefits of different leadership styles and perspectives.
• Listening with empathy to experiences of racism, discrimination, microaggressions, and bias.
• Creating an anonymous survey to learn more about employees' experiences and perceived barriers to success and belonging.
• Sponsoring and mentoring employees from marginalized groups.
• Creating accountability systems that reward change.

If we learn to challenge the voice of self-doubt from within and create working environments that support every employee's success and sense of belonging, then perhaps our obnoxious roommate, as Arianna Huffington puts it, will have less to say.

And we’ll have a better chance of reaching our full potential as we move confidently towards our goals.

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