Overcoming imposter syndrome in the workplace

Jade Batstone

Imposter syndrome and how to beat it

Ever feel like a fraud, like you don’t deserve the success that you’re achieving? Have you ever scored a big promotion and just written it off as good luck?

This is something that many of us struggle with and it’s called imposter syndrome. But what is imposter syndrome? It’s where highly accomplished, successful individuals believe they’re frauds who ultimately will fail and be unmasked as incompetent.

There are two things you should know about imposter syndrome. Firstly it’s more widespread than you would think and, secondly, no-one talks about it. This is part of the problem with imposter syndrome; because you think you’re the only one feeling this way, you don’t feel like you can talk to anyone about it.

You might even feel that the harder you work, if you get that promotion, if you prove yourself, then this feeling will go away but, paradoxically, that’s not the way it works. Studies have shown that the more successful or skilled we are, the more likely we are to think that we’re faking it.

There are five specific personality types that are most likely to suffer from imposter syndrome:

· The Perfectionist – You set excessively high goals for yourself, and when you fail to reach a goal, you experience major self-doubt and worry about measuring up.

· The Expert – You measure your competence based on “what” and “how much” you know or can do. Believing you’ll never know enough and fear being exposed as inexperienced or unknowledgeable.

· The Soloist – Your self-worth stems from your productivity, so you shy away from asking for help because it seems like a sign of weakness or incompetence.

· The Superwoman – Deep down inside you feel inadequate because you feel the need to work as hard as possible.

· The Natural Genius – You believe you need to be a natural “genius.” As such, you judge your competence-based ease and speed as opposed to your efforts. In other words, if you take a long time to master something, you feel shame.

Maybe you see yourself in one of these descriptions, or maybe a little of yourself in all of them. It doesn’t matter. The problem we all face is that we don’t feel like we deserve our success, and this affects women more than men. There was a Harvard Business Review article that said that women applied to 20% less jobs than men do. The article explained that this was because women wouldn’t apply if they felt that they didn’t meet 100% of the listed criteria. Men, on the other hand, would apply if they met 60%.

So what can you do to overcome this debilitating syndrome? Here are three ways you can beat it and take control of your life and career:

· Recognise the signs and take action

Once you know what to look for, self-doubt, being overly critical, finding yourself in a negative thought spiral, stop and do something else. The most dangerous place to be is inside your head. So, take a break from what you’re doing, go for a walk, do 10 push-ups, take a nap. Anything to break the immediate cycle.

· Document your achievements

Someone once told me to keep a success file. It could be a folder on your laptop or even a bunch of printouts, but each time you’re feeling self-doubt creeping in, open that file and remind yourself of the amazing things you’ve accomplished. And each time you do something great, take a screenshot and save it there. Your future self will thank you.

· Realise it’s not just you

If you come away with nothing else from reading this article, remember that it’s not just you who feels this way. Find people to talk to, and share your experiences. If you’ve got a mentor then the chances are they’ve been through something similar. And if you’re a manager and you promote a woman on your team, take the time to tell them that they’ve earned the success they’ve achieved.

None of us are ever going to fully escape the spectre of imposter syndrome, but if we take the time to talk about it, and support each other, then we’ll be able to recognize our successes. We should celebrate without having to look over our shoulders, waiting to be exposed like a villain in a Scooby Doo cartoon.

Watch Jade’s full-length Women Lift Women webinar “Overcoming Imposter Syndrome in the Workplace” here.