You have just started a new job. You’re excited, but you also feel like an imposter, as if you lack the necessary qualifications to be here. It’s not a good place to be. Although it’s not talked about enough, imposter syndrome is a real problem that can have negative effects on your mental health. If you’re currently struggling with imposter syndrome, you’re not alone. In this article, we’ll walk you through understanding what imposter syndrome really is, what causes it, and how you can overcome it.
Imposter syndrome is having a feeling of self-doubt regarding work success. It’s feeling as though you haven’t done anything worthwhile to deserve all you’ve achieved or that you don’t deserve your job. A lot of times, women with imposter syndrome feel like they’re deceiving their colleagues into thinking they’re good at what they do.
Also known as the intruder or impersonator syndrome, American psychologists Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes were the first to identify impostor syndrome during their research on high-achieving women. The research was conducted in the 1970s, and the symptoms include
If you’re experiencing any of these, you are not alone. According to research conducted by Asana, about 62% of employees globally struggle with workplace imposter syndrome.
That shows that imposter syndrome affects a large number of people. Also, new hires aren’t the only ones who deal with this; high achievers and people in senior positions also experience imposter syndrome.
Characteristics of imposter syndrome
Although imposter syndrome is pretty common, the experience isn’t the same for everyone. However, there are common traits that are indicators of imposter syndrome, and they include:
Dr. Valerie Young, Ed.D., is a world-renowned expert on imposter syndrome. She’s also the author of “The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women: Why Capable People Suffer from the Imposter Syndrome and How to Thrive in Spite of It.” In her research, she identified five types of impostors:
According to Dr Young, a perfectionist focuses more on how something is done instead of the result of their effort. Let’s say you get praised at work for finishing a project or closing a deal. Instead of feeling good about what you achieved, you believe that you either went about it the wrong way or that you didn’t do enough.
The expert is the person who is so fixated on the level of their knowledge and expertise. When you’re confronted with a situation where you lack knowledge or expertise, even if it’s minor, you feel ashamed or feel like a failure.
If you’re a natural genius, you rate your competence by how fast and how easily you can do what you do. When you don’t understand or perform a task excellently on the first try, you feel like a failure.
If you believe that you’re the only one who can or should do everything, you’re a soloist. Soloists focus more on who does the job, and believe that asking for help or seeking assistance is a sign of incompetence or weakness.
If you constantly measure your competence by the number of roles you can handle efficiently. You feel like a failure when you struggle in any role, even though you are doing well in your other roles.
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You may have identified the type of imposter syndrome you have. There’s no need to feel bad or guilty. There are several things you can do to overcome imposter syndrome. First of all, remember that you’re not the only one going through this, so you’re not abnormal. We all go through these feelings at some point in our lives. It’s normal to feel like you can always do better if you want to succeed, and that’s fine. The problem starts when those feelings begin to cripple you. Overcoming imposter syndrome takes time and effort, but it can be done. Here are some things you can do to deal with it:
When you struggle with imposter syndrome, you find it difficult to believe that you’re good at your job. You feel uncertain about your skills and competence. You may even feel like a fraud. However, these feelings are mostly not rooted in reality. The most effective way to deal with imposter syndrome is to separate these feelings from the facts. Be compassionate towards yourself
According to The Conscious Leadership Group, this is referred to as “facts vs. stories”. Facts are observable truths; they are obvious and visible. Stories are your interpretations of facts.
You can’t prevent your brain from making up stories, but you can stay rooted in the facts. Whenever something happens that makes you feel like an imposter, separate the feelings from the facts of the situation. For instance, let’s say you just finished a presentation and feel bad that you didn’t do well. Focus on the feedback you got from your boss or teammates during or after the presentation.
Your feelings are still genuine even if your interpretations of an occurrence are stories rather than facts. Ignoring your feelings is not the solution to overcoming imposter syndrome. Instead, the greatest method to combat this emotion is to admit that you’re feeling bad, confirm that it’s alright, and then let go of any feelings that aren’t grounded in truth.
The feeling of being an imposter is incredibly lonely. However, as we mentioned before, these emotions are quite typical in the job. Around two-thirds (62%) of knowledge workers worldwide suffer from imposter syndrome. The next time, consider sharing your feelings with someone else. There are two benefits of talking to someone about your feelings:
Our thoughts are powerful. Our perceptions of the world, both good and bad, can influence our reality. Start paying attention to your mental voice and changing it if you have a lot of negative thoughts. Speaking with a family member, close friend, or loved one about your emotions can also help you gain perspective. Although you won’t see results right away, this method will eventually allow you to see things more positively.
The next time you make a mistake, for example, tell yourself, “Okay, so this wasn’t my best, but I can and will do better next time,” rather than “I did a horrible job.” By altering your inner self-talk, you’re rewiring your brain to be more compassionate.
Another way to deal with imposter syndrome is by honing your hard and soft skills. In this way, you can counteract the small voice in your head that tells you you’re not good enough at something by telling yourself you’re getting better. Finding a mentor is an excellent way to achieve this. Seek out someone in your company or industry who can provide you with valuable advice and assistance. This could be a senior executive or a leader you admire from another company.
Comparing yourself to your colleagues and believing you’re less skilled at your work than they are is a typical sign of imposter syndrome. Even if it’s natural to compare oneself, there are numerous ways to reframe these emotions. Try to stand back and consider what you can learn from your peers the next time you are tempted to compare yourself to them. In actuality, you will have teammates who excel in areas that you don’t, and vice versa. That doesn’t diminish your value; rather, it gives your team a chance to grow and flourish in your positions by learning from one another.
You do not have to be concerned about these emotions or allow them to have a negative impact on your performance or mental health. Try to stick to the strategies listed above. As mentioned earlier, overcoming imposter syndrome will take time, so don’t give up after the initial failures. You can discuss it with a mentor, a professional, or your friends. You can also get over imposter syndrome with the support of a solid network.