The 7 Ways to Overcome Imposter Syndrome in the “Now Normal”
Have you ever doubted your accomplishments? Felt undeserving of your achievements and success?
Congratulations! You are now a member of the Imposter Syndrome (IS) club. There are many IS triggers in the world today; most are related to the normalization of toxicity-financially, spirituality and professionally. Experiencing IS and not doing anything about it is similar to remaining in a bad relationship beyond its expiration date.
What is Imposter Syndrome?
Imposter Syndrome is transient and situational but it’s the overall feeling that you do not have what it takes to complete the task at hand, and that you got to where you are in error. According to Astrophysicist Hannalore Gerling-Dunsmore in the documentary Behind the Curve, “The more you know about a topic the more you feel like you’re not actually an expert. You feel like you can’t possibly be an authority on this.” In other words, you know just enough to know that you know so little, there’s no way you could possibly be an expert.
Imposter Syndrome shows up as one (or some of) the fallacies below:
Comparison Trap: Feeling that your accomplishments are not good enough relative to your peers
Fake It Till You Make It: Believe that you are an intellectual fraud
Witness Protection Program: live in constant fear of being recognised as impostors, standing to lose everything
Stroke of Luck: made it by only luck, by accident, or worse, a clever deception.
Perfect is Better than Done: lean toward perfectionism, the fear of failure, and the habit of undervaluing your success.
The Letter of the Law: believe the hiring process is more “by-the-book” than it really is
The solution highlights with my musings sprinkled in…
- Social capital is KING! Training and qualifications are important but sponsor advocacy and strong relationships matter.
- Creatively frame your expertise to show how they meet job qualifications and demonstrate your value added
- Develop awareness of personal and societal cultural agreements so that you show up authentically
- Volunteer for the assignments no one wants to highlight the value. YOU add. See opportunities where others only see threats.
- Document your kudos and accomplishments. This is a powerful resource to substantiate your accomplishments and forward movement.
- Meet the Dragon. Be proactive about seeking out hard feedback. Use that knowledge to create insight and strengthen your personal brand.
- Self promote. Create a bias for action where you communicate effectively about the problem(s) you solve. As #JamesWedmore often says, “action creates clarity”.
BONUS: Manage your boss and colleagues, management is a 2 way street. It demonstrates your ability to assess and be assessed. That information can be used to course correct and grow — on all sides.
About Me:
I help women reveal their limiting beliefs to increase clarity and develop a strategic career growth plan underpinned by science-based thinking.
Career Nomad is a gathering of like-minded WOC that are the “perfect storm” of talent married to expertise and experience ready to innovate and offer a fresh perspective in corporate settings. This community harnesses the power that lies within their in-demand skills and abilities to seize career opportunities by switching roles, organizations and even careers to chart their own journey to career and personal success.
My contact information is:
Email: hello@patricelindo.com
Instagram :@career_nomad
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/patricelindo
