Many high-achieving individuals suffer from Imposter Syndrome at some point in their careers. Imposter Syndrome is the tendency to externalize your achievements by crediting them to things like luck, manipulation, or other people. If these thought patterns are severe enough they can hold you back from reaching your goals. Here are some practical tips for identifying and addressing Imposter Syndrome within yourself.
7. “I’ve written 11 books and
each time I think ‘Uh-oh,
they’re going to find me out
now’. I’ve run a game on
everybody, and they’re going
to find me out.”
Who said
this?
8. “I’ve written 11 books and
each time I think ‘Uh-oh,
they’re going to find me out
now’. I’ve run a game on
everybody, and they’re going
to find me out.”
Welcome to another Tuesday Talk at Workshop Digital.
Workshop Digital, if you haven’t heard, is an award winning digital marketing agency.
They are one of the fastest growing companies in Richmond, Virginia. Their clients include multibillion dollar corporations. And they offer the best employee benefits and workplace culture that you can find anywhere.
And they are pretty picky about who they hire.
AND HERE IS THE DREAM TEAM.
None of these people ended up working at the best place for young professionals in Richmond due to luck.
But, according to academic research, that exact thought has crossed the minds of most of these people.
In 1978 Dr. Pauline R Clance and Suzanne A Imes coined the term Imposter Syndrome to describe high-achieving individuals who experience an inability to internalize their accomplishments, and perhaps even fear at times that they will be exposed as a “fraud”.
Studies have shown that anywhere from 40 to 70 percent of people have experienced this at some point in their life.
Those who are experiencing imposter syndrome often dismiss proof of their own success and ability. And they tend to do this in a few different ways.
They may write off a recent accomplishment due to luck or timing.
Or they may honestly believe that they are deceiving others into thinking they are more intelligent and competent than they believe themselves to be.
For instance, high achieving people tend to seek out relationships with supervisors in order to increase their knowledge or skillset, but then when they receive praise from these same mentors they may believe that it’s based on the friendship and not their ability alone.
And very commonly, they might try to attribute their success to others instead of themselves.
Can you guess who said this?
Maya Angelou!
Someone who was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, won five Grammys, has 50 honorary degrees, and who can even count what else, felt that deep down she was a fraud who didn't have a clue what she was doing.
And the list of successful people who have admitted to experiencing Imposter Syndrome goes on and on: best-selling author Seth Godin, US Presidents ,Screenwriter Chuck Lorre, best-selling writer Neil Gaiman, best-selling writer John Green, comedian Tommy Cooper business leader Sheryl Sandberg, US Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor,and actress Emma Watson.
AND YOU KNOW EMMA WATSON IS THE REAL DEAL!
So you might be thinking: okay, well if these extremely successful, talented people feel this way sometimes, then it’s fine. This is just humility and it won’t hold me back.
And that’s partly true. There are benefits to feeling like an imposter.
Namely, you work harder to prove yourself. You push yourself to acquire as much knowledge as you can in an effort to make up for your perceived lack of ability.
But it can negatively affect you if you don’t become aware of these thought patterns.
The more knowledge you acquire and the higher levels you reach in your field, the more likely you are to find yourself in new terrain - and therefore feeling like you're winging it. You may eventually feel like you have reached the pinnacle of your achievements and may fear going any further because the risk for failure or being ‘found out’ is too high.
It may keep you from trying new things you’ve never done before because you feel like a ‘fake’.
Imposter syndrome may keep you from enjoying what you’ve worked hard to achieve.
If any of these sound familiar, here are some tips for overcoming imposter syndrome.
Just like we take responsibility for our failures in our personal and professional lives, we must also take responsibility for our successes. Minimizing them serves no-one.
So if you sometimes feel undeserving of your successes, try writing a list of all the key things you’ve accomplished over the last 5 years, or even the last 12 months, and it will help you to see how much you’ve really achieved.
Comparisons are always subjective, often biased and rarely helpful.
We are often very aware of how hard we’re working to keep our head above water in work and life, and we often mistakenly assume others are getting by more effortlessly.
The reality is that many many people are stretched just like you with their own unique set of challenges.
Hold firm to ambition. While our fears urge to us to stick with what we know we’re good at – where risk of being uncovered is minimized - letting fear hold you back is a surefire path to mediocrity.
And lastly, just remember...
