Impostor syndrome
The other day I was a guest in a SheSays Munich Webinar on the topic of Impostor syndrome. It was a short webinar that offered insight into the phenomenon when highly competent people that have achieved great results in their career feel as if they are imposters or that others think of them as more competent than in truth they are. It manifests as a constant fear that one will be identified as a fraud.
In my work as a mindset and career coach I often recognize the “voice of the imposter” talking through my client’s behavior and actions without them even being aware of it. Clues come when people people saw:
I FEEL …
- my achievements are mainly down to good luck or other external factors.
- I gave others the impression that I am more capable than I really am.
- anyone could achieve what I’ve achieved.
- someone made an error if they evaluate me highly (even if it’s a test).
- absolutely terrible when I make a mistake.
- anxious and freeze when someone important comes to me and says: we need to talk.
- that every new achievement increases the pressure to achieve even more next time.
If you catch yourself thinking/feeling any of the statements above or similar thoughts, it might be useful to take a few minutes to fill out a free Impostor syndrome test by Dr. Clance.
If you feel this way and you’ve recognized that you suffer from feelings and thoughts that you’re an impostor, not all is lost. The most useful tactic for dealing with the impostor syndrome is coaching (sometimes even in combination with therapy).
A coach has no other agenda than to see you succeed and will help you create a coaching plan which will include exploration and definition of actionable steps that you’ll be able to use in your daily life whenever the feelings will surface.
They will also make sure you understand the underlying cause of the impostor feeling – conditional worth – and its manifestations in your life.
If you’d like to receive help in creating your own strategies to survive (and thrive) don’t hesitate to book a Meet & Connect session with me.
Until next time, thrive.
Pia