Imposter Syndrome: A collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success. Imposters suffer from self-doubt that overrides any feelings of external proof of their competence.
Welcome to a new episode of Brave Women at Work. In today’s episode, I share my own experience with imposter syndrome and how I managed it. I don’t think impostor syndrome can be something you can simply “get over,” but you can definitely learn to manage.
I suffered from impostor syndrome a couple of years ago when I was moving up from a mid-management role to a senior-management role. I was honestly very afraid of this position and had a mean inner voice that would constantly say “you’re gonna fail” “you’re not good enough for this” “what happens if it doesn’t work out?“.
It wasn’t until I talked to my husband and he asked me “do you really want to stay were you’re at? Do you want to stay stuck?” that I knew I had to make a move.
Having all of this in mind, I’ve decided to list a few tips to help you manage impostor syndrome:
- Name it. Name that impostor syndrome that is trying to take the steering wheel away from you.
- Ask yourself if that doubt or inner voice is real? “Can I really not do this?“
- Play out all of the scenarios, even the worst one.
- Refrain it. How can you think about your situation differently?
- Talk to a friend, and if not, talk to yourself.
- Make a list of your accomplishments.
Resources:
Brave Women at Work website: https://www.bravewomenatwork.com
Brave Women at Work Facebook group: https://facebook.com/groups/bravewomenatwork
Maya Angelou quote: https://www.forbes.com/sites/margiewarrell/2014/04/03/impostor-syndrome/?sh=4491755748a9
Meryl Streep quote: https://www.thnk.org/blog/3-tips-to-overcome-imposter-syndrome/
Mel Robbins’ high-five yourself: https://www.facebook.com/melrobbins/photos/a.502275269868362/3411720382257155/?type=3
Phil Jackson mindset: https://crm.org/articles/zen-and-the-art-of-winning-phil-jacksons-team-leadership