Dealing with Imposter Syndrome
This week the subject of Imposter Syndrome has popped up in one-to-one sessions with colleagues, in an interview with a candidate and I managed to watch a whole webinar on the topic that affects many of us.
I have personal experience, both as an imposter and as a coach to other imposters. Very early on in my technology career, I worked as an instructor teaching operating systems courses. It was a time when everyone was learning new tech at an incredible rate, and I shudder to look back at the nights where I was learning at night in preparation for the next days class. In the same year that Fight Club was released, I was already “Jacks sense of raging imposter syndrome”.
Last week some friends and colleagues at ServiceNow ran a webinar on Imposter Syndrome, which is worth summarising. Thanks to Rama, Evisa and Paloma for organising it.
What is Imposter Syndrome, and how should we think of it? And importantly, how can we cope with it?
This is a condition that affects a considerable amount of people. It doesn’t differentiate between males and females, although the impact on females and minority groups can be disproportionate due to other common workplace biases.
It can impact you at any stage of your career. I read many interviews with founders and CEOs. They are commonly affected - that can be a particularly debilitating problem as there is nowhere to hide if you are running the company. It’s less common to want to appear vulnerable.
Imposter Syndrome can kill your career chances and prevent you from living your best life if left unchecked.
In last week’s webinar, the speaker was Nicola Whiting MBE, an expert on the subject and a leader in Information Security.
In her introduction to the subject, she made a point which has stuck with me since: Your imposter syndrome will hold you back from helping others. So the network effects of this common problem are stark.
Why do we suffer from Imposter Syndrome?
At the core of Imposter Syndrome are two cognitive biases working against you: Negativity bias and the inability to distinguish between actual and suggested facts.
If you compare yourself negatively against a standard that you perceive in others naturally, you will feel inadequate about your own abilities. But, rarely, we can objectively measure ourselves against other people - it’s always an image projected to us.
Research tells us there are five types of imposter syndrome:
The Perfectionist: People who set unattainable, unreasonable standards for themselves and then experience self-doubt when they fail to attain them.
The Superwoman/man: People who compensate for their perceived lack of ability by working harder and harder to cover up their shortcomings.
The Natural Genius: People who feel that ability is gifted naturally to “clever” people, and who doubt themselves when they realise they have to work hard for that ability.
The Soloist: People who fear asking for any help will expose them as a fraud and somehow lacking.
The Expert: People who judge their worth on how much they know, always striving to learn more and remaining forever worrying that they don’t know enough.
Knowledge is power. If you know you suffer Imposter Syndrome and you can see yourself described in one of the five types, perhaps you will also recognise that help is available.
How can we cope with Imposter Syndrome?
Run your own race: Find satisfaction in your own journey rather than comparing yourselves against others. You’ll only ever receive a polished, filtered version of other peoples reality anyway.
Acknowledge your own successes: Keep a digital scrapbook of your achievements to keep you in touch with what achieve. Screenshot those “thank you” emails and LinkedIn callouts of your greatness
Talk about your insecurities: Share your concerns with others. People value your ability to be vulnerable, especially if you are a leader.
Find an objective measure of your abilities: Imposter Syndrome pounces when you perceive your ability to be lacking. Are there ways you can actually measure your competence to remind yourself how good you are?
Remember that your perception and reality are always different: Not just about your abilities at work… your perception is always different from other peoples. Just because you feel like you’re an imposter, it doesn’t mean you are!
Starting this newsletter was an exercise in Imposter Syndrome! Let’s meet each other in the comments - have you experienced this, and how would you coach others to move past it.
Your Imposter Syndrome is preventing you from helping others with your skill and insights!
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Interesting read Simon thanks for sharing. Everyone suffers at some point with Imposter Syndrome, once you acknowledge that you realise you’re not alone. My advice whilst coaching is, “to focus on the role and contribution to the organisation YOU make and the RESULTS YOU achieve. Recognise your self worth as a human being.” This has helped my mentorees and me to eliminate Imposter Syndrome from my world. Once you recognise your value and that your can’t control others thoughts it gets easier.
https://www-forbes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.forbes.com/sites/servicenow/2021/02/19/impostor-syndrome-in-the-c-suite/amp/ You published first!