Seven insights from the lived experience of imposter syndrome
Image courtesy of Stefano Pollio on Unsplash
Anyone who has experienced ‘imposter syndrome’ will understand the anxiety that it can induce. There is the belief that those around you are expecting you to offer some powerful insight because, after all, you are the ‘boss’ now. This is counter-balanced by the reality that your level of knowledge this week (as the ‘boss’), is no more than it was last week, when you weren’t.
Whether real or imagined, that perceived lack of knowledge can be amplified, when mistakes are made, leaving one to feel that all eyes are on them and more concerningly, that their fitness for the job is being questioned.
‘Imposter syndrome’ can span the spectrum of experience, from crippling self-doubt and insecurity at one end, all the way to an out-and-out explosion of toxic nut-jobbery at the other.
My personal experience of ‘imposter syndrome’ was when I was promoted into my second management role (for some reason it did not affect me at all in my first management position). For me, the manifestation was primarily in terms of a deep (albeit irrational) foreboding that, in the fullness of time, I would be ‘found out’.
As someone who has also observed the effects of ‘imposter syndrome’ in others, I have witnessed similar and occasionally even more extreme manifestations of the condition. Whilst the psychological insecurities that underpin ‘imposter syndrome’ are better understood, how does one tackle it and how can it be overcome? Set out below, are seven insights that I hope you will find useful.
1. Assert the positive over the negative
If you think about it, ‘imposter syndrome’ is a form of control that generates negative thoughts and inhibits the capacity for rationale reasoning. To combat this, if you have been newly appointed to a leadership role, you should quickly identify a set of achievable priorities, targets and actions to complete on a daily and weekly basis. Orientating your thinking towards what you can do rather than what you can’t do, is empowering and will give you a positive rather than a negative focus. If all you obsess over is your ‘imposter syndrome’, then your lens will be distorted and your judgement will be impaired.
2. Use the power of your leadership to empower others
One way in which ‘imposter syndrome’ manifests itself is when you feel under pressure to provide ready answers, even when you have none. Once in a leadership role, it is perfectly natural that you become the primary point of contact for decisions from others. Whilst it is clearly not ideal to say: ‘I don’t know’, whenever you are asked for an opinion, you can turn the situation on its head by asking: ‘what is your advice’ or ‘what would be your recommendation’. Remember, in leadership, your role is to decide, once in possession of the facts. It is not to do other people’s thinking for them.
3. It is Ok to be intimidated by other people’s expertise
Whilst it is great to have subject matter experts who can demonstrate depth and breadth in a conversation, it can be challenging if much of what they are saying is going over your head. It can be even worse, if they are deliberately trying to make you feel awkward through the assumption of knowledge or use of industry specific terminology. Resist the temptation to get into complex conversations that you cannot sustain as they will simply draw you from the shallows into deep water. Instead, just show humility and defer to the expert. Remember, leaders are learners and with learners’, success is not a measure of perfection, it is a measure of persistence.
4. Resist the temptation to ‘fake it until you make it’
To be honest, no-one is deceived by pretentiousness. Let’s be clear, the product of fakery is fakery. No amount of fakery can ever produce authenticity. If you are authentic, you will endear yourself to others and it will make it easier for them to forgive your mistakes, when things go wrong. Fakes, on the other hand, enjoy no such extension of good-will. Don’t kid yourself, pretentiousness is much more transparent than you might imagine. Your colleagues will smell it from a mile away. If you really want to kick start a whispering campaign against you, pretentious preening is the surest way to do it.
5. Stop trying to compete with other leaders
Whilst you should always see what you can learn, adapt and adopt from other leaders, be mindful that imitation without insight can lead to disastrous consequences. Leadership style is a very personal thing and is informed by experience, personality and the demands of each role. Simply ‘lifting and shifting’ on the basis that: ‘if it works for them, it will work for me’ is ill-advised. The grab reflex is one of the most dangerous impulses of ‘imposter syndrome’ and one that you must resist. Instead, it is better to reason, why a particular leadership approach has worked for others, before deciding whether to adopt such practices yourself.
6. Never internalise your insecurity
‘Imposter syndrome’ can cause those affected to feel both embarrassment and guilt (sentiments that can quickly become internalised). After all, no one wants to acknowledge that they do not feel qualified for the role they have been appointed to. Notwithstanding, sharing feelings of inadequacy with people that one trusts, is essential. Left unattended, internalisation will simply exacerbate the complex of inferiority. In a situation where thinking and reasoning have become corrupted, it is essential to see advice, from those able to offer an objective and rational perspective.
7. Slay the dragon or cage the dragon
I would imagine that given time and experience most people will overcome ‘imposter syndrome’ or at least, the worst effects of it. Unfortunately, that may not be the case for everyone. For some, the idea that they are imposters will remain a niggling feeling throughout their career and one that, to a lesser or greater extent, fuels ongoing insecurity. In simple terms, if you cannot overcome or control ‘imposter syndrome’ it will overcome or control you. Eventually, it will lead you to acts of over-compensation and excess, that will inevitably result in unanticipated consequences for you and others.
Some may argue that, in the workplace, ‘imposter syndrome’ is a natural defence reflex. One that keeps the risk of an inflated ego in check and prevents over-exposing oneself to danger. Not so, in my opinion. There is a world of difference between a hyper-extended sense of one’s worth and the undermining of one’s potential, which is exactly what ‘imposter syndrome’ induces. To avoid becoming a victim of the condition, it is essential that leaders are self-aware, not self-absorbed and in touch with their vulnerability, not consumed by their insecurity.
