Impostor Syndrome – Definition and How to Use it To Your Benefit

I had no idea what Imposter Syndrome was for many years. However I clearly remember feeling like a fraud when I graduated from college. Even though I graduated with honors in Electrical Engineering, I was convinced someone was going to find out that I didn’t know anything. What was worse was I took a strategic consulting job with McKinsey. What did I know about strategy or business? Nothing. I believed that I passed the case interviews only because I got help from a McKinsey associate on how to ace case interviews and I read the Mind of the Strategist.

Impostor Syndrome Definition

I didn’t know at the time that this was called Impostor Syndrome and that practically everyone who graduated from Stanford felt it. I thought I was the only one.

Impostor Syndrome is psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their skills, talents or accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a “fraud”.^[1] Despite external evidence of their competence, those experiencing this phenomenon remain convinced that they are frauds, and do not deserve all they have achieved.

Wikipedia

Should I Avoid Impostor Syndrome?

Absolutely not! Fast forward 25 years later, I am 45 days into my new job at Silicon Valley Bank as the Digital Experience Leader for our Private Bank Wealth Advisory business. Guess what? I still feel like an impostor. While the feeling is uncomfortable, it’s also a sign that I took a job that stretches my skills. It’s only when we feel out of our depth at work that we are truly pushing ourselves to new heights.

Mike Cannon-Brookes describes it best in this Ted Talk below. “Impostor Syndrome” doesn’t go away when we have success. On the contrary, every successful person feels it. No matter how much we have accomplished or know, we can still feel completely out of our depth. It’s a good thing. It means we didn’t stay in our comfort zone or became complacent.

4 Tips to Overcome “Impostor Syndrome”

While feeling like a fraud is normal, how we react to this feeling matters. If we dwell and get paralyzed, then we can get into an unproductive loop of fear and self-doubt. It can lead us to even self-sabotage at work. Let’s not do that! Here are 4 tips I am using to overcome “Impostor Syndrome.”

Tip 1: Recognize that this feeling is here to stay. If billionaires like Mike Cannon-Brookes still feels this, then we will also feel it as long as we are challenging ourselves. Accept that this feeling is a normal occurrence especially at the beginning of a new job or new challenge.

What I do is acknowledge it when I feel it and move my focus to something productive. By not trying to suppress the fear, it has less mindshare on me. Instead I ask myself what I am going to learn today. In the first 90 days of any new job, it’s really about listening and ramping up.

Tip 2: Be Kind to Myself and Just Keep Going. Part of feeling like a fraud is feeling like I really don’t know anything. Well, that’s going to be true every time in the beginning of a new job. I find myself having a constant inner dialogue assessing how I am doing at this new job. The frustrating answer every time is I have no idea.

I soon realized how unproductive this line of question was. It’s too early to judge. Instead, I decided to ask myself a different question- How much more have I learned in the last month? The answer to that question is much more motivating. I have learned a ton!

Tip 3: Talk it out. I don’t know about you but I can get stuck in a negative self-talk loop, even when I am aware it’s bad for me. We are all human. This is when I turn to my husband for advice. He is my confidante and a great sounding board. Just yesterday, we went for a long walk along the waters. Just the sheer act of trying to explain what I am feeling to him got me unstuck part of the way. My husband also asked me some great questions, such as

• Are you happy you left your last job? Yes!
• Do you think someone else who can do better than you at this job? I don’t think so.
• Does anyone question whether you should be there? Actually, no.

All logical questions. They helped me realize I am the only one putting pressure on myself at work.

Tip 4 – Listen to my own coaching call on this subject :-). Coincidentally, I did a group coaching call just a few months ago on this subject. I lead this session while I was still at my old job and feeling quite confident with my abilities :-). It’s amazing how wise we can be for others. I hope you find this call as useful as I did listening to it 2 months later. Here is the first 4 min.

The full 30 min coaching call can be found here inside the Soft Skills Gym.

You Are Doing Something Right

At the end the day, the fact you are reading this article and feeling “impostor syndrome” means you are doing something right for your career. You are pushing yourself outside your comfort zone. This is the necessary journey toward success. Go for it and go with it! Also know you are not alone. Every successful person you admire also feels this. Just keep going despite it and you can change the world!

Audio Transcription

Alec: We all feel like we could be out of our depth a little bit. And I largely think that it’s good to be out of your depth, that you’re actually in the right place as long as you have a good balance. Not too deep so that you are stretching yourself, you’re challenging yourself. You’re able to use all of your skills and abilities at full force rather than maybe being half-throttle. That’s one of the things. And so, I guess one of the questions is: Impostor syndrome, is it a good thing? Is it a bad thing? And then, what kind of advice can you give us around impostor syndrome or feeling like you’re being challenged or maybe too challenged, and how that may impact your confidence in doing a project and looking at your next goal, et cetera?

Lei: That’s great! Great introduction. I would love to hear: How many people have felt impostor syndrome in their careers? Or should I say have anyone not feel it? What do you guys think?

Alla: Can I add to that definition real quick? I think it’s also when you don’t believe the fact that your success is deserved. Like, you constantly, almost undermine your own abilities. I agree with what Alec said but just to add that little spin there. I feel like that a lot.

Lei: Interesting.

Vaneel: Yeah, that’s a great comment.

Lei: Yes, Vaneel

Vaneel: No, that’s a great comment. I completely agree with that.

Lei: I think this topic has to do a lot with confidence. And we’ve talked about that before. I had to look this up. Impostor syndrome, officially, on Wikipedia, means “It’s a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their accomplishments or talents and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a fraud. Despite external evidence of their competence, those who experience this phenomenon, remain convinced that they’re frauds and do not deserve all they have achieved. Individuals with imposter syndrome incorrectly attribute their success to luck or interpret it as a result of deceiving others into thinking they’re more intelligent than they perceive themselves to be. While early research focused on the prevalence among high-achieving women, impostor syndrome has been recognized to affect both men and women equally.” from that definition, Alec, I think it’s a negative thing….

To find out more about Impostor Syndrome and how you may address it, listen to the full recording here inside the Soft Skills Gym.

Your comments: How often do you have Impostor Syndrome? How do overcome it?

Your comments: Do you have an inner voice that tells you that you are not enough? Do you where it comes from and how to ignore it? I look forward to hearing from you.

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I am always in your corner.

Lei

I am always in your corner.

Lei