Imposter syndrome, also known as imposter phenomenon or impostorism, is defined by Oxford Languages as "the persistent inability to believe that one's success is deserved or has been legitimately achieved as a result of one's own efforts or skills."
It's a very common experience that can affect anyone regardless of their achievements. It's characterized by feelings of self-doubt and a persistent fear of being exposed as a fraud.
Research suggests around 70% of adults experience it at least once in their lives. It's particularly common among high achievers and perfectionists. Further research shows that women and women of color tend to be more affected . A KPMG study of 750 senior women leaders found that 75% of female executives across industries have experienced imposter syndrome in their careers, and 57% of them while being promoted or in transition.
Now that we've established the facts about imposter syndrome, let me share my personal journey. As someone who has felt like an imposter and likely will again as my career evolves, I've learned to identify the issues and develop solutions. Nothing is straightforward, but having recognized it may take time and self-discipline pushed me into being more conscious.
It's easy to fall into the trap of believing someone else could do your job better and diminish your achievements. Two instances where imposter syndrome affected me come to mind:
Transitioning Roles: When I moved from client service support to account executive: interviews were conducted, and profiles were compared. While happy to be chosen, I couldn't help but compare myself to a colleague with more sales experience. I was surprised in fact. Despite the training, I felt like I had a lot to catch up on, processes and habits I didn't feel I had. This stems from how I view my personality: more suited to a tourism office than a travel agency or in other words advice against sale.
Re-entering the Workforce: Returning after a gap year, the competitive job market made me downplay my experience and my diploma despite having proven time after time my abilities to work in environments that had been unfamiliar at first glance. This impacted my salary expectations and confidence in applying for certain roles.
These experiences translated into some of the below:
- Over-justifying and apologizing: I constantly felt the need to justify actions and apologize for decisions (self-sabotaging).
- Difficulty identifying with roles: I singled myself out to colleagues and friends. Looking at advertised positions without applying, forgetting that I had performed most of the key responsibilities, taking the different wording at face value.
- Self-doubt: I questioned whether I was right for the role.
- Anxiety and overthinking: I became anxious and overthought actions, leading to emotional tiredness and constant email checking, even after clocking off.
- Withdrawal: I became withdrawn and quiet, avoiding active participation in meetings (not wanting to be noticed and/or make waves).
- Downplaying my worth: I downplayed my right to salary increases and blended in to avoid standing out. Applying for roles, I would lower my salary expectations, justifying this on my gap year or what I believed to be “lack of knowledge”.
Overcoming the Challenges:
Confronting imposter syndrome is an ongoing process. So what are the steps I take?
- Kindness and thought process reassessment: reminding myself of past achievements and particularly, the ones I had no prior experience on and yet was recognized for. I landed each role by demonstrating competence, I was promoted, was given responsabilities out of my initial work scope. I look at recommendations and feedbacks.
- Factual results: When emotions overtakes my judgment, I focused on factual data. Met targets and client accounts looked after, articles written, are a clear indicator of success.
- Coaching: I recently started coaching and having an external perspective is invaluable. Coaching sessions help me differentiate needs from wants and refocus on what I can do, not what I perceive as “I cannot do”.
- Proactive applications and sticking to objectives: I started applying for roles where I wasn't 100% confident, focusing on areas of expertise and setting realistic salary expectations. Rejection is inevitable, but it helps identify those who value your true worth.
Moving Forward:
Overcoming imposter syndrome is a journey. By taking proactive steps and acknowledging the time it takes, you can navigate new roles and rewire your mindset to a more positive “can-do” attitude. Rome wasn't built in a day and knowing your worth before taking anything on, will make a difference.
You may find below the resources used in this post for further information:
