Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

I have a wide variety of clients, but I primarily coach business owners, team leaders, people searching for new jobs, high-level managers, and tons of entrepreneurs. It’s so interesting to work with such a diverse group of people with different levels of experience, and something interesting I’ve come to discover when coaching business owners who have been in their industry for 10-20 even 30 years – even THOSE people still struggle with imposter syndrome. We all got it! So, if you’re out there feeling insecure and thinking you are the only one out there who feels this way, know this – NOBODY FEELS LIKE THEY KNOW WHAT THEY’RE DOING.

Once you can identify the root cause of where your imposter syndrome comes from, then you can begin to focus on that and spend time on where this comes from instead of just slapping a band-aid on a bullet hole, masking anxiety from one day to the next. You can take these solutions and dedicate time to yourself and to healing – it takes time, I say it all the time, the direction is more important than speed, and today you can head in the direction of feeling competent, confident, and like you are enough.

Imposter syndrome is believing that you are not as competent as others perceive you to be. You live in fear that “the real you” will be exposed and that “everyone is going to find out that you are a fraud.” This can be tied to your intelligence or your achievements but ultimately comes down to perfectionism.

A lot of times, if you’re the only one in a setting who looks or sounds like you then it’s only human instinct to maybe feel as though you don’t totally fit in. You can feel added pressure that you have to represent your entire group – but do your best not to mistake that pressure for self-doubt.

There are 5 types of Imposter syndrome – which one are you?

The perfectionist: You are never satisfied and always feel like your work could be better. You do not focus on your strengths but instead fixate on your flaws or mistakes.
The superhero: You feel inadequate, so you feel compelled to push yourself to work as hard as possible. All gas, no brakes.
The expert: You are always trying to learn more and are never satisfied with your level of understanding. Even though you are often highly skilled, you underrate your own expertise.
The natural genius: You set excessively lofty goals for yourself, and then feel crushed when you don't succeed on your first try.
The soloist: You tend to be very individualistic and prefer to work alone. Self-worth often stems from your productivity, so you often reject offers of assistance. You see asking for help as a sign of weakness or incompetence.  

There are ways to overcome this – find out more and an even deeper dive into Imposter Syndrome on my Podcast.

It’s time to take your power back!

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