Date Added: 23.07.21

So you’ve spent years honing your skills and working your way up into management. In theory you should be feeling a sense of accomplishment,  you’re at the top of your game and hungry for the next challenge, right? So why can’t you shake the sense that you’ve somehow gamed the system and that it’s by luck you’ve landed in your current role? What you’re battling is called imposter syndrome and, if left unchallenged, it’s likely to get in your way when you next get the opportunity to climb up the career ladder.

Don’t worry, this sense of uncertainty at middle management level is becoming increasingly common. In fact, it’s estimated that nearly two thirds of people experience imposter syndrome. Further to this, if you’re a millennial, you’re even more likely to struggle as a further 70% of millennials, the group most likely to have reached middle management, have suffered with imposter syndrome and regularly worry about “not being good enough”.

We’ve talked about imposter syndrome before in a broad sense, but there’s an increasing number of those in the Gen Y or millennial group in middle management who feel as though they don’t belong. This can express itself in a variety of ways, from feeling unqualified to make the important decisions your role requires of you, to struggling to delegate due to feeling like you should be doing more of the delivery despite now being in management.

Not only are you more likely to underperform thanks to this newfound lack of confidence in yourself, but you’re naturally less likely to grab new opportunities by the horns with the same energy that landed you your current role. Aside from other organisational barriers, this is partially why many of those in middle management report feeling stuck under a glass ceiling, the C-suite just out of reach. It seems the closer they get to their goals, the more discomfort they feel.

Why does this happen? Psychologists believe that imposter syndrome most typically occurs in high achievers who are unable to interpret their own success and ultimately stems from a fear of someone eventually exposing them as not being as talented, hard-working or capable as originally thought. For millennials specifically, this is thought to be due to generally higher levels of anxiety and depression than any other generation that has come before them.

It’s not a new phenomenon by any means, but it is increasingly affecting those set to become our future board level leaders in the energy and utilities space. The good news is that imposter syndrome is usually entirely unfounded, and there are things you can do to stop it slowing down your journey to the top.

Stop comparing

Comparison really is the thief of joy. Some speculate that millennials are even more likely to fall into the trap of constantly comparing themselves to others due to growing up with social media. Whatever the cause, it’s vital to your happiness and success that you judge yourself by your own standards rather than anybody else’s.

So a former colleague has made it to the C-suite at their new company before you and it’s making you anxious about your own progression and making you doubt your ability to get there? It’s natural to get a little envious from time to time, but don’t forget that your journey is totally different to theirs. For instance, is their company smaller than yours and easier to progress in? Do they have less personal commitments? Did they already know someone at the company who could vouch for them?

There are a lot of caveats to their success that aren’t any sort of reflection on you. Besides, try to see the positives: your hunger and drive for the influence to be able to make a huge difference in your industry is already something to be admired.

Unless you can take away something from that former classmate’s successes on LinkedIn that can help you get ahead, there’s no sense in yearning for their career path. Remember that we often only see what’s on the surface when glancing into other people’s lives through the lens of social media.

Daily affirmations

At one point or another, you began repeating to yourself that you couldn’t do this job and began trying to find validation for that belief. The best way to overcome imposter syndrome is by undoing that negative thought pattern by looking for evidence of the opposite. For instance, when you catch yourself thinking “I’m not experienced enough to offer useful input in this meeting” notice it and instead tell yourself “I wouldn’t have been asked to join the meeting if my presence didn’t add any value to the group”.

Chances are, there’s far more evidence for you being great at your job and worthy of the responsibility you’ve been given than for the contrary. It takes work to become self-aware enough to notice these opportunities for change, but it’s more than worth it.

Listen to feedback

And we don’t mean just the negative feedback. If you want to stand a chance at kicking your imposter syndrome to the kerb, you need to let the good feedback get a look in too. It’s really common to focus on the “room to improve” part of your appraisals but do you give the praise you receive on the regular enough attention?

Think about how much better you’d feel if you spent half as much time ruminating over the good stuff as you did the bad. The first thing you can do to combat this is to stop rejecting compliments about your work or performance. Just say “thanks” and allow yourself to feel good about a successful project you led on or all the profits your team brought in that year. If your self-esteem is really taking a beating you could take it a step further and screenshot or save emails where you’ve received praise, save them in a folder and the next time you start to doubt if you’re doing a good job – take a look and remember how well-respected you are.

Time for a change

If none of the above is doing it for you, it might be time for a change of scene. Sometimes your environment has a role to play in why you might be feeling unworthy of your position. From upper management still seeing you as a junior if you’ve been there a long time, to other stakeholders going over your head for certain processes – sometimes having a legacy, however good it is, can work to your detriment.

Sound familiar? If you really don’t feel like you can go much further in your current company, you may need to branch out somewhere new to reach your potential. After all, you’ve progressed and reached some of your career goals already, but if feeling stuck at middle management is all that’s left for you there then a fresh start could be what you need.

Luckily with a fantastic track record of reaching new heights in your career, your chances of securing the next rung on your career ladder are looking pretty good.

Whatever you decide to do, remember that true imposters don’t worry about whether they are one or not. So if you’re reading this article, you probably deserve your job and all the recognition that comes with it.

Still feeling stuck? Reach out to our team of energy and utilities consultants for a chat today, or you can take a look at our latest vacancies here.