Date Added: 28.01.20

Have you ever landed a great promotion or won an award of some sort yet for some reason felt unable to celebrate? Perhaps you’ve even felt undeserving or had a niggling feeling that it was just pot luck and nothing to do with your abilities. If this sounds all too familiar, then you my friend have battled imposter syndrome at one point or another.

You may not have heard of it, but imposter syndrome can pose a real barrier to your professional development, and it can seem to sneak up on you out of nowhere. As we’re going to be delving into this phenomenon during our upcoming Future Leaders Networking Event on the 30th – we thought we’d do some digging on what imposter syndrome is, who it affect and how to beat it.

So what is imposter syndrome anyway?
Imposter syndrome is what psychologists refer to as the idea that you’ve only achieved success due to some sort of fluke rather than your experience or qualifications. Imposter syndrome is said to affect 70% of us at one point or another, and can become even more prevalent in middle to upper management roles when the pressure starts to mount.

In essence, imposter syndrome points to feelings of inadequacy which in turn makes you dismiss all of your accomplishments and if left alone it can become a real roadblock in your professional and personal life. Aside from preventing you from enjoying the fruits of your labour, it can also make you feel reluctant to go for promotions or pursue industry events or qualifications.

Who experiences imposter syndrome?
Most people will experience imposter syndrome at some point in their lives, however women are most likely to suffer from it than men. This of course poses problems for women in management, and has been shown to have an impact on female progression in upper management.

The truth is that people at all levels, from graduate to CEO, can feel the sting of imposter syndrome depending on personality and working style. For instance if you’re a bit of a perfectionist or high achiever you’re likely to judge yourself quite harshly and can have trouble accepting praise as a result.

How do you overcome imposter syndrome?
The good news is that recognising that you might be dealing with a bout of imposter syndrome is the first step to overcoming it. Acknowledging when you’re not being realistic about your achievements is a sure fire way to stop it in its tracks as you can make a conscious effort to buoy yourself up when you feel those doubts setting in.

Something you could try is listing all your accomplishments and taking note of which of your unique characteristics allowed you to achieve them – this will help you to solidify core beliefs about yourself. So the next time you’re in the hot seat at a big meeting or during an interview, you’ll remember what led you to the position you’re in and feel confident in making your voice heard.

Sometimes you might even need to give yourself a little push outside of your comfort zone to prove to yourself that you actually can do all those things that you’ve spent so long telling yourself you couldn’t. Whether it’s taking a course to back up your knowledge with a certificate, or electing yourself as a speaker at an industry event – the more you challenge your imposter syndrome, the less hold it will have on you.

What’s more, if you’re feeling like you don’t deserve to have that shiny title you’ve worked so hard for; trust that your hiring manager knows their stuff. Your leadership team wouldn’t have taken the risk to hire or promote you if they didn’t think you had what it takes. So, when you haven’t got faith in your own abilities – have faith in theirs!

As proud sponsor of Future Leaders – The Utilities Mentoring Network, we’ll be tackling the tricky topic of imposter syndrome even further and will be exploring how to beat it at the upcoming Future Leaders event on January the 30th.

We’ll be joined by Mark Houlihan and Rob Lester who will be delivering compelling and motivational talks on unleashing your inner confidence and kicking imposter syndrome to the kerb. If you’re keen to learn more about Future Leaders and what it can do for you, please contact Katie Stevenson at k.stevenson@consult-energy.co.uk.