Has a little voice in your head ever said: “This project isn’t 100% perfect, so it’s not good enough”, or “Those results aren’t high enough this month”, or “I don’t have the credentials to be speaking on this topic”?
If it has, you might be suffering from imposter syndrome, also known as imposter phenomenon. The good news is that once you realise and acknowledge the little critic in your head, you can begin to reframe your thinking.
What is imposter syndrome?
The concept of imposter syndrome or imposter phenomenon was originally developed by psychologists Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes in the 1970s. It describes a feeling that despite objectively having the right qualifications or achieving high standards, a person feels like they are not good enough and have simply fooled everyone into thinking they are.
Although both men and women can suffer from imposter syndrome, it tends to be more common among women.
People with imposter syndrome tend to fall into one of these categories:
- Perfectionists who set extremely high expectations and feel bad if their result is not 100%.
- Experts who think they need to know all the information before starting a task and are always looking for more training.
- Natural geniuses who are used to doing things easily and feel like a failure if a task comes along that they have to work hard at.
- Soloists who feel like they have to do everything themselves.
- Superwomen who think they always need to work harder than everyone else and always be doing something.
9 signs you might have imposter syndrome
1. You work harder than all your colleagues or peers.
2. You always notice the tiny mistakes in your work rather than the good parts.
3. You sometimes sabotage your chances of success by not taking on a challenge or indulging in a bad habit, like staying up late the night before an important interview, so you have something to blame if it doesn’t go well.
4. You procrastinate about starting projects because you are worried that you won’t complete them to a high enough standard.
5. You have trouble delegating things to other people.
6. Even outside of work, you feel like you always need to be busy and accomplishing something.
7. You hold back from starting a task or tackling a challenge unless you feel you have all the skills and knowledge required.
8. If someone compliments you on a success or job well done, you downplay it and put it down to luck.
9. You constantly worry that you will be “found out” as not good enough.
How to silence your inner critic and embrace your strengths instead
If you ticked any boxes in the list above, you might have imposter syndrome. Here are some tips to help you overcome it.
The first step is to acknowledge your feelings and reframe them. Remember that you have done difficult things before, and you survived and even thrived. And if you do mess up or fail to meet your expectations, let yourself feel that compassionately instead of beating yourself up. And remember – nobody is perfect, and things still get done!
Take objective stock of your abilities: If you regularly feel underqualified for your position or task, objectively write down your strengths and qualifications and things you need to work on. This helps you see more clearly the balance of your strengths and how you can work on other skills if you need to. But only learn a new skill if you really need to for your current position.
Record your wins: Some experts call this writing a “ta-da” list. Your to do list is all the things you need to do that day or week; your ta-da list is everything you’ve done. It will probably be more than you think. Record other successes too – a positive performance review, a customer review for your business, or a new target met. Even small wins can give your motivation a boost.
Set boundaries and enlist help: If you always have to work harder or do it all, then it’s time to set boundaries. You may even need to schedule time for not doing anything to ensure you get rest. Enlist the help of others – work colleagues, staff and family members – to help you enforce these boundaries. Setting boundaries can also help if you procrastinate because you are a perfectionist. Set a time to get a task done and stop when the time is up. The chances are your work will be good enough at that point.
Find someone to talk to: Because your inner critic lives in your head, talking to someone else can help to drown it out. Share your feelings with a trusted listener or an impartial person like a business mentor.
Let me help you ditch the imposter syndrome and take your business to the next level with specialised business coaching
I specialise in business coaching for women to help them overcome challenges and become empowered to make a difference for themselves and others. Book your consultation today and take the first step towards silencing that inner critic and achieving remarkable results.
