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Imposter syndrome is a feeling that many business owners experience but few talk about. It’s the idea that you are not good enough, despite all your accomplishments and successes. You’re convinced there has to be some kind of mistake or someone is going to find out and call you on it–so you don’t speak up, or don’t share your ideas in meetings, or always say “I’m sorry.”

A study by psychologists Pauline Rose Clance and Gail Matthews found that about 7 in 10 adults experience impostor feelings at some point or another in their careers.

If you’re struggling with this and you’re an entrepreneur, a CEO, a team manager, not doing anything about your imposter feelings is going to eat at your motivation, confidence, leadership vision and self worth day in and day out.

The feeling of being a fraud, or an imposter, is one that many people experience.

It’s often the result of your own insecurities and self-doubt; it can also be something that comes from other people who try to make you feel like you’re not good enough.

Impostor syndrome also comes with a fear of being found and exposed as a fraud. High achievers go into over delivery mode, working harder, learning more, always striving to gain more experience, win more awards, do all the things you think that will make you feel less like a fraud.

Regardless of where this feeling stems from, it has the power to impact your growth if left unchecked.

Initially psychologists Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes thought that imposter syndrome was unique to women, but recent research reviews published in the International Journal of Behavioral Sciences (2011) revealed that men have impostor feelings. Their initial study focused on high-achieving women (Source: Clance PR, Imes SA. The imposter phenomenon in high achieving women: Dynamics and therapeutic intervention).

This post will help you identify how to overcome imposter syndrome so that it doesn’t impact your confidence any longer!

What is impostor syndrome?

It’s a feeling of insecurity that causes you to question your qualifications and ability to do the job at hand. Impostor syndrome can take place in any industry or position, but it seems most prevalent in women who are trying to succeed in traditionally male-dominated fields. This blog post discusses how you can overcome imposter syndrome.

It’s a tough journey to start your own business, and it can be even more difficult when you feel like an imposter and have to deal with self doubt. You might have the feeling that you don’t deserve what you have or that everything will go wrong at any moment. But there are ways to overcome these feelings and become successful in entrepreneurship – no matter how many times someone tells you “you can’t do this!”

The term was coined by two psychologists, Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes in 1978; however, the concept of impostor phenomenon dates back as far as 1894 when American writer Fannie Hurst described her feelings of “phoniness in success” after achieving widespread fame following the publication of her first novel.

How to get over impostor syndrome

I learned this the hard way: there’s no miracle cure to imposter syndrome.

In fact I had to become a life coach to understand that no matter how much I try to ignore it, it will not go away.

Which leads to the first step to overcoming impostor syndrome.

To begin overcoming imposter feelings you first need to accept you are dealing with imposter syndrome.

I know – easier said than done. Where do you even begin?

Acceptance is not an easy thing, particularly when you have a lifetime of living with self doubt.

“Whatever tag we put on ourselves, no matter what it is, that tag tends to stay with us most of our lives” – Dr. Pauline Rose Clance, The Impostor Phenomenon: Overcoming The Fear That Haunts Your Success, Amazon.

But that’s not even the biggest issue. 

Most people with impostor syndrome don’t know their overachieving, their constant self doubt, their berating of their own success, their belief that what they have achieved is due to some kind of luck, is actually something else.

“… a key element to change is the recognition that one is a victim… people with IP symptoms do not go around saying, “I feel like an impostor”. They do not label their feelings as IP feelings, but rather as objective truths about themselves.” – Dr. Pauline Rose Clance, The Impostor Phenomenon: Overcoming The Fear That Haunts Your Success, Amazon.

Surely, not everyone experiences impostor feelings. But when you look at research, some 70% mention imposter syndrome as something they’ve struggled with.

How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome: Guaranteed Strategies for Success

Psychologists say that the simple noticing of your internal dialogue can make a huge difference.

So, if you’re telling yourself things like those below, take notice of these negative thoughts:

“I feel like I don’t deserve any of the success I’ve attained.”

“Even if people praise my skills, I still don’t think I am as accomplished as they think I am.”

“I may get rewards and compliments for my hard work, but I don’t feel I have earned them.”

“I am afraid that people will soon realize that I am not as smart as I make myself out to be.”

“I got lucky with most of the accomplishments I have.”

“I downplay or don’t recognize my achievements because I don’t think they are as amazing as people think they are.”

A common practice in life coaching is to rewrite negative or self-limiting thoughts into positive versions. So write these negative thoughts every time you notice them, and try to rewrite them in a positive way.

There’s power in recognizing impostor feelings

Living with imposter feelings is like carrying around a secret. It’s most likely your worst fear – to be exposed. It’s likely nobody knows you feel like a fraud… because on the outside you appear to hold it together pretty damn well.

Many attribute their success to luck, while the underlying fear is that they will not be able to replicate the success again. Even when they are congratulated for an awesome job, they downplay their results saying it was easy, or that they had a team to help them do it.

You are living Aristotle’s saying – ‘The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.” with anxiety. It never stops. You suffer from failure, you doubt yourself constantly, and you’re having a really hard time to enjoy any success, even when you’re receiving praise, even when you are looking at hard evidence that your career, your company, your accomplishments are not due to luck.

You’ve probably had this fear of being exposed, this feeling of not being good enough all your life. Perhaps as a student you avoided speaking in class or asking questions for fear of appearing “stupid” to your peers or teachers. (88% of postdoctoral psychology students reported they experienced at least moderate impostor phenomenon feelings (Tigranyan, S., et al., Training and Education in Professional Psychology , online publication, 2020).

It might have reflected in your relationships as well. If you have a fear that you are going to be found out for not being as great as your spouse thinks, you might feel unworthy of love.

So, how are you going to go from this success is due to luck, to being able to recognize your personal progress, your growth, your competence and reduce the anxiety of being found out?

Here are a couple of tips to help you recognize success so you can stop feeling like a fraud:

Separate fears from facts

Just because you have those feelings, fears or thoughts, it doesn’t mean these are true. That’s the first thing to recognize.

Recognize your competence

Mentor or tutor beginners or students to become aware of your progress and how different your competence is compared with people who are unexperienced.

One of the most important things to ask yourself is, “What are my strengths?” Your strengths will help you find your path. Don’t be discouraged if you can’t answer this question immediately; it might take some time for you to figure out where you are.

Talk to others

There are plenty of opportunities here, just choose what you are comfortable with. It can be friends, family, peers, someone on your team, a professional support group, a psychologist. The purpose of this exercise is to see how other people perceive you, it’s likely you appear to them as a proper expert, which could initiate a conversation that can help you figure out how “real” your imposter feelings are.

Keep track of your success

A great exercise when you’re struggling with self doubt over your achievements is to keep track of your success stories, your wins. A simple way to do it is just to look at your CV and update it on a regular basis. Another way is to ask for testimonials from your clients. Case studies are amazing proofs of your success.

Make it a habit to write down your wins

Life happens and it’s easy to go from one campaign, one client to another, but over time you start to forget that one month ago you scored a fabulous result. So whenever you get a result, write it down into a dedicated success notebook.

Stop comparing

Easier said than done, I know, but once you stop comparing yourself to others, you will suddenly experience relief from high achieving habits and feelings of self doubt. FIY, Academy Award winning actress Kate Winslet said of struggling with imposter phenomenon: “I’d wake up in the morning before going off to a shoot, and think, I can’t do this; I’m a fraud.” 

What would you say to someone if they said that they feel like a fraud?

Positive psychology calls this cognitive reframing. It basically asks you to look at your situation from different perspectives. A practical aspect of this would be to ask yourself what would you tell someone who comes to you with such thoughts.  

Recognize the signs of imposter syndrome in yourself

Take an impostor syndrome test, write down your thoughts, read a book about this, reach out to others who might feel like a fraud as well. This is something that commonly impacts high achievers, professionals with a track record of successes and proven expertise and or career (think doctors, lawyers, financiers, entrepreneurs, scientists, copywriters, marketers etc).

8 is the new 10

Researchers identified five types of persons struggling with impostor syndrome. One of them is the perfectionist. If you set high goals and then feel shame and disappointment for failing to achieve them, reassess your standards for what a 10 is. Living up to an unrealistic standard can be a certain cause of exhaustion and an onset of depression.

Talk to a professional

A therapist or a psychologist can give you tools and accountability so you can navigate self doubt and build a plan for learning how to celebrate and acknowledge your success.

Short checklist to get over imposter syndrome

1. Write down your successes and accomplishments

2. Reflect on the skills you have that are valuable to others

3. Take a break – don’t work all day every day!

4. Make sure you’re not being too hard on yourself, give yourself credit for what you’ve done so far

5. Find a mentor or coach who can help guide you in your journey 

6. Remember that success is relative – it’s about doing the best we can with what we have and where we are at this moment in time, not comparing ourselves to others’ success stories or failures

7. Understand the causes of imposter syndrome

8. Learn to identify when you’re feeling like an imposter

9. Create a plan for dealing with your insecurities (e.g., get better sleep, take breaks from work)

How do you comfort someone struggling with it?

Impostor syndrome is a psychological phenomenon in which people are unable to internalize their accomplishments. Even after being successful, they believe that they have fooled others into thinking that they are more intelligent and competent than they perceive themselves to be.

The feeling of not deserving the success we achieve or having someone else’s approval makes us feel uncomfortable and undeserving of what we achieved.

It can cause many problems in your organization if left unchecked. People suffering from this condition tend to be less productive because of anxiety about being “found out” as a fraud or incompetent worker, which also affects their self-esteem and confidence – so it becomes a vicious cycle.

For a manager, it’s important to recognize this problem early on because it affects your team performance if you don’t help them deal with impostor phenomenon right away. A good way to do so is by encouraging your employees, giving positive feedback when needed and helping them set realistic goals for themselves while keeping in mind their strengths as well as weaknesses.

What you can do if you believe someone on your team is struggling with impostor syndrome:

1. Tell them they’re not alone

2. Remind them that they’re awesome and appreciated

3. Encourage their talents, abilities, and skills 

4. Share your own experiences of feeling like an imposter or being insecure about something in your life – this might be especially helpful if the person has just told you about their feelings of insecurity or low self-worth 

5. Acknowledge that it’s normal to feel like an imposter sometimes and let them know there are plenty of people who have felt this way too (e.g., Beyoncé) 

6. Offer encouragement by telling the person what they do well instead of focusing on what needs improvement (e.g., “I appreciate how thoughtful you are”) 

7. Express belief in the other person through words – e.g., “I believe in you” or “You will get better at math.” Don’t say anything else unless asked for advice/help because sometimes all someone needs is validation that they aren’t alone and that someone believes in them.

The feeling of being an imposter is a common human experience.

It can happen at any time in your life, feel like it’s going to consume you and keep stopping you dead in your tracks. When dealing with imposter syndrome as the result of our careers or personal aspirations, we often start to second guess ourselves constantly.

It’s my hope that this post helped you identify some strategies for overcoming impostor feelings so that it doesn’t impact your confidence any longer.

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