So you have made it. You have the title, the salary, the desk with the view, the authority, and or the respect you have always wanted, the challenging role that you have yearned for. Your family and friends have congratulated you and then a strange feeling seems to land nearby. It has roots and starts digging tunnels into your psyche. Soon it is part of your thinking.
Or maybe this thinking is a constant, your are an imposter in everything you do, everything you achieve is down to luck, or being in the right place at the right time. You are an imposter and any minute you are going to get found out, to start with you are in brilliant company. Michelle Obama and Maya Angelou have both been open in their experience of imposter syndrome. So two of the world's most successful women on a global scale, struggled with feeling that at any minute they could get found out.
Imposter syndrome usually has a loud voice that drowns out all other voices. The research shows that it is predominantly experienced by women, but that may be because of men's reluctance to bring the subject up into the open air. Sharing your experience of imposter syndrome can make you feel vulnerable to criticism, or worse people starting to actually question your credibility.
In short admitting you are struggling with imposter syndrome takes guts and oodles of bravery. However the first step in defeating imposter syndrome is to shine a light on how you are feeling and know that you are not alone, most of us have a little bit if imposter syndrome that raises its ugly head whenever we are in a new environment. At best it keeps us human, at worst it makes our lives a misery.
We work with a lot of clients facing a loud Imposter Syndrome voice, there are many ways of turning the volume of an internal critical voice, that we share in our coaching courses.
Mint Career Coaching Question:The next time the voice of Imposter syndrome strikes consider: Where is this voice coming from, how do I know it is correct, where is the actual evidence?