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Managing a team, whether in the office or remotely, can be overwhelming. Especially when youโre not always confident in your own abilities.
Managing a team, whether in the office or remotely, can be overwhelming. Especially when youโre not always confident in your own abilities.
If youโre reading this, itโs safe to assume youโve found yourself thinking:
โI donโt deserve this job. Iโm not smart enough.โ
โMy team are going to think Iโm a fraud. I only became a manager by sheer luck.โ
โEveryoneโs going to realise I donโt know what Iโm doing.โ
โIโm not good enough to run a team.โ
And youโre not alone.
85% of UK employees experience imposter syndrome at work.
So, whether youโre the CEO of a multi-million pound company or a first-time manager, youโre never too old or too wise to experience imposter syndrome.
Contrary to popular belief, imposter syndrome is not actually a syndrome. Itโs more of an โexperience.โ
Essentially, itโs a pattern of self-doubt and feeling unworthy.
You know, your inner saboteurย that feasts on your negative thoughts and stops you in your tracks? Yeah, imposter syndrome is your inner criticโs favourite thing.
Workplace imposter syndrome can display itself in these ways:
Anxiety when giving negative feedback is already rife in managers. Pairing feedback anxiety with imposter syndrome that encourages anxiousness is surely a recipe for disaster?
Thankfully, there are ways to overcome imposter syndrome. But first, you need to understand what type of imposter syndrome you have and the specific steps you can take to beat it.
One minor flaw within your work can make you feel like a failure, even if everything else was excellent.
Perfectionists can often be called โmicromanagersโ or โcontrol freaksโ in the world of work. Itโs probably hard for you to delegate tasks because you donโt think anyone else can do the job as well as you (or better!)
You may find yourself avoiding trying new things like learning sign language or building a website because youโre fearful you wonโt do it perfectly first time.
How to tackle this:
Perfectionists tend to set themselves unrealistic goals. โPerfectโ is unachievable, so aiming for perfection is essentially setting yourself up for failure.
When you donโt reach โperfectโ โ and you never will โ you feel like a failure.
Perfectionist ย imposter syndrome, you should focus on setting yourself smaller, more realistic goals.
A person typically branded a โworkaholicโ.
You know, where thereโs no such thing as โtoo muchโ work.
Any downtime is considered unproductive and you find yourself working that bit harder than everyone else to prove youโre worthy of your job title.
You push yourself to the limit, youโre constantly spinning plates, and you feel like a failure if you canโt complete a task.
How to tackle this:
Try to challenge your negative thoughts. Thereโs not a single person in this world that can do everything. Superhero imposter syndrome is named after a character that can do it all โ but theyโre fiction, youโre not.
Youโre a real human being with a complex life. Managers especially have to do their own work, oversee a team, and report in to senior management.
When obstacles come along โ and they will โ youโll probably drop a few balls, and thatโs okay.
Repeat this: I am human, ย I make mistakes, and that is okay.
Someone experiencing Natural Genius imposter syndrome will typically feel like an imposter if they donโt get things right on the first try.
Much like The Perfectionist.
The difference between the Perfectionist and Natural Genius type is the latter tend not to judge themselves on unrealistic expectations, and more on being fluent on everything.
The Natural Genius will:
Even Emma Watson , you know, Hermione-blooming-Granger, experienced imposter syndrome:
โWhen I was younger, I just did it. I just acted. It was just there. So now when I receive recognition for my acting, I feel incredibly uncomfortable. I tend to turn in on myself. I feel like an impostor. It was just something I did.โ
How to tackle this:
Recognising this type of imposter syndrome is incredibly important. If you were branded โthe smart oneโ during your childhood, youโre probably going to need to work on this to really get past this imposter syndrome as it could be deeply ingrained in you.
Fear not โ recognition is the first step.
Try to surround yourself with people that are experts at something youโre not. Becoming comfortable with the fact youโre not excellent at everything will be a huge part of overcoming this form of imposter syndrome.
โI donโt need help, I can do it on my own.โ
The Soloist will often believe they donโt need to lean on others for support. And if they do? Theyโll feel like a failure.
Soloists may feel pressure to be more independent from senior leaders in the workplace. For Soloists, they believe they are seen to be weak or incompetent if they ask for help โ a belief that also goes hand-in-hand with the stigma around mental health issues.
How to tackle this:
Reach out for support.
I know, this seems absurd. Doing the exact thing you donโt want to. But overcoming this type of imposter syndrome is a little like exposure therapy.
You just have to rip the plaster off.
Look for guidance and support in people you trust. Even if youโre a Soloist at work, you can lean on a family member or friend for support about work issues.
In fact, 84% of people said talking to a family member or friend about their imposter syndrome made them feel better.
The Expert believes they know everything about everything. They think they should have all the answers, and if they donโt, theyโre a fraud.
When confronted with a topic they donโt know anything about, Experts will feel like a failure or โnot good enoughโ because they donโt know the answer.
Experts believe they should always know more โ especially in the workplace.
The two-time Oscar winner, Jodie Foster experiences Expert imposter syndrome. Even while winning an Oscar.
โWhen I won the Oscar, I thought it was a fluke. I thought everybody would find out, and theyโd take it back. Theyโd come to my house, knocking on the door, โExcuse me, we meant to give that to someone else. That was going to Meryl Streep.โโ
How to tackle this:
Recognise your small achievements and your journey thus far.
Youโll never know everything and believing this is setting yourself unrealistic goals โ much like The Perfectionist.
If you enjoy learning more, collaborate with others to learn a new skill. But always keep in mind you wonโt always be an over-achiever in everything.
Learning something new can be humbling. Youโll probably make a few mistakes and thatโs okay.
Discovering ways to tackle your imposter syndrome will be a key driver in overcoming it.
Whether you want to develop your confidence, set yourself realistic goals, or just be more transparent with your team members, imposter syndrome is manageable.
Find joy and success in the little things โ not just work. Youโll soon notice you feel more whole when youโre not comparing yourself to others.
Mara has a passion for promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion across global workplaces and hopes to inspire learners to focus on their own careers with self-directed learning content.
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