Imposter Syndrome can be defined as the inability to believe your own achievements are deserved or obtained legitimately through your own skill and efforts. When you are experiencing Imposter Syndrome you may feel like you’re a fraud, devalue your worth or even undermine your experience.
It’s no surprise that many of us in the professional world experience Imposter Syndrome in our work lives.
There are steps you can take to overcome Imposter Syndrome and start to feel the full satisfaction of your good work and efforts.
Take Notice
When you begin to experience Imposter Syndrome at work, it’s best to acknowledge these feelings and take notice. You’ll have to know what thoughts you’re experiencing in order to be able to address them. By giving yourself positive affirmations when moments of self-doubt arise, you can counter the negative impact these feelings may have on your mood and consequently your overall work performance. It is recommended to begin understanding why you feel like an imposter or fraud and make an effort to reassure yourself this is not the case. For example, reminding yourself of the education and experience you have gained prior to where you are now is a good way to put things back into perspective.
Keep a List
Take time to make a list of your strengths and achievements so you can easily review this list when you begin to feel self-doubt. Think about all the things that make you capable of doing your job like the skills and experience you possess and how these are relevant to the job you are in now. This will be useful in moments where your insecurities make you believe you aren’t qualified for the job.
Form a Support Network
Develop your co-worker relationships! Oftentimes others will be able to normalise the feelings we have and share how they’ve experienced the same thoughts and feelings. Co-workers are also some of the best people to offer you insight into your performance at work from the perspective of an equal. They will be able to offer you support in moments where you aren’t feeling too confident in your capabilities.
When you’ve comfortably developed these co-worker relationships, it will become easier to ask for help and guidance on how to tackle your assignments and tasks. Alternatively, there is no better person to give you feedback on your performance than your boss! If you feel you need a review to gauge how effective a team member you are, simply as your boss for a chat and listen to any praise or constructive feedback they have to offer you!
Continue to Learn
Continuing to learn as much as you can about your role and the industry. Keeping up to date with the latest news articles and developments will ensure you’re better equipped in your job to tackle obstacles and hurdles that may arise. By giving yourself a wealth of knowledge on the subject matters in your role, you’ll have more resources in which to pull your strength and self-belief from and prove to yourself you are capable and exactly where you are supposed to be.
What’s next?
Imposter Syndrome takes time to overcome, though following these steps will help to set you on the right track to feeling more confident in your abilities. By learning to acknowledge your achievements and successes, noticing and understanding how you feel and creating a support network, you’ll give yourself the resources you need to push through these feelings of doubt and feel like the star employee that you are!