Don't disqualify yourself...reward yourself with Imposter Syndrome instead!

“I can’t believe they hired me- what were they thinking?? Actually, what the hell was I thinking even applying?!?”

Most people are pretty sure that 2+2 equals 4. In fact, most people are as positive that 2+2 is 4 as they are certain that they need oxygen to breathe and live. We’ll get back to math, breathing, and living shortly.

Imposter Syndrome. Ugh. Doesn’t feel great. Imposter Syndrome is defined by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as, “a behavioral health phenomenon described as?self-doubt of intellect, skills, or accomplishments among high-achieving individuals.”

Furthermore, this lousy (at best) and crippling (at worst) feeling isn’t rare. The Harvard Business Review points out that around one-third of young people suffer from it, and?70% of everyone else is likely to experience it at some point in their lives.?Imposter Syndrome is often tied to our identities and sense of self-worth. Back in the late ’70s psychologists Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes coined the term in?noting three critical attributes of the phenomenon:

1.??? Thinking that people have an exaggerated view of your abilities

2.??? The fear of being exposed as a fraud?

3.??? The continuous tendency to downplay your achievements

Have you ever felt during a meeting, interview, or a conversation that you are one question away from being “discovered” as a fake? Or that your colleagues, boss, or direct-reports just do not understand that you aren’t as smart as they think you are?

From personal experience, it’s a feeling that starts a two-phase cycle leading you first to start trying to be perfect, working long hours, second guessing yourself, etc. and secondly, devolving into feeling paralyzed with a “why bother, I’m in over my head” attitude. When this happens, substandard performance in your job isn’t far behind. The crazy part is that your performance would not have suffered in the first place if you had been able to deal with Imposter Syndrome properly.

So how do you deal with Imposter Syndrome? Articles and guidance abound; think positively, don’t assume what others are thinking, be organized with your work, plan your day out, etc. All great ways to work and carry yourself, but I think instead you should be happy about your Imposter Syndrome. Yep, that’s right- look at it as a great feeling to have.

If you have Imposter Syndrome- great job! You didn’t disqualify yourself from an opportunity that you went after and successfully landed. People who disqualify themselves from opportunities never give themselves the reward of Imposter Syndrome. Of course, maybe some don’t ever feel like an imposter because they might have some weird automatic confidence that they were born to do a certain role, but it also might be because they haven’t challenged themselves.

Sadly, there is a larger swath of people that never put themselves in a position to feel Imposter Syndrome. They disqualify themselves and trap themselves in roles/circumstances that are not fulfilling, not challenging, and a waste of all the great talents they are not sharing with employers or their own would-be successful business.

When I was with Marathon Petroleum Corporation as an HR/L&D Manager, I was partaking in a leadership development offsite among 19 other colleagues. There was a portion where each of us had 10 minutes to address fellow attendees with a motivating message/activity. For my presentation, my goal was to challenge the participants to think beyond their current roles to influence the business, strategy, culture, etc.

I started by asking everyone if the CEO was smarter than each of them. Quickly, everyone in the room nodded. I asked, “Really? You all truly KNOW that the CEO is smarter than you?” Everyone in the room gave responses ranging from nodding, to nervously laughing off the question, to answering, “Well yes, I mean that’s why he’s CEO.”? Not one person answered, “No, I’m not sure if the CEO is smarter than me.” Not one.

I then asked the group if they would agree that 2+2 equals 4. Quickly, everyone nodded again. I went on to hammer it home, “Are you absolutely positive that 2+2 equals 4?? Like really, really sure?” This time I received some audible yesses with more fervent head nodding with annoyance that I wasn’t getting to the point.

Next, I walked up to each person individually and asked them eye-to-eye, “Do you truly know that the CEO is smarter than you with the same certainty that you know 2+2 equals 4?”? Most of them were not comfortable with this question. This time, all but two of the 19 people reluctantly agreed that they didn’t truly know if the CEO was smarter than them. I asked the two holdouts why they still believed they knew the CEO was smarter than them and one answered, “He’s very smart and successful, I mean, he's the CEO and I'm not.” I believe this gentleman and the other holdout just couldn’t get over what they incorrectly construed as being a lack of humility to leave the question open as to who is smarter, them or the CEO. And the others that reluctantly admitted they didn’t know who was smarter only did so under duress.

All the people in that room immediately disqualified themselves from even the possibility of being smarter than the CEO. If the Board of Directors had approached any of those great people in the room individually and said, “You’re the right person for the job- we want you to be the next CEO to lead this company”, none of them would have even given themselves a chance to feel Imposter Syndrome because they would have never even tried.

I understand this is a bit dramatic and the other side of the coin is that there are those people out there who think they can do everything better and that they are smarter than everyone- I’m not talking about those people…those types are usually egomaniac narcissists (we all know one or a bunch).

I’m talking about the great, smart, hard-working people who limit themselves and shouldn’t. There are always going to be 100 people standing in line ready to tell you “no it won't work”…why make it 101?

Back to where we started with math, breathing, and living.

Unless you are certain that you can’t do something with the same level of certainty that you KNOW that 2+2 is 4 and that you need oxygen to breathe and live- GO FOR IT! Apply for the job, go for the promotion, start your business, etc.?

Then when you get the job, get the promotion, start your business, etc. and self-doubt comes creeping in- just remember the math, take a deep breath, and live in the moment knowing that Imposter Syndrome is a reward; well done- you got this.

#CareerGrowth #PersonalGrowth #ImposterSyndrome #Recruiting #Leadership

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