Here’s why Even Achievers have Impostor Syndrome

When we see super successful people, with an eight, nine (or whatever the number)-figure businesses, the superstar performer, the world-class speaker, we think that they have no fears, zero self-doubt, and complete confidence as they crush all our goal!

However, in reality, this isn’t the case.

Last week, I was chatting with a fellow coach, who’s recently transited from a long and illustrious corporate career into starting a coaching business. We had a great heart-to-heart conversation and I opened up to some of my recent challenges in business that made me start to doubt myself.

Impostor syndrome struck again!

Her comment intrigued me, “Coen, you’re such an experienced speaker, facilitator and coach and you’re regularly booked by MNCs. It’s hard to imagine you have such impostor syndrome!”

My reply was quick, “It’s just the same way that you’ve all that illustrious corporate experience, and you’re having doubts about whether you’ll succeed as an executive coach!”

We both chuckled at this realisation.

Jokes aside, this made me reflect about why, even in spite of our apparent “successes” (nope, I haven’t reached an eight-figure business yet), we still have not really banished impostor syndrome.

But I thought I had already slayed my impostor syndrome in the past!

I’ve started a business despite not knowing how, and managed to make it work, thus far anyway. I have spoken in front of large audiences and to very senior corporate leaders, despite wondering if I was too young, too inexperienced, too _________. I have started a podcast, in spite of my cringing whenever I hear how my voice sounds on recording.

But yet, there are still further frontiers to push: book(s) to publish, larger audiences to speak to, expanding my impact. It feels like impostor syndrome is never going to leave me alone!

A New Way to Think about Impostor Syndrome

As I was reflecting on this, I came to this hypothesis...

What if impostor syndrome is not something that you either have or don’t have, but something that’s relative to your goals? What if your self-doubt comes because you don’t currently have the level of confidence to perform at the level to meet your goals?

To illustrate this, let me bring you back to when I started my business in 2011. Back then, I had a lot of self-doubts. I wondered if I will be able to make it, and whether I will be able to succeed. I was asking questions like:

“Am I good enough to get paying clients?

“Can I really make money doing this? Maybe I am just better off staying in my salaried job!”

At the heart of these questions was the BIG question, “Am I good enough?”

You could say that my goals were rather basic (or survival level), “how to earn a basic income to replace my previous regular income?” You can say perhaps these are Level 2 Goals.

However, my self-doubts and fears were real! Because at that time, my confidence level were at Level 1. I only had a handful of paid training gigs, and they were at around $50 per hour, for a couple of hours at a time. Making only a few hundred dollars even in good months, I really couldn’t see how I was going to be able to survive in Singapore.?

So I've Grown, but the Impostor Syndrome is Still There

Fast forward to 2020, I was relatively comfortable, because I was able to make a reasonable income. At that time, if you asked me how I would rate the state of my business, I would say I was at level 5.

However, I was hitting a road block in my business. I felt that I was stagnating and not growing. I was constantly pitting myself against competitors for projects. Being an experienced facilitator and coach, I knew what I was capable of, but I was struggling to articulate what I do in a way that showcased my uniqueness. I had difficulty raising my fees, and felt fatigue from having to go out and hustle and sell every month.

So I had a bigger goal for myself, I wanted to reach a level where I was actively sought-after by my client, and that people will see my value, and be willing to pay above the average market rate for. Again, my impostor syndrome kicked in.

Again, the BIG question was “Am I good enough?” The only difference this time is that my question is in the context of a higher goal. I had level 7 goals, but my confidence level was still only at level 5.

I was asking myself:

“Do I have what it takes to charge above market price for my services?

“What if I cannot live up to the increased expectations from charging more?”

“Will my client all just disappear?”

In fact, I was so mired in my doubts, until a client of mine, a senior leader of a Swiss Company in the Finance Industry told me, “Coen, you’re undercharging! When you undercharge, we undervalue your work, and the perceived value is lower!”

That was an impetus for me to take a quantum leap in my growth!

It feels like when you made a choice to change your reality, then your awareness expands, and the universe will send you the resources, the people and enablers. I met the right coaches and mentors. People who helped me to change my identity, and then inculcate the new mindsets and gave me the skills to double and then subsequently triple my income.

My confidence grew to meet the size of the goal, and I was riding the crest of a upward wave.

Impostor syndrome? What's that? I felt invincible!

And What About Today?

Some of my friends may call this "itchy backside syndrome", but I have always been a growth seeker, so I am not one to rest on my laurels and just cruise.

You see, I used to be a one-man operation for the first 8 years of my business, I only hired my first team member in 2019. However, over the last 3 years, we have grown from 1 team member to 3, and now to 6.

And I confess, this scares the living daylights out of me!

I used to think that I really wanted to be a lifestyle entrepreneur, a small set up offering my services in exchange for profits to fund my lifestyle. However, as new and exciting projects have come in, and the team has grown, and I now find myself looking to build a business.?

This is something I’ve never imagined myself to be, so not only does this new identity not sit comfortably with me, there are so many other adjustments that I have to make.

• Beliefs and Mindsets – In order to take on this new reality, I have to change my beliefs about business, about team-building and about myself.
• Capabilities and Skills – I will have to exhibit totally different skillsets, leadership, organization development, systems building.
• Day-to-Day Behaviours – One of the hardest adjustments is the change in the way I live my life day-to-day. I have always been quite a hands-on type leader, and will personally evaluate the work and provide coaching and feedback on my team-members’ work. However, now with the expanded team, that is no longer tenable. I have to develop standards of performance and yardsticks of measurements, and delegate accountability to a manager (whom I’ve recently promoted).

I am now confronted with a Level 9 goal, and my current level of confidence is still at 7. Hence the impostor syndrome again.

As I look back at my journey, I am convinced that impostor syndrome is a function of our current level of confidence not matching up to the level of our goals.

With this realisation, I am convinced that my impostor syndrome is not necessarily something bad, but it's something that comes from me challenging myself and seeking growth.

Here are some recommendations. The next time you ever feel impostor syndrome, ask yourself:

1. Am I feeling this way because I have set my goals higher? When we are challenging ourselves, this type of impostor syndrome is natural, and is actually healthy. As the late psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi wrote in the book "Flow", when we have just the right amount of challenge that will compel us to improve, but not too high that it will demoralise us, it helps us to get into the state of flow.
2. What can I learn from this situation? Impostor syndrome actually has the additional effect of keeping us humble, safeguarding against over-confidence. As my favourite writer, Adam Grant, wrote in this book “Think Again”, “Feeling Impostor syndrome is a clue that you’re about to learn something new!” When we stay humble and curious, we may discover something exciting

"Impostor Syndrom is a clue that you're about to learn something new!"
~ Adam Grant        

With this, I have renewed hope to soldier on towards my goals. Besides, I am very curious about what's the something new that I will be learning!

?? SHARING IS CARING! ?? Learned something new from this article? If you did and know someone else who may benefit from reading this, please share this with them. You never know you may just have given them a huge boost!