Suffering Imposter Syndrome? Here are seven steps to tackle it

by Mervin Straughan 2021

It's reported that as many as 70 per cent of us will experience Imposter Syndrome at some point. 

It's the uncomfortable feeling that we’re not as competent as people think we are. We're afraid that we're about to be exposed. 

The term entered our vocabulary after psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes published their 1978 paper Imposter Phenomenon in High Achieving Women. Their studies explored how some women in challenging roles felt unable to acknowledge or assert their capabilities. 

Since then, some studies have shown it affects men in equal numbers. 

It’s estimated that around 25-30 per cent of high achievers suffer from Imposter Syndrome.

The phenomenon throws up two interesting paradoxes. First, it tends to affect people who are already qualified, highly skilled and reasonably successful but who feel they’re not good enough. And, second, the more they achieve, the more they feel this way. Accomplishing more has little impact. 

Imposter Syndrome sabotages us and it can affect our wellbeing. We end up making statements to ourselves such as “My success is down to luck,” “I’ll be found out sooner or later” and “I don’t belong here.” 

The phenomenon manifests itself in a number of ways. 

• Disappointment when we’re unable to secure 100 per cent success in everything they do. 
• Having to work extra hard at all times to prove how competent we are.
• Learning to excess because we never feel we’ve learnt enough or feel we’ll be caught out by a gap in our knowledge 
• Setting goals that are way too challenging and we get upset when we fall short of achieving them.
• Working alone and refusing to ask for help because we fear it’s a sign of weakness.

We can take steps to overcome Imposter Syndrome. These require objectivity, a shift in how we perceive what’s really going on and accepting feedback as a gift.

Here are my seven top tips. 

1. Adopt the Thomas Edison philosophy – in other words, see mistakes as part of the process. Take on board feedback, refine your approach and keep going. Edison said that each unsuccessful attempt simply took him one step closer to accomplishing his goal of developing the first commercial electric incandescent lightbulb. 

2. Accept no one knows everything. If we did, there’d be no such thing as teamwork. And not knowing everything applies to starting a new job – in most cases, it’s best to take on a new role because it provides an opportunity to grow into it and learn new skills rather than because you can do it blindfolded. 

3. Avoid making comparisons with others. You have no idea what other people are experiencing and how they’re feeling. Instead compare yourself to who you were yesterday and how much you have developed. 

4. Celebrate your strengths, realistically. Often, we suffer from being over modest so fail to identify how good we are at something. And avoid using the label weaknesses – it’s far better to describe these as opportunities to develop. 

5. Ditch perfectionism. You’ll be far more productive. Some perfectionists fail to get off the starter’s blocks. Work out what’s enough to create momentum instead of waiting to get everything perfect. 

6. Set goals that are achievable. Great if you go for goals that stretch you but make sure they are realistic. Accomplishing goals no matter how small is good for our self esteem and motivates us so it’s important to set the right ones. 

7. Stop pretending. People will respect you more as a result. And they might feel happier to know they can help. On a final note, let’s go back to that statistic that 70 per cent of people will have experienced Imposter Syndrome at some point. 

If you're not experiencing Imposter Syndrome, that's great, but you might be able to spot someone who is and be able to help them. Keep an eye out for those characteristics we discussed.