Fighting The Imposter Syndrome

In this presentation, we’re going to talk about five tips for fighting imposter syndrome. As a leader, you might struggle with this sometimes. And that’s understandable.

You may feel that being in a leadership role is not part of who you are. Or you might feel like you do not belong here. So to that end, we’re going to talk about some tips that you can use e to conquer imposter syndrome and lead as yourself every single time.

Before we begin, let’s get into the definition of impostor syndrome. It’s defined as having that sense of self-doubt based on your accomplishments, particularly in business. So you’ll feel like you got here based on luck, or feel like you need to pull yourself away from others so no one knows the ‘method’ to your ‘madness’ so to speak.

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There are so many symptoms of impostor syndrome, and those are two of the major ones. With that said, let’s take a look at the five tips to combat it. Here we go.

Tip Number 1

Number one, you want to recognize the symptoms and signs. So again, that includes feeling like you got lucky to land a leadership position. Or you hold yourself to very high standards.

You may find it difficult to accept praise. And of course, you may feel like you are not good enough. So you want to be aware of this.

Self-awareness will allow you to catch yourself saying certain things or making certain actions. So with that in mind, if you notice that you are displaying the symptoms, then make sure you are able to correct them soon.

Tip Number 2

Second, you want to make sure that you are not alone in this fight. You may be one of many leaders that have suffered from this. I won’t be surprised if leaders like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, even Queen Elizabeth II might have secretly suffered from some kind of imposter syndrome.

Tip Number 3

Third, you want to accept the fact that being a perfectionist is pointless. Settle for having a task done. It’s good enough and it accomplished a certain goal.

Look, nothing will ever be perfect. There are rare cases where perfection happens. But other than that, you have a better chance of winning the lottery than achieving perfection (and even that’s a challenge of its own).

Tip Number 4

Fourth, I believe it’s important to be kind to yourself. Everyone starts from zero. You started from somewhere and it certainly wasn’t the top of the mountain.

You want to make sure that you talk to yourself in a positive way. Especially if you suffer from a setback. You don’t want to get into the negative self-talk, because repeated amounts of it will become part of your belief system.

You don’t want that. Believe in the positive. Believe in yourself and the actions will show.

Tip Number 5

Finally, the fifth tip is to seek out a mentor for help. Each leader had a mentor and I know you did as well. So if something feels off, you can reach out to them for questions or advice.

They’ll make sure to point you in the right direction. And you might feel encouraged to continue because they are perhaps the reason why you’re in a leadership position in the first place.

So with that said, I hope you enjoyed this presentation. I want to close by saying that imposter syndrome is nothing new with leaders. It’s actually easier to defeat than you realize.

So follow these tips, take claim of what’s yours and really own it.

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