Beating imposter syndrome within your team
Imposter syndrome affects people at every level of an organisation.
It doesn’t matter about your qualifications, experience or position. At some point in your career you have, or will, most likely suffer with imposter syndrome and those persistent feelings of self doubt.
It’s not a personal failing or something you have, or haven’t, done. Unfortunately, statistics show that it’s running riot amongst teams and causing huge issues within workplaces all over the world.
70% of people in the workplace have suffered from imposter syndrome at one point or another.
36% of leaders experience frequent or high levels of 'impostor feeling'.
Imposter Syndrome is one of the least talked about, yet most prevalent issues facing professionals today.
Although many workplaces are aware of the challenges imposter syndrome can cause, it’s not always as easy to know how to reduce the impact within your teams.
To help you out, here’s a few places to start…
1. Recognise and acknowledge imposter syndrome
The first step to tackling imposter syndrome is bringing awareness to it. Recognise the issue, acknowledge that it’s a challenge people face regularly in the workplace and help team members understand that they are not alone in their feelings.
Not only might it help people understand why they are feeling a certain way in the first place, it can also help them see that it’s just their self-doubt talking; and that it’s not actually the reality of the situation.
2. Encourage open communication
Don’t let yourself, or your team, suffer in silence. Just being able to talk about any imposter feelings can provide huge amounts of relief and comfort, and help people understand that it’s a common feeling - and even their boss feels the same way sometimes!
Keep in mind, for people to be able to talk about their imposter, they need an open and safe environment where they feel comfortable sharing their thoughts, concerns and insecurities.
3. Celebrate your wins
Celebrating wins is a simple yet very effective way of shutting up any negative talk from your imposter.
If someone does feel like a fraud or out of their depth, taking the time out to recognise and celebrate successes gives them a powerful reminder of why they are in fact the right person for the job. By focusing on the things you and your team are doing right, you will build confidence, boost self esteem and reduce the negative impact of any pesky imposter feelings.
4. Make sure there is support in place
Despite how hard you may try, it’s not always possible to stop imposter syndrome from showing up within your team. For these moments it’s important to have the right support in place so that people know how to tackle their imposter when it does appear. This could be anything from feedback from those around you to mentorship and coaching. (Here's my diary to find out how I can help your team beat imposter syndrome once and for all!)
Having a solid support network that you can reach out and talk to will provide you with the tools you need to reduce those feelings of isolation or self doubt.
5. Encourage personal development
Although imposter syndrome is often equated to that feeling of ‘you’re not good enough’ or ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’, this shouldn’t always necessarily be seen as a bad thing.
If you reframe your thinking and look at every challenge as a learning opportunity, it helps reduce those feelings and instead acts as a motivator to keep growing and learning more - which is most definitely not a bad trait to have.
You may not have all the answers now, but that doesn’t mean you can’t. By encouraging personal development and leading by example, you can use your imposter to drive you and your team forward, rather than hold yourself back!
Wanna hear more?
In this month’s episode of the Braver Leaders podcast I’m talking all about tackling imposter syndrome.
I’m also joined by Jackson Clark, Founder and MD of Patch Marketing to share his experience. Jackson is a successful entrepreneur and founder and we discuss how even with success he still battles imposter syndrome.