Ways to overcome impostor syndrome in the workplace

Credit to Author: Murali Murthy| Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2023 22:55:39 +0000

Think back to the times when you studied all night and entered the examination hall, nervous and petrified. Maybe the very first question intimidated you, but you still ended up doing the exam really well.

However, instead of acknowledging your hard work, you were critical of yourself for not doing better. You became doubtful and questioned your self-worth. This is what psychologists term “impostor syndrome.”

Similarly at work, if you find yourself often getting frustrated and anxious that you are not good enough and concerned that your co-workers may discover this, it may be nothing but your impostor syndrome working overtime. The downside of this? You may end up overworking, resent challenging assignments or even underperform at your job, out of the stress and worry.

According to Psychology Today, people with impostor syndrome struggle with self-efficacy, perfectionism and neuroticism. The article goes on to say that impostor syndrome could come from personality traits. A similar perspective shared in TIME Magazine suggests that, according to experts, it stems from childhood memories.

If you are struggling with this syndrome, you may be belittling yourself, attributing your achievements to mere luck instead of your work ethic, talent or intelligence. Even after you go through a grueling interview process and get hired, you may feel like you didn’t truly earn it. You might be saying any of this to yourself: I’m a fake, I’ll never be able to do this, I must not fail, I just got lucky, That was no big deal, I don’t deserve to be here, I’m not qualified to do this work and more.

TYPES OF IMPOSTORS
The Science Of People website (scienceofpoeple.com) lists the following five types of “Impostors”.

1. The Perfectionist can’t tell when the job is done because they’re obsessing over minor details instead of finishing it. They have very high standards for themselves, which at times may not be possible to accomplish.

2. The Natural Genius believes they should know and grasp everything they’re taught immediately. They get frustrated easily and believe everyone else is finding a way to succeed while they continue to struggle and fail.

3. The Expert believes they must always be perfect because there’s always someone better. They try to learn as much as they can and are constantly trying to better themselves because they never think they are enough.

4. The Rugged Individualist believes they can do everything alone and don’t believe in asking for help because they see it as a sign of weakness.

5. The Superwoman/man believes in taking on more responsibility than they should because they can’t say no. They tend to work harder than their colleagues and put work before their personal lives.

SO HOW CAN YOU OVERCOME THESE FEELINGS?

Fortunately, research has shown that once it is acknowledged, impostor syndrome can be changed. If you find yourself struggling with negative self-thoughts, here are some small steps you can take to combat impostor syndrome and think positively.

1. Acknowledge and accept your thoughts. As a first step, be aware of your thoughts and accept them for what they are. Once you identify the negative self-talk, you can confront them and take the right steps to deal with them.

2. Be non-judgmental. Analyze your thoughts without judgment. This helps you paint an unbiased picture of situations. For instance, if you look at your career trajectory or business growth, you could find stats such as the number of clients served, growth over the years, and even the awards received as evidence that your career or business is, indeed, a big deal. Or that you are actually good at what you do. Statistics don’t lie, so anytime you’re feeling less than certain, consider the facts for confirmation.

3. Focus on the positives. Develop the ability to retrain your thoughts. Only one of either — faith or fear can occupy your mind, so make sure you turn your negative thoughts into positive ones. You can eventually train your brain to do this automatically.

4. Don’t compare yourself with others. It will become hard to be appreciative of your achievements if you keep comparing yourself to others. This may not be the right approach as you have no idea of what others have done or been through to get where they are today.

5. Welcome constructive criticism. When you are struggling with impostor syndrome, the last thing you want to do is to accept negative feedback from others. But remember that we all have areas that can be improved. Instead of taking it personally, practice active listening and consistently improve yourself.

6. Accept failure as part of life. How would you challenge or motivate yourself if you succeeded at everything easily? Acknowledge that failure is part of life, and it is only through failure you can learn where you can improve. Accept and appreciate your failures. Their lessons will push you to work harder on your goals.

7. Journal your achievements. When you’re confronted by negative thoughts, it may help to reflect on all the times when others have appreciated you. It’s a good idea to document your success by writing frequent notes to remind yourself of your small accomplishments over the years to look back on. Consciously appreciating compliments instead of ignoring them can help you recognize how hard you worked to get there.

8. Confide in a friend. In your close circle, find a friend, colleague or mentor you can trust. Often, just voicing your feelings can help you feel liberated. What’s more, a friend with an outside perspective can help you see things in a different light and create more clarity to take decisions.

9. Change your self-talk. If you catch yourself talking critically of yourself and immediately change your self-talk. For instance, if you catch yourself saying “I’m not qualified for this job”, you could correct yourself and change your self-talk to “I absolutely deserve this job. I was hired because I have the right skills to do the work.” Changing your self-talk won’t happen overnight. Keep at it, and each little win will begin to add up to something spectacular. Get ready to celebrate the real you!

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