How to overcome imposter syndrome

8 tips that will increase your confidence

Have you ever felt like an outsider? That you don’t belong? That people could question your ability, or whether you even have the right credentials to exercise your job, or even be in the same room as the others? It’s that nagging feeling that you’re not good enough, that you don’t belong, that you don’t deserve the job, the promotion, the book deal, or the seat at the table.

I have. Some years ago, I had just taken on a new role. Part of that role was to manage the Swiss implementation of a global reorganization and governance project. My boss asked me to inform the employees about the progress of the project in our next townhall. This was a topic that I myself still only knew very little about. I took on the challenge, and prepared and rehearsed my presentation. The global über-boss would also show up, and I had kindly shared my presentation with his team two weeks prior to the townhall.

I was jittery and nervous when the townhall started, but I knew my slides and was confident that I would present news to the 200 people in the audience.

That was until the big boss entered the stage, just before my own speech.

He covered almost to the letter exactly the same progress of the project in his own presentation.

I wanted the floor to open up so that I could get out without anyone knowing.

His team had copied my slides, adjusted them slightly, but hadn’t told me about it. You may think what you want of that act, and I agree, that’s something that can be discussed too. But that’s not part of this story. Since I had rehearsed my presentation in detail, and I knew more about the project than I thought I did, I was able to adjust my prepared speech and could still add value to the audience. Or that’s at least what I tell myself. It still made me feel like an outsider though.

In 1978, two American psychologists, Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes put a name to this feeling. They established the term “impostor syndrome”.

I guess I could easily promise to put my hand in the fire if I’m completely wrong here in saying that it didn’t just arise in 1978. I believe it has always been there.

Who remembers the hugely successful Earth’s Children series (starting with the Clan of the Cave Bear book) written by Jean M. Auel, or at least the movie starred by Daryl Hannah? In summary, Ayla is a smart, blonde girl who is adopted and raised by a tribe of Neanderthals. I mean, if that wouldn’t have made her feel as an outsider, I guess nothing would. The book is fiction, but I believe that one of the reasons why it was so successful (the books have sold in 45 million copies) is because people could relate to the story.

Or, anyone who believes that Christopher Columbus had self-doubt when he set sails towards India raise your hand. I can see him standing at the front of the ship, looking towards the horizon thinking,

“Holy cow. I got these three ships, and a crew, and now I’ve told them that we will set sails towards India? What if the earth is in fact flat…”

Imagine the horror he must have felt when it was clear that they had sailed in completely the wrong direction. India was nowhere close.

In 2007, research revealed that approximately 70% of all people experiences impostor syndrome at least once. It is a while ago since that study was done, and I could even imagine that the ratio is even higher. But, I wouldn’t want to argue with the researchers who wrote the relevant review article published in the International Journal of Behavioral Science.

Impostor syndrome affects all kinds of people from all parts of life; women, men, medical students, marketing managers, creatives, actors and executives. See, you and I are not alone in feeling as frauds every now and then.

Does it make it easier to overcome the imposter syndrome, when you know that you’re not the only one who experiences it? I think so.

It didn’t become clear to me that it was in fact a recognized syndrome until a couple of years ago. I listened to a podcast where Mia Törnblom, a Swedish leadership author, speaker and educator said something in line with:

“When I’m up on stage, I feel really nervous. I’m afraid that the audience will question me, and I start to sweat. Then one day I thought; What the heck! They have their own armpits to worry about. They probably worry about the same things themselves.”

It was such an eye opener! If someone, who’s that successful as she is, even feels like a fraud every now and then, then it is ok. We are no failures because we doubt ourselves and our abilities.

There are ways to overcome feeling like an impostor. As everything else, there are no quick wins unfortunately. You need to admit to yourself that it’s more than just a feeling. What’s probably even more difficult is, you need to actually change the way you look at yourself.

Here are eight exercises you can do to improve your confidence and change the way you think about yourself:

1. Make a list

Make a list of at least 10 things that show you are just as qualified as anyone else. Having trouble? Turn it around and write down the experiences that you would like to add to those 10 things. Add how you plan to accomplish them.

When you start spiraling into self-doubt, force yourself to write down three things you've done well. If three isn’t enough to ease your doubts, write three more.

In addition, instead of being afraid of anyone to find out that you have no clue, or tell yourself that you don’t deserve to be successful, remind yourself that it’s normal not to know everything and that you will find out more as you progress.

Everyone is a beginner at the start of their journey. Even the most successful people have also started from scratch at one point in time.

2. Praise yourself aloud

Research has found that the simple act of taking a positive affirmation, such as “I’m awesome!" can have a powerful effect on how you perceive yourself.

I know, I know, Mark Manson, the successful author of “the subtle art of not giving a fuck” is against these types of motivational self-boosts. But I love them. It makes me feel better when I look at myself in the mirror, make a power pose and say out loud “I can do this!”

Why not try it out? It doesn’t hurt anyone. If it doesn’t work for you, then just skip it and move on to the next exercise.

Oh, hang on a sec. I would advise against standing in front of your colleagues, hammering on your chest like Tarzan shouting "I'm awesome!" though. It may come across as a bit pretentious.

3. Own your accomplishments

Women tend to downgrade their successes by ascribing them to “luck,” “hard work” or “help from others”. I know some men who are equally modest about their success, even though it’s rarer (see article).

Be proud of yourself!

Practice saying these words out loud: “I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished.”, or, “I made it here, I didn’t just get lucky, and no one is going to tell me I don’t belong.”

4. Visualize success

Your confidence must not only come from experience, otherwise we would never try things for the first time. Imagine yourself getting standing ovations for that presentation, killing the job interview, or achieving that objective on time and within budget.

5. Ask for support

You can’t control everything in your surroundings, such as your colleagues, the company or country culture, how others look and talk around you.

In these cases, why not join, or even start, a network of people who are similar to you, based on gender, ethnicity, or interests. Here you can openly talk about your insecurities.

I joined a writers accountability group and that was one of the best things I could do. Not only did we push each other to achieve our goals, but it was so good to hear that I was not the only one who doubted my abilities. When anyone was stuck that person could air her frustration and the rest of the group totally got it.

6. Be kind to yourself

You are entitled to make mistakes, everyone does. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Also, don’t forget to reward yourself for when you get things right.

7. Document your accomplishments

I had a boss once who asked me to send her a weekly e-mail listing all the things that I had worked on during that week. At first, I was quite annoyed and thought that she tried to micromanage me. It was probably the complete opposite. I even doubt whether she ever read those e-mails. But, what it did to me was astonishing. I took 30 minutes at the end of every work week and wrote down what I had done during that week, and I realized that wow! I had done so much! The days go by and you lose track of everything you’ve actually completed.

To that, I suggest you also add any positive feedback that you get. When your impostor feelings take over, this weekly diary can serve as a reminder that you’ve earned your way to where you are.

Another positive side effect is that when it’s time for those annual performance assessments, or salary discussions – you already have all your ammunition documented. You don’t need to go far to dig out all the positive things you’ve accomplished.

8. Decide to be confident

Literally make the choice to be confident. Raise your hand and volunteer your expertise.

If you need further ideas on what you can do to be more courageous, to actually dare taking that first step to raise your hand – see my other blog on how to be more courageous here.

Failure doesn’t make you a fraud. As with Christopher Columbus, few would say that he was a fraud.

One last thing, stop using the terms failure and mistake. They have a negative ring to it. Start calling it pilot instead. Learn from your pilots and move forward. One step at a time.

Side note: As you probably already guessed, the Christopher Columbus and Mia Törnblom quotes were transcribed from my imagination and memory, so please don’t take them too seriously.