Imposter syndrome often creates self-doubt. Overcome imposter syndrome at work to build confidence in yourself and your abilities.
Do you often feel like you don’t belong to your workplace? Do you often feel like a fraud at work? Do you feel you are utterly unqualified at work?
If you often experience feelings of doubt and unworthiness at some point in your lives, that's imposter syndrome talking. Imposter syndrome at a new job is quite a common phenomenon and it may occur even when you have been doing it for years.
What is Imposter Syndrome?
Imposter syndrome, also known as the imposter phenomenon, is a sense of self-doubt related to work accomplishments. This syndrome creates a sense of inadequacy and makes people dismiss their achievements and be very critical of themselves. According to an article in the International Journal of Behavioral Science, an estimated 70% of people experience these feelings at some point in their lives.
Major symptoms of this syndrome include:
● Lack of self-confidence at work
● Inability to complete the tasks on time
● Doubt on your competence
● Sensitivity to small mistakes
● Nervousness in meetings and sessions
● Fear of failing your team
● Isolation from team members
● Burnout from working too hard
● Setting unrealistic standards for yourself
● Fear of getting appreciated for success.
If you feel like a fraud in your own profession, which you have been doing for years or experiencing imposter syndrome at the new job, you need to shift your negative thoughts into a positive mindset to overcome this syndrome.
Excellent Strategies to Overcome Imposter Syndrome at Work
Impostor syndrome at work is actually fairly common. But the fact that it's common doesn't make it any less harmful to your career growth and confidence. Address imposter syndrome by following the right strategies and optimize your career in a better way.
1. Know the Value of Your Work
Sometimes being good at something makes it tough to determine its true value. It all boils down to feeling unworthy. Even a kind response, positive feedback, or reward may feel like a trick, a scam, or the luck of the draw. You need to recognise the value of your work and feel worthy without feeling entitled to overcome impostor syndrome.
2. Let Go of the Perfectionism
Perfectionism can be a major roadblock for productivity. It can be a major hurdle in overcoming impostor syndrome. Many people who suffer from impostor syndrome seek perfectionism in their work and set extremely high standards for themselves. Aim for excellence, not perfectionism, and consider your work accomplished when it is good enough for further processes.
3. Reduce Negative Self-Talk
Impostor syndrome presents itself as a voice in our heads, filling us with negative thoughts. Such negative self-talk can heavily influence your stress and anxiety levels. Control self-sabotaging thoughts in your head and try to practice positive self-talk. This approach will help you build the courage to accomplish things without self-doubt.
4. Be Aware of Your Strengths
We often lose ourselves amidst busy schedules, hectic commutes, and constant notifications and don’t get enough time and energy to focus on our strengths and accomplishments. Determine and list all of the skills and accomplishments that make you a distinct candidate for your job. That kind of awareness makes you feel qualified and confident for your job.
5. Track Your Progress
When you feel like an impostor, one of the major things you doubt is your role and the significance you have in your own successes. Start to keep track of your success and recent accomplishments in a private document to show yourself that you're going on the right track toward success. This approach motivates you to keep doing your job with more enthusiasm.
6. Change Your Focus
Changing your focus can be a brilliant way to overcome imposter syndrome. Reframe your thoughts, and shift your focus and energy on meaningful endeavours to overcome the feeling of self-doubt. This shift of focus will transform your sinking cycle of doom and gloom and will make you feel excited and exhilarated.
7. Handle Your Emotions Well
Imposter syndrome often makes you feel very isolated and emotional. Instead of bottling up the emotions, recognize them and move on. When you keep your feelings within yourself, they grow bigger and harder to deal with. Share these feelings with someone trusted and close to you to overcome imposter syndrome.
8. Learn from Failures
Fear of failure is one of the major symptoms of imposter syndrome. Setbacks and failures are inevitable but don’t be afraid of making mistakes. Start to consider them as opportunities to learn from them. Figure out what were the reasons that led to failure and master them to use them as the reasons for big achievements.
9. Practice Self Care
Imposter syndrome creates self-doubt and makes you judge yourself harshly on unrealistic parameters. You need to be kind to yourselves to overcome this situation. Commit to self-care to improve your well-being all around. Self-care enhances the power of the mind, body and soul. It plays a significant role in improving your quality of life.
10. Seek Help
A great way to fight imposter syndrome is to find a mentor. You may convey your concerns either to your colleague or manager or someone in your company/field and seek practical advice and support. You can also consult a professional life coach to seek the best guidance to overcome the imposter syndrome at work.
Identify and overcome imposter syndrome before it visibly impacts your professional life. Incorporate the above-mentioned strategies to accelerate your career growth and achieve new levels of success.
Are you in the right job? Take the Free ‘Are You in The Right Career Assessment’ to identify whether you are in the right job and discover what type of jobs you will excel at. The results of this test will be your guide towards a successful career change.
Smita D Jain is a Certified Life Coach, Executive Coach and NLP Practitioner. Smita’s ‘Empower Yourself’ Personal Clarity Coaching Programs enable busy professionals unhappy in their jobs to tap into their passions and transform them into professions so that they work because they want to, not because they have to.
Before her journey as a coach, Smita had extensive experience of 14 years as a corporate and business strategy professional with Fortune 500 companies. She is also a speaker at various public forums, a published writer, and an Amazon bestselling author.
You can learn more about Personal Empowerment Life Coach and Executive Coach Smita D Jain’s ‘Empower Yourself’ Coaching Programs by visiting www.lifecoachsmitadjain.com and book a strategy session at https://www.lifecoachsmitadjain.com/booking.
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