One day I was on the plane

I still remember the day perfectly, even though it’s been almost 20 years ago. Out of many candidates, I had just been promoted to Talent Development Manager for Europe! And I was on my way to San Francisco to meet my new manager and the global team.

While I was on the plane, going through notes I had prepared, a little voice inside my head popped up. A nasty little voice that said, “When will they actually find out that you’re not capable to do this job at all?” Suddenly I felt like a kind of fraudster, who actually did not deserve this job and had only gotten it because of my enthusiasm and my skills as a ‘people person’.

As soon as the thought had arisen, I pushed it away again, but the seed of this thought had been planted.

A well-known phenomenon

It wasn’t until years later that I dared to explain this experience with a good friend. Someone who I also appreciate very much professionally and who I always found very decisive and confident. I was very surprised that he did recognise the situation. A recruiter had once told him; “You could fill this role very well, but only if you believe it yourself”.

That’s how I discovered that these thoughts and feelings are a well-known phenomenon and actually have a name: “the imposter” or “imposter syndrome”.People who suffer from imposter syndrome set the bar extremely high for themselves and underestimate their own performance. No matter how well they do their job.

It’s a taboo

The imposter syndrome is something that is rarely talked about in the workplace. After all, who wants to admit that he doesn’t think he deserves a position at all, and feels like a fraud? It becomes a taboo. Which is a shame, because the consequences of these thoughts are often big…

Two responses

Usually, it manifests itself in two different reactions:

• The first is, you will work harder and harder and strive for perfection without satisfaction, which can easily lead to burn-out.
• Or alternatively, you turn into yourself and don’t take any risks anymore which can lead to great insecurity and self-doubt.

How can you deal with it?

Do you recognise yourself in this syndrome? Don’t be ashamed! Believe me, that many others share these thoughts with you. So, when you have this thought, you are probably not incapable! Acknowledge your feelings, share them with people you trust, and get started in the new role.

A few tips

Here are a few tips for dealing with the imposter syndrome.

• Make an overview of projects or activities in your career that you are proud of. What did you do to make it happen? What strengths or skills did you use for this? Write them down!
• Send an e-mail to a number of people in your area (work and private connections) and ask them to share 5 of your strengths with you. This can sometimes feel uncomfortable, so indicate that you are doing this for your own development and therefore appreciate their input.
• Let the feedback you have collected in the previous point work for you. See how you can now use your strengths in your job. Write down 5 actions you could take to use your strengths even better.
• Write a small message to yourself at the end of each week about a moment of success. A good conversation with a colleague, a deadline that you have met, a task that you have taken up, a document or presentation. In short, something that you feel good about.
• List aspects or skills in your job that you would like to learn more about. How important are they really to your functioning in the job? Give them a number from 1 to 5. Are there fours and fives? Choose two of them. Make a plan how you are going to handle this. Set aside an hour per week in your calendar to work on that plan.