Silent But Deadly: Imposter Syndrome and How it Affects How You Work
You may be asking yourself, "Am I competent at my job?" and you are not alone
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Defining The Feeling
Work as we know it has been a roller coaster over the past two years of the pandemic. There has been a fundamental shift in how we work and a re-evaluation of the best methods for productivity. With all of this change, the people who have experienced the most side effects are mid-level employees, like you and me. You and I have been through a lot, and with all these changes, it is no wonder that we are starting to have feelings of doubt.
Have you ever had the overwhelming feeling that you don’t actually know what you are doing at your job, and you don’t belong there, and you only got to where you are because of luck? Or that at any moment everyone is going to find out that you are a fraud because you are not confident in the work you produce? This, my friends, is what we call Imposter Syndrome.
Imposter Syndrome in one sentence means you do not feel as competent as others view you at your job.
Here is the good news, you are not alone! Everyone one time or another during their career feels this sense of pressure, no matter what field of work they are in. This article is here to help define the various types of feelings one may experience and best practices on how to remind yourself that you are crushing it at your job!
Source: https://www.thedataincubator.com/blog/2022/02/23/6-steps-to-break-the-imposter-syndrome-cycle/
Types of Imposter Syndrome
Imposter Syndrome can show itself in many different forms. Listed below are just some of the ways that this feeling might be affecting you.
Endless Learner: This person feels like they can never learn enough about their field of work because it is the only way to avoid not feeling adequate enough with their knowledge base.
I Ride Solo: This person does not like working in teams because then they feel a sense of pressure or worry that the group will think they are not skilled enough to work in the group.
Over-Worker: This person will do as much work as possible as it is the only way they feel they are being successful at their job.
Has to be Perfect: This person will not end a project until they feel it is perfect because they do not want to face any scrutiny about their work.
Goal Setter: This person purposely sets high goals to feel competent at their job, but often runs into the pitfall of not always reaching those goals and, in turn, their morale suffers.
You might not be experiencing all of those feelings at the same time, but if any of them sound like familiar thoughts you have had, you may be experiencing Imposter Syndrome.
Now that we have a strong understanding of what this crazy feeling is, let’s dive into how you can counter these feelings throughout your career.
Best Practices
Understand the feeling
Start at the very beginning. That means being able to define accurately and clearly what you are feeling. A lot of people tend to push these feelings down, which will just lead to more of these feelings later. You want to avoid that. The best way to avoid it is to define it, decide on next steps, and get back on track.
Imposter Syndrome does not need to be a career-long battle. You can nip it in the butt when it arrives – remember that.
Facts are your friend
This is probably the most important thing to do when facing the feeling of being an imposter. Let your work speak for itself. For example, if you are a salesperson and you are stuck in your head, go back to the facts of your sales stats. If your numbers did not add up to quality production, I promise the company you are working for would try to help get you the career development you need.
If you are not being told you are doing poorly, and your numbers are great, then why are you letting this voice in the back of your head hurt your mental state?
This is why facts are so important. They tell the whole story, so lean on them.
Sync up with your team
Like I have been stating above, you are not alone. If you have a solid team, boss, mentor, or HR team, make sure to use them as a resource to tell them how you are feeling. Why? Because they will be able to give you an outside perspective and calm your nerves. This also will connect back to the facts as your team members will help you remember your performance history as well.
Plan of action
Once you have identified that you may be overthinking the situation, it is important to have a plan in place to work through the feeling.
The type of imposter symptoms you are suffering from will dictate the best plan of action. Below are my thoughts on first steps to get you back on track:
Endless Learner
Nobody can learn everything about everything. If you are an endless learner, the chances are you already know more than your counter parts. Shift your focus to learning the most important aspects of your role within the company. This will keep you focused and away from things that will make you feel overwhelmed.
I Ride Solo
I promise working in teams is not as intimidating as you think it is. Working in teams will help boost creativity, productivity, and help bring everyone’s strengths to a common goal. It is important to remember that everyone is skilled in small niche areas. As are you. You are not expected to be “the best” at everything, you are expected to be the best at YOUR job. When you put your heads together with coworkers who are the best at THEIR jobs, you see the best results. Teams are formed for this very reason to get as wide of a range of knowledge as possible.
Over-Worker
Your work list is never going to end. That is the thing about work is that there is always something to do next. You can work till the wheels fall off but that is only going to create burnout. Setting up daily To-Do lists is a great start if you fall into this category. This list should include a full day of work. Why? So, when you complete the list, you can have the facts in front of you that you accomplished a lot and that extra work is truly extra, not indictive of your performance.
Has to be Perfect
It really would be nice if everything could be perfect, but we know that is not possible. What I find the most helpful in keeping me grounded and reminding me to not strive for literal flawless perfection is to lean on my team members as I go through projects. I ask them for their thoughts on my first attempt and make changes accordingly. Chances are, if you are a perfectionist at heart, your work will be really good on the first go around and your team members will often remind you of that to calm your nerves.
Goal Setter
Take out a note pad and write out a couple of goals for each day. Not stretch goals, but not low balls either. Goals that within the definition of your job means a job well done. Now, as you go throughout your day reference that sheet and see your progress. This will help keep your head in a good space, reminding yourself that you are completing goals. If you reach from that point on, you will be able to reference back that you did do all the necessary parts of your day-to-day work and that you are a competent worker.
Source: https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/success-tips-overcome-impostor-syndrome/
Feel Better Already
Doesn’t it feel good reading this knowing the feelings you are having are not abnormal? This is especially true in a world that is continuously evolving. Take these methods and learnings and implement them into your daily work routine and I know you will see a difference in your mindset.
Give yourself a pat on the back and remember how far you have come. You did not make it here by accident. So, keep pushing and crushing it! If you walk away from this article with just one thing, take the paragraph above.
Cheers!
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