“I just got lucky.” Many professionals respond to their success with this line.
“My boss or manager is going to realise that I don’t know what I am doing.” Another retort many people experience, despite positive evidence to the contrary.
Research shows that 62% of the UK professional workforce experiences imposter syndrome with regards to their work. Some stats show even higher evidence of it in certain groups.
There is no single definition of imposter syndrome, but many definitions include aspects of not internalising achievements – we may be doing well for all to witness, but for some reason, we’re just not feeling it. This can show us a critical and unhelpful voice in our heads. The voice whispers empty lies that make competent professionals question themselves and their ability, which in turn can affect their career growth.
The inner voice associated with imposter syndrome is very real to those who experience it, but what their mind keeps telling them is not true. With this blog post, we want to help you, as a competent professional, see three ways in which imposter syndrome can impact your career growth. And you might be surprised!
Why Top Talents Struggle With Imposter Syndrome
Imposter syndrome isn’t too picky: any of us can be affected by it, at any time!
In terms of career level, you may first encounter imposter syndrome in a mid-level position once you have already started succeeding in your career. You’ve moved from a lower-level position to one where you might be handling projects or people; hence, there is reliance on you for impact and solutions. This increased responsibility (or visibility) increases the chances of imposter syndrome rearing its ugly head (or rather its nasty voice).
Experiencing imposter syndrome can feel isolating. You may struggle with admitting that you lack the knowledge and skill for a given project, or it could be that you even doubt if you can lead the team to success. Having a high level of competence could be contributing to your experience of imposter syndrome, as you have a history of achieving. Learn more about the symptoms of imposter syndrome here.
3 Ways Imposter Syndrome Impacts Your Career Growth
In my journey as a career coach, I have noticed 3 ways imposter syndrome affects professionals, and they’re not all bad if we can channel them appropriately.
-
You Listen to The Voice and Hold Yourself Back
You listen to the voice which may be telling you that you’re not good enough or that you’ve just been lucky. You allow yourself to listen to this voice, and over time, you believe it. You allow the voice to come through loud and clear, sometimes on repeat. As you hear it often, you believe it’s speaking the truth, and you allow it to hold you back.
You don’t take the opportunities you’re capable of, and you don’t rise to your potential. The voice then reinforces that you’re not good enough, and it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
This is never a good outcome, and it demonstrates how significant imposter syndrome can be in career growth.
-
You Listen to the Voice, and it Slows you Down
You hear the voice and listen to what it is telling you. You kind of believe the voice; why wouldn’t you, as it seems plausible? You try to ignore and push it away, yet it comes back periodically (and frequently at times).
In this case, the voice does not completely hold you back, but it makes you play smaller than you’re capable of, and prevents you from rising to your full potential.
-
You Hear the Voice but Choose not to Allow it to Affect you
You hear the voice and recognise it for what it is: “your inner critic”. It’s pretty normal, especially for high achievers. Okay, so how can you use this to your advantage?
This will serve you to either check any risk of complacency or to push you forward to rise to fulfil (or even exceed) your potential. Being able to do this relies on your understanding of imposter syndrome and an awareness and appreciation of your capabilities.
Hearing your inner critic and experiencing imposter syndrome can feel very real. But you don’t have to be scared of it, and you certainly don’t need to allow it to determine your career growth. Having more knowledge about imposter syndrome and how it might be affecting you could be useful to you and your career growth.
If you want to learn more about imposter syndrome and how you can best work with it, book a Career Discussion with me today.
