Many of us have successful clients who suffer from imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome takes the forms of fear, anxiety, self-doubt, second-guessing, and lack of confidence and/or self-worth. Does having one or more of these feelings necessarily imply that the person has imposter syndrome? Or could it just be a situational fear? Of course, it is natural to feel worry or self-doubt when one takes up a new position or starts a new venture. However, when fears are constant or chronic and hinder one’s work repeatedly, they can turn into a long- term condition that impedes a person’s ability to be the best they can be.
The good news for someone with this syndrome is that a healthy dose of self-doubt might be helping them achieve more. They realize and accept that they don’t know everything. They assume that their constraints need to be supplemented by learning and are typically more willing to work hard to get better.
Their perceived constraints open their minds to new possibilities, and they become better problem solvers. On the other hand, excessive self-doubt and lack of self-confidence severely undermines motivation and courage. Fear becomes an armor to hide behind, an excuse to evade new opportunities. They may hesitate to ask for help, lest someone discover their weaknesses, leading to a stagnation in growth. They tend to be workaholics. They might even punish themselves because they feel simultaneously undeserving of their achievements and unqualified for their role.
The opposite of imposter syndrome is arrogance. In his book, “Think Again”, Adam Grant refers to this as the “Armchair Quarterback Syndrome.” It is also known as the Dunning-Kruger effect. These are the people who have opinions of their skills and are ignorant of any weaknesses they may have.
When there is an imbalance between confidence and competence, issues of either arrogance or imposterdom arise. Both types of people need to move toward the other side of the spectrum to get to a place where there is a healthy dose of confidence and humility, also known as “confident humility.” In her book, “Dare to Lead”, Brené Brown calls this “grounded confidence.”
While helping your clients quell their inner critic and build confident humility, remind them of the value of doing the work to fight imposter syndrome. The inner achievement of becoming a more confident, self-aware and resilient person is just as important as outward success. After all, as the Dalai Lama says, “The goal is not to be better than the other man, but better than your previous self.”
** Reposted from an article by ICF**
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