Overcoming imposter syndrome

Have you looked who's in charge?

If the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that you can be a total dunderhead and still be in charge.

Every time I hear someone open up about their imposter syndrome, my first thought is “you?! but you know what you’re doing!”

It’s a shame, especially if it’s holding you back. Plenty of fools move from leadership role to leadership role and often run whole governments.

I believe that only competent people worry that they’re incompetent. It’s a sort of healthy anxiety, a variety of perfectionism, in which we feel we must get it right. Ultimately, you’ve been asked to do a talk, perform a role, lead a project, and that’s for a reason - we believe you can do it.

What I normally do if I feel imposter syndrome is to think about the alternative to continuing i.e. backing out. Let’s say a client wants something we’ve never done before… are we going to say no? Tell them they should go elsewhere? Or realise that… if anyone can do it, we can, and we should give it a go.

Don’t ever feel like the guys in charge know what they’re doing. If you look at our leaders, they’re mostly full of bluster, hubris and arrogance, and only rarely substance

They don’t deserve to be heard any more than you deserve to be heard, so always state your mind

Believe in your own logic, be open to change your mind, but don’t be afraid to change the minds of others