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.