hello everyone and thanks for joining me i wanted to talk about the imposter syndrome
i suffered this a lot when i first began to work in the corporate world
now before i get started let me tell you the definition of what that is
the imposter syndrome is when an individual doubts their skills their talents or
their accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a fraud
two american psychologists pauline clance and susan eimes came up with that name in 1978
they described it as a feeling of phoniness in people who believe that they are not intelligent
they are incapable or uncreative despite evidence of a high achievement while these people are
highly motivated to achieve they also live in fear of being found out or exposed as frauds no one is
immune from this imposter syndrome and people experience it across all levels and industries
there are very successful people at the head of big companies that have felt it
at one time or another there is a quote by richard branson that goes like this
if someone offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it say yes
then learn how to do it later what that quote means to me is that even he didn't
know what he was doing at times but he learnt it along the way and you can too
for a long time in my role as an executive assistant i felt like an imposter especially when
joining a new company i would sit in meetings and tell myself i was dumb because i didn't understand
what these people were talking about and that eventually they would find out how dumb i was
as the years went by and i spoke to more and more people
i realized that this is what a lot of people feel whether they are an executive assistant or in any
other role especially when you join a new company the reality is every company is different
and have different jargon to learn they also have lots of projects happening that have obscure names
so until you get settled and start learning about the company and the people and what they are
working on be gentle on yourself in our minds we think that we only know a little bit and everyone
else knows so much more but the reality is we all know the same amount but not about the same things
the imposter syndrome can manifest in different ways and here is a list of some ways
i will only point out a few from this list do you have difficulty accepting praise and recognition
for personal accomplishments are you reluctant to accept promotions or new assignments because
of not feeling ready is your procrastination caused by an immobilizing fear of failure
so if you can relate to any or most of these fear not you are not alone
now that you have identified and know the name of what you are feeling you are probably wondering
how to fix it eight things you can do to change that mindset number one
take notes and ask questions no matter what role you're in to help with the
imposter syndrome at meetings make sure you take notes after meetings ask questions from people
that brought up something you didn't understand and for other matters do some research
number two don't give up no one starts off knowing everything we need to keep learning
sometimes we may fail but the aim is never to give up number three create a success log look at all
the things that you've done successfully in your role and acknowledge them create a success log
not only to boost you up but so you can discuss your success with your executive at end of year
reviews number four take a compliment when someone praises you say thank you don't say things like oh
anyone could do that or it was nothing believe it or not some people can't do what you just did
number five get out of your comfort zone this will help you grow and become more confident
confident people get further in life and according to a few studies i have read confidence leads to
high self-esteem and high self-esteem leads to more happy and optimistic life number
six take the leap if you are given a project or a promotion and you don't feel confident to take it
don't doubt the people that have given you that opportunity they saw something in you that you
can't see in yourself these opportunities don't always happen so don't pass them up
do some research so you can do that job well number seven become a mentor yes that's what i
said i have been doing this for years it will be hard at the beginning until you find your groove
but once you get in that groove it will reveal the skills you have taken for granted
and helps you recognize the things you have achieved whilst helping other people number eight
you got this when you are feeling like a fraud or feeling overwhelmed about doing something
acknowledge what you are feeling is imposter syndrome and it's real it was given a name so it
happens to a lot of people tell yourself that you can do this you got this because you really do now
going back to what i shared earlier about sitting in meetings of a company i just joined in my early
years as an executive assistant and telling myself i don't know what they are talking about
therefore i am dumb i now tell myself i don't know what they are talking about yet
but soon i will having a little bit of an imposter syndrome isn't a bad thing it keeps you grounded
thank you for watching i hope you found this video informative don't forget to subscribe and like