5 Thoughts for Fighting the Impostor Syndrome
Practical Steps for High Achievers
If you knew of a problem faced by up to 70% of today’s working population that had the ability to damage careers and hinder business growth, you would want to learn about it and solve it, right? Of course you would. You would find a way to combat the risk and make sure it didn’t impact your career or business.
The Impostor Syndrome
The Impostor Syndrome is a self-imposed belief that you are in a position where you don’t belong...that you’re in over your head. That, if anyone found out who you really are, they would know you’re not qualified to be there.
You tell yourself, “I don’t belong in this position”, “I’ve just been lucky” or “People wouldn’t appreciate the real me”.
Sound familiar? If you’re like most people who have high expectations of themselves and their capabilities, you’ve likely encountered that wonderfully supportive voice in your head. Especially if you’re in a position of responsibility and care about the perceptions of others.
Studies have shown that women are more prone to this line of thinking, especially when reaching higher level positions. But men deal with it as well. Women, you have the gift of being more attuned to the thoughts of others and that may be part of the reason. It’s becoming even more prevalent in younger generations.
There are physical symptoms associated with the Impostor Syndrome, including feelings of anxiety, fear and, in some cases, depression. In the workplace, that leads to hesitation, procrastination or even over preparation for tasks due to a higher level of self-critique. Long term it leads to fatigue and burnout from the energy you expended trying to keep up with what you believe others are thinking.
5 Practical Steps - Some Straightforward Advice
I’d like to give you five practical steps that you can take to address the issue.
First, understand that there is value in it. Most often, people are dealing with this line of thinking because they care deeply about what they’re doing and want to consistently be at their best. It means that you’re challenging your comfort zone which is the only way to grow. You’re growing courage. Lean into it. Take it as a signal that you’re on the right track and keep pushing forward. Remember that there is a difference between being "ready" for a promotion and being "fully competent" in your responsibilities. When you take on a new level of responsibility, there is going to be continued development. That's just part of it.
Second, resist the urge to pull inward. You have power in this situation and a choice about how you respond to the environment or comments of others around you. Realize that YOUR VALUE AND CAPABILITY IS NOT DEFINED BY OTHERS. It’s helpful to act with humility but taking this to an extreme can be a problem. You have to strike a balance between humility and overconfidence. If you start to ruminate on what others are thinking about you, remind yourself that your accomplishments are the result of your hard work, determination, knowledge and skill. Also, realize that often times, people are so preoccupied with themselves, they are likely not thinking about your deficiencies anyway.
Third, realize that the perfect standard that you are most likely comparing yourself to DOES NOT EXIST. If you’re comparing yourself to another high achiever, they’ve most likely dealt with it too.
Fourth, Talk about it with someone you trust. Someone who can give you a truly objective perspective.
Fifth, Fight it. Here’s what I mean. Imagine you’re out to lunch with a friend from work celebrating their recent promotion that they’ve worked extremely hard to achieve. You’re sitting at the table when a stranger walks up to your friend, looks them dead in the eye and says, “You’re a fraud and you’re not worthy to be where you are!" You wouldn’t put up with it, would you? Stop the thought cycle.. Step into it. Do something that requires you to act with greater confidence, even if it’s simply writing an audacious goal on paper. When you do this, you’re building self-discipline and actively changing your thought patterns.
Track your successes through a journal or file. Stay committed to doing your best work and actually embrace the discomfort that goes along with it. Realize that the harder you push yourself out of your comfort zone, the more likely you’ll experience this. Take it as a signal that you’re living!
Finally, there are many leaders out there that find it very difficult to provide positive feedback. Don’t be one of them. Where it’s warranted, take a few minutes and talk to members of your team about the contribution that they are making. You know the struggle they will face. Set them on a different course.
Remember - For people that are doing great things, these thoughts or feelings are not uncommon. it means that you are on the right track - That you are pushing and stretching yourself to live on the edge of your comfort zone. And that’s where life begins.
July 12, 2021
From Theory to Execution - Building a Culture That Demands Leadership If leadership excellence isn’t about knowledge, then what is it about? It’s about building an environment where leadership is required, visible, and unavoidable. Most organizations never get there. Here’s how the ones that do think differently. Step 1: Define Leadership in Behavioral Terms “Be a better leader” is meaningless. Instead, define leadership like this: “Addresses performance issues within 48 hours” “Delegates decisions with clear ownership and authority” “Drives clarity by aligning team priorities weekly” If you can’t see it, you can’t manage it. Step 2: Make Leadership Measurable What gets measured gets managed. Ask: Are decisions being pushed down or pulled up? Are leaders developing successors or creating dependency? Is accountability consistent across teams? Are new ideas being generated? If leadership isn’t measured, it becomes subjective - and subjective standards don’t scale. Step 3: Align Consequences with Expectations This is where most organizations fail. They say leadership matters, but they tolerate: avoidance of difficult conversations inconsistent accountability leaders who produce results but damage culture siloed and self-optimizing behavior You can’t have leadership excellence without consequences for non-leadership behavior . Step 4: Build Leadership into the Operating System Leadership isn’t a program. It’s how the business runs. It shows up in: how meetings are conducted how decisions are made how performance is reviewed how feedback is delivered If leadership only shows up in training sessions, it won’t stick. Step 5: Create Cultural Pressure for Leadership The strongest cultures don’t rely on top-down enforcement. They create peer-level expectations. Leaders hold each other accountable, teams expect clarity and ownership, and underperformance is addressed quickly and directly Leadership becomes the norm, rather than the exception. The Payoff When leadership becomes part of the system, execution speeds up, decision-making improves, teams take ownership, and senior leaders get out of the weeds. And the organization finally operates at the level its strategy demands. Final Thought Most companies are trying to teach leadership. The best companies build environments where leadership is the only way to succeed . That’s the shift. And once it happens, everything else gets easier.
Let’s address the uncomfortable truth: Most leaders already know what they should be doing. They just don’t do it consistently. Not because they’re incapable - but because something is working against them. What’s Really Holding Leaders Back? It’s not a lack of awareness. It’s a combination of three forces that quietly shape behavior: 1. Success Has Trained Them to Stay the Same Leaders are promoted because they deliver results. So they double down on what got them there: solving problems themselves moving quickly by making decisions solo stepping in when things go sideways The problem? Those behaviors don’t scale. But letting go of them feels risky. So they don’t. 2. Short-Term Pressure Overrides Long-Term Discipline In theory, leaders know they should: coach instead of direct develop instead of fix empower instead of control But in reality? Deadlines hit. Clients escalate. Revenue matters. So they revert to speed and control because it’s faster right now. And just like that, long-term leadership development loses to short-term execution pressure. 3. The Organization Quietly Rewards the Wrong Behavior Watch closely and you’ll see it - the leader who “jumps in and saves the day” gets praised. Or the leader who builds a self-sufficient team gets overlooked. Or perhaps the leader who avoids conflict keeps the peace and avoids backlash. Organizations say they want leadership excellence. But their reward systems often reinforce the opposite. Why This Matters More Than You Think When leaders don’t change: their teams don’t grow decision-making stays centralized innovation slows burnout increases at the top And eventually, the business hits a ceiling that no strategy can fix. The Real Work of Leadership Development If you want leaders to change, you have to change the environment around them. That means: redefining what “good leadership” looks like aligning incentives with the behaviors you want creating consequences for avoiding leadership responsibilities Because people don’t rise to expectations. They rise to what the system reinforces .
Most companies don’t lack leadership knowledge—they lack execution. Discover why leadership fails and what it takes to turn insight into results.
