#31 - Why imposter syndrome is a good thing!
2 Oct 24
Imposter Syndrome has a bad name and is often associated with feelings of inadequacy and a degree of shame.
In reality, nobody knows 100% of a new role on day one. If they did, then what would be the point of the promotion?
There would be no growth or motivation to strive to get better.
Imposter Syndrome should be embraced as a natural response based not around shame or inadequacy, but reframed around a natural anticipation of the new role itself!
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#31 - Why imposter syndrome is a good thing!
What?
Imposter Syndrome is a behavioural condition which leads to self-doubt of intellect, skills or accomplishments among high-achieving individuals.
It is more common than most people think. The reason for this is that most people experience this, but are too ashamed to admit it.
This leads to a crushing reduction in confidence which often results in lower performance and a feeling of 'not being up to the job'.
This often starts a cycle of despair which is then self-sustaining, further worsening the situation.
Why?
Promotions into a new, often more challenging, role often bring an unspoken expectation that the person should be able to cover all facets of that particular role from day one.
This can be real or imagined. However, either way it leaves the person feeling that they will soon be 'found out', their perceived shortcomings will be discovered, or feel that they don't deserve or are not worthy of the opportunity.
The perception is that this would then lead to an almost automatic loss of credibility, loss of face or public embarrassment in front of their line manager or indeed their wider team.
This is a misconception.
Imposter Syndrome should not be seen as a negative, but as a motivator to grow into the new role.
Why? - Promotion into more senior roles is generally based on the potential identified as a result of fulfilling your current, and previous roles i.e. your track record.
If someone was able to fulfil the requirements of the new role to 100% on day one, what would be the point of the promotion?
There would be no growth potential, nothing new to learn, no new challenges to overcome.
A recent survey I conducted on LinkedIn identified that most people believe that someone starting a new role should possess at least 50-75% of the knowledge required to fulfil the new role.
This concurs with my argument that a certain degree of imposter syndrome is a good thing, since it stimulates people to do better and master their new role.
In Dan Pink's excellent book 'Drive', he identifies three facets which really drive motivation for knowledge workers.
These are Autonomy, Mastery and Sense of Purpose.
Mastery is the desire to get better at what you do.
If you already know 100% of the job, what's the point? (Mind you, as the great Meatloaf once said two out of three ain't bad!)
How?
So, what's the best way to overcome Imposter Syndrome?
By far the best advice I can give is to accept the following advice:
- No-one expects you to know everything in your new role on day one, or even 6 months in!
- Own it, embrace it and get in amongst it! That is to say, accept that you don't know everything and adopt an approach based upon humility,
- Leverage the knowledge and expertise held within your new team, and let them help you settle into the role,
- Identify the areas that you need to work on. Study them,
- Use every opportunity to ask questions. Your team will want to show you how much they know,
- Listen to understand, and start to build the bigger picture.
Imposter Syndrome is normal and should be embraced as a normal feeling associated with anticipation rather than any feelings of personal inadequacy.
Use it to your advantage to strive to get better and learn new skills.
In Summary
I hope that you enjoyed reading this newsletter and that it has given you food for thought.
Imposter Syndrome should be embraced and leveraged as a key motivator to strive to do better in a new role, to grow, to learn new skills.
It is a perfectly natural response to managed change which should be embraced not shunned.
Have a great week!
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