“Even though I had sold 70 million albums, there I was feeling like I’m no good at this.” - Jennifer Lopez
One surefire way to give more weight to something is to call it a 'syndrome'.
But imposter syndrome isn't a syndrome at all.
The idea that it is some kind of condition is pure BS.
What we experience is an emotional state.
That we all feel at some point.
But it can be debilitating if you're a senior leader, with the eyes of the team you are leading on you.
The good news is that you only really need to understand three things to free yourself from so-called 'imposter syndrome'.
One is, as I have already said, that it is an emotional state.
The second is that emotional states - how we feel - change from moment to moment.
States are transient, shifting as our thoughts and physiology change.
You can only feel like an imposter when you are thinking about being an imposter. Any change in mental focus changes the feeling.
It's not a syndrome it's a state.
This leads to the third vital thing that will help you to free yourself from imposter syndrome.
The feeling never goes away completely.
Ask any (honest) successful person whether they experience doubt, and they'll say yes.
After 20+ years of training, speaking and coaching worldwide, there is still a moment before every session where I wonder if this is the one where I'll fall short.
And that isn't imposter syndrome.
It is a momentary state of doubt and fear that shifts when I move or my focus shifts to doing a great job.
Banishing the reference to imposter syndrome and instead talking about it as an emotional state is the first step to freeing yourself from imposter BS.
Want to know about being a confident leader? Email me with "Confident Leader Mini-Masterclass" in the title, and I'll share a complimentary one-hour video training with you.
Richard
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The Aligned Team - ready to transform how your team communicate, break down silos and get better results with the same resources? Drop me an email with 'ALIGNED Team' in the subject.
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