LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES
Are you feeling like a Fraud sometime? Well, you are not alone. Imposter Syndrome — a psychological concept first developed by psychologists Dr. Suzanne Imes and Dr. Pauline Rose Clance in the 1970s — is something many of us face in our lives. Research published in the International Journal of Behavioral Science shows that over 70% of people reported feeling like an imposter at some point in their careers. And it occurs disproportionally among high achievers who cannot internalize and accept their success. They often attribute their success and accomplishments to luck rather than their ability and believe they are less competent than they appear. They fear that others will eventually discover their “incompetence” and consider them frauds.
During my first six months at Google, I experienced it intensely, and it was the first time in my professional life to have imposter thoughts. When I spoke to some other executives at Google, both men and women, many of them shared they had the Imposter Syndrome too when they first joined Google. Some even claimed the imposter thoughts had accompanied them throughout their career at Google, despite successfully leading large organizations, delivering many impactful projects, and building their legacy at Google. Leaders in the startup world are not immune to Imposter Syndrome either. When I was chatting with some of my friends and former colleagues who are successful startup executives and founders, they shared how often they doubted their competence and ability to lead the team to success and second-guessed their own decisions.
As leaders, we expect to be competent, confident and have directions. What if you, as a leader, feel incapable and not equipped for your position? How can you overcome the imposter syndrome, then? Here are some tips that have helped me in the past:
1. Recognize and accept that you cannot master everything and be good at everything. If you try to do that, you are guaranteed to fail. This acceptance is even more critical when you first join a new organization. You are still ramping up on the knowledge and contexts needed to execute effectively, and your relationship with colleagues in the new organization is still forming. If you are trying to master everything, you will spread very thin and not be able to concentrate your energy on the most important things that can help you quickly establish yourself in the new organization. Focus on fewer things and do them well. Once you accumulate some wins and your work is validated over time in the new organization, the feelings of doubt usually abate.
2. Identify your Zone of Genius and find your nitch. Our performance relies on a mixture of skills, strengths, and talents. When we perform in the zone where talents, skills, and strengths are all aligned, we are in our Zone of Genius. Things in your Zone of Genius are those that you are uniquely good at and your nitch in the world. They are what you love to do so much that time and space likely pause when you do them. Your Zone of Genius is where you can add the most value to yourself, the people around you, and the organization you are part of. And it is where you should be driving toward spending most, if not all, of your time. Write down your Zone of Genius on a sticker and put it next to your computer as a constant reminder to yourself.
3. Approach your role with a growth mindset — Sometimes, when you start a new position, the work does not necessarily fit your expectation and strength, but you can find ways to evolve it. Identify within that role what does align with your Zone of Genius and what does not. Then try to find opportunities that allow you to shape your role towards your strengths. Whenever possible, reduce the load outside your Zone of Genius or leverage others’ help to handle the load. For things that align with your strengths, try to move at the fastest you can manage, create concrete goals, and build visible wins along the way. Those wins will eventually lead you to roles that fit you right, which can be in the same or different teams.
4. Leaders also need support. Build a support system around you. Such a support system can consist of: your families and close friends who love and support you no matter what, a manager who sees the magic in you, colleagues who you have built trusting relationships with, mentors, and career coaches who are vested interests in your growth. People in this support system are your allies. They see your strength and value your skills and talents. It is easier not to feel like an imposter when someone recognizes your value and appreciates your talents and skills. When you start to doubt your abilities, your allies’ support is something you can lean on to conquer self-doubt.
5. Focus on learning will make it much easier for you not to feel like an imposter. Instead of comparing yourself to others and getting discouraged, build inner strength and focus on your ability to experiment, learn, research, and adapt.
This is the most effective approach I took to combat imposter syndrome as a new leader at Google. I treat Google as an accelerated boot camp, where I can learn so much from a group of brilliant people in the industries on different technologies, strategy building, organization scaling, processes, etc. More importantly, I consider it a self-discovery journey and see myself as a work in progress. Instead of overthinking the consequences of mistakes and the embarrassment of not knowing something as a new leader in the organization, I treat each activity as an experiment to learn and concentrate on what learning I can get and apply it to my next experiment to make it better. Since I am confident in my ability to learn, when I walk into a room and jump on a conference call to discuss something I haven’t mastered, I can hold my own by focusing on things I can learn from the discussion. As a result, I feel more comfortable and can overcome imposter thoughts in most circumstances.
6. Recognize that confidence does not equal competence and use Imposter Syndrome as a competitive advantage. We often falsely equate confidence with competence and leadership and reward confidence in leaders even if they are incompetent. Having imposter syndrome does not mean that you are not a competent leader. On the contrary, sometimes, having imposter thoughts at work can also be a motivator, and that motivation can be a good thing for job mastery. As leaders, you can use impostor syndrome as a competitive advantage. Admitting you don’t have all answers doesn’t make you a fraud. Instead, it helps you define and solve problems more thoroughly, efficiently, creatively, and collaboratively and creates opportunities for others in the team to lead and shine. It also allows you to lead from a place of vulnerability and model resilience, all essential to building a psychologically safe organization where employees genuinely feel they belong and can thrive.
Remember, you are not the imposter. And you are not alone. We all experience it at some point. It is okay that you don’t know all the answers. Focus on your Zone of Genius and find your niche. No matter how seasoned you are as a leader, remember you can always ask for support and help along the way. Reframe these feelings, feel excited about the opportunity to learn and grow, and turn the imposter thoughts to your competitive edge of leading with empathy, vulnerability, and resilience.
