Overcoming imposter syndrome

Some years back, at an awards ceremony, the recipient of a well deserved achievement award admitted to the audience that whilst honoured, he also felt fraudulent accepting the award. He wasn’t sure he had done enough to deserve it, and perhaps those awarding it had made a mistake.

What the recipient demonstrated was a classic case of Imposter syndrome.

Imposter syndrome is loosely defined as doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud when your achievements are noted.

Those who are high achieving, or perfectionists, are most like to suffer this feeling.

In some ways these sentiments can drive us to accomplish more but there is also a downside to the pressure we, as individuals, put on ourselves.

We’ve compiled some resources related to imposter syndrome that, no matter whether you are an individual, a business owner or a leader of people, will help you understand yourself or your staff.

In this short animated Ted talk Elizabeth Cox describes the psychology behind the imposter syndrome, and what you can do to combat it. 

In the article Here are 5 ridiculous reasons you feel like an imposter at work, the author states

The obvious reason many of us experience imposter syndrome is that we lack confidence in our abilities. We see ourselves as phony.  

She then gives tips for dealing with  the different styles of imposter you may identify with – the perfectionist, the overachiever, and so on.

In her blog post, 4 Ways to Soothe Your Professional Competence Anxiety, Dr Alice Boyes offers four self-talk phrases can help balance your thinking and soothe your feelings of anxiety.

Available with a library sign-in the Harvard Business review offers : Stop Telling Women They Have Imposter Syndrome
The answer to overcoming imposter syndrome is not to fix individuals, but to create an environment that fosters a number of different leadership styles and where diversity of racial, ethnic, and gender identities is viewed as just as professional as the current model.

Available for free to registered library users are the courses provided by LinkedIn learning :

Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
Join instructor Carolyn Goerner as she explains the different types of imposter syndrome and shares constructive ways you can begin to overcome this negative thought cycle.

Confidence: How to Overcome Self-Doubt, Insecurity, and Fears
In this course, instructor TJ Guttormsen provides information and practical exercises to help you change and improve the thoughts and emotions that might be holding you back, so that you can participate more fully, both professionally and privately, in the world around you.

The WCL book collection offers the following that may be helpful.

Why do I feel like an imposter? : how to understand and cope with imposter syndrome / Mann, Sandi
The term [imposter syndrome] was coined in 1978 by clinical psychologists Pauline R. Clance and Suzanne A. Imes. Despite external evidence of their competence, those exhibiting the syndrome remain convinced that they are frauds and do not deserve the success they have achieved. Proof of success is dismissed as luck, timing, or as a result of deceiving others into thinking they are more intelligent and competent than they believe themselves to be. This book presents an accessible and engaging examination of IS and how it effects us, not just at work, but as teenagers, parents and beyond. Using interactive quizzes to help you identify if you suffer and offering tips and tools to overcome your insecurities, psychologist Dr Sandi Mann will draw on her experience not only as an academic, but also as a practitioner, to present a comprehensive guide to understanding and overcoming IS.” (Adapted from Catalogue)


The impostor syndrome : becoming an authentic leader / Hillman, Harold
“If you privately fear you are not properly qualified for your job, don’t worry – you are not alone and help is at hand. This book explains this common phenomenon and shows how you can overcome it to become a better leader, confident in your own abilities and true to yourself”–Back cover.” (Catalogue)


A New Zealand business coach outlines her own experiences in Allergic to perfect

Allergic to perfect : how to ditch your doubt and take imperfect action to grow your biz / Tolhopf, Natalie
When business coach Natalie Tolhopf launched her online business, she fell hard for those social media highlight reels. If she just hustled hard for six weeks, she could bring in as much money (if not more) than her well-paid corporate job. She’d spend her days at the beach, listening to her Paypal notifications going ping-ping-ping… Yeah right! It took a sudden health crisis for Nat to realize she’d been husting hard to build her business in all the wrong ways. Before she could crack six figures, Nat had to learn how to drop her perfectionism, trust her intuition and let go of self-sabotage and step into self-belief. She had to become Allergic to Perfect. In Allergic to Perfect, Natalie lays out the exact roadmap she followed to build a solid six-figure business, without losing herself – or her health – in the process.

Available in print, ebook or audiobook format is Ash Ambirge’s 
The middle finger project : trash your imposter syndrome and live the unf*ckwithable life you deserve / Ambirge, Ash
“Do you have an existential crisis every time your alarm goes off? Did you used to be fun/​effervescent/​happy/​less of a bitter old bitch – and now, let’s just say, you are not? Do you want to feel creative, inspired and, well, just alive again? Let Ash Ambirge offer you a spunky new alternative to traditional concepts of ‘work’. Growing up in a trailer park, by her twenty-first birthday Ash was a jobless, homeless orphan with only $26 to her name. But even with the odds stacked against her, she changed her fortune forever by starting her million-dollar business from the backseat of her car. Ash gave the finger to convention, blazed her own path, and finally found work she loved. And she wants to show you how she did it. Whether you’re an individual freelancer, self-made entrepreneur, or part of a larger corporation but not realising your dreams, Ash draws on her unconventional personal story to offer a fun, bracing, and occasionally potty-mouthed manifesto for the transformative power of radical self-reliance. Her paradigm-shifting advice will teach you how to hack your own success, create your own career options, rid yourself of imposter syndrome, and leverage your creativity to make it to the top. Told with her characteristic wit and no-bullshit attitude, this book is a must-read for anyone feeling stuck, restless, and doubtful of everything, especially themselves.” (Catalogue)

A search of “Imposter syndrome” in Ebsco’s Business Source Premier database will turn up over 80 further articles of interest.

If you need more information please contact the Prosearch team at the library.  We can help you find information across a range of perspectives and resources.  All enquiries are treated in confidence.