You’ve worked hard to get where you are today. You might have studied hard and invested in your professional growth in a number of junior positions, where you gained the knowledge, resilience and skills to become the effective leader you are today. You have the positive feedback from management, colleagues and clients, with the stats to back it up.

But if you have a lack of confidence in your ability, a feeling that you don’t belong in or deserve your position, or the sense that you are faking your ability, and that you inevitably will be found out to be a fraud, you’re probably experiencing imposter syndrome.

Imposter syndrome can hold you back as a professional in any number of ways. If you struggle with it, you may decide not to put yourself forward for opportunities. If you doubt your intelligence or knowledge, your team might be missing out on your insights during meetings. You may be scared to step out and try something new, if you’re afraid that making a mistake will expose you as the fake you think you are.
What would our careers look like if we were free from imposter syndrome? Here are five strategies you can use to start owning your voice, and believe you really are the capable, successful professional everyone else sees you as, and that you’ve worked hard to become. We hope they help!

1 – Look at the Facts

The negative thoughts we have towards ourselves are often an exaggerated version of reality that is based on fear and low confidence. What are some common themes of negative thoughts you tend to have about yourself or your work?

Take a step back and look at them objectively. For example, if you have a presentation to create and deliver, you might be afraid of saying the wrong thing or looking silly in front of everyone. Stop for a second and zoom out. Think about your experience and qualifications the area and topic you’ll be presenting on. Think about the power matrix and how finance really has a lot of value.

You may want to look at the job description of your position, containing a list of the required skills for the job you were chosen for. If you didn’t have what it takes for your job, you wouldn’t be in your current position. Likewise, if you didn’t have what it takes to do a great job on your presentation, you would not have been given the task.

2 – Change your Self-Talk

Think about the words and language that come up in your thoughts when you are experiencing negative feelings towards yourself and your abilities. Does your thought language tend to include extreme words like ‘never’ and always’?

If you tend to feel terrible over a small mistake that anyone could make, your thoughts might sound something like this: ‘That was terrible, I’m such a careless person’. Instead, think of alternative ways to frame the situation. ‘I can put this right – I’m trying my best, and I can learn from this’.

3 – Celebrate Small Wins

In the rush of day-to-day tasks, meetings and admin, it’s easy to lose sight of the small ways we’re doing a great job. Taking a step back and reflecting on everything you’ve done well in each day, week or month is a great way to boost your confidence, and remind yourself that you are capable, and worthy of your position.

The small things we do consistently are truly worth celebrating because, over time, they add up to the bigger things, like business growth, new client deals, and promotions!

I personally have a folder called “Good Feedback” and every time I receive some good feedback I record it and keep it in this file. It’s a good place to go when feeling a little insecure.

4 – Identify your Real Improvement Needs

Having an accurate and objective idea of your strengths and weaknesses is a great way to develop an accurate view of yourself and your performance. Remember that having weaknesses is an opportunity to develop and grow as a professional, and as a leader. Being ashamed of them and feeling defeated by them can cause you to take the focus off improvement, or to spend too much time improving weaknesses, and not enough time doing what you do best.

5 – Find a Coach or Mentor

Working with someone who has been where you are and is where you want to go is a great way to learn practical wisdom for your unique situation and goals for your life and career. Chances are, whoever you choose as your coach or mentor has struggled with imposter syndrome themselves, and has some great pointers on how to beat it.

1. Links:

   1. Get your FREE Guide: Stepping into the role of Finance Director or CFO
   2. Register for the mini-course, Upgrade your Management Accounts and get noticed by the business 
   3. Work with me in the Financial Leadership Foundations course  that includes monthly Q&A sessions where we can discuss all of your questions and how to apply your learnings to your current role. 
   4. Work with me as a Founder needing guidance and support from experienced Finance leaders.