Imposter Syndrome is a psychological phenomenon where high-achieving individuals feel like frauds and do not feel worthy of their accomplishments. It affects about 70% of people and is particularly common in women. Imposter Syndrome breeds fear, anxiety, self-criticism and low self-esteem which can lead to stress, burnout, and underachievement. The document provides seven tips for overcoming Imposter Syndrome, including naming the feelings, accepting oneself, letting go of perfectionism, feeling fear and taking risks, being authentic, stopping comparisons to others, and owning one's successes. Overcoming Imposter Syndrome allows people to realize their full potential and live with greater confidence, authenticity, and well-being.

1. Imposter Syndrome
What it is, why it matters
and how we can break free from it.
UKSG Conference
Glasgow 2015

2. About me
• 20+ years in our sector
• Coach, teacher, student, speaker
• Working with leaders of all kinds,
particularly women
• ‘Inner leadership’ – authenticity, courage,
compassion, connection, confidence

3. Where we’re going today…
• What is Imposter Syndrome
• Why does it matter?
• Women and Imposter Syndrome
• Your experiences
• Five tips for overcoming Imposter Syndrome
• Your values
• Questions

4. Dare greatly…

5. “I don’t deserve this.”
“I’m only here because I was lucky.”
“Someone must have made a mistake.”
“I feel like a fraud.”
“It’s only a matter of time before I’m found out.”
“I’m not up to this.”
“I don’t deserve this.”
“If I can do this, it can’t be that hard.”

6. You’re not alone…
• Research shows that many leaders entertain such
doubts on a daily basis
• Estimated that at least 70% of us experience
Imposter Syndrome

7. What is Imposter Syndrome?

8. What is Imposter Syndrome?
• Term coined by psychologists Pauline Clance and
Suzanne Imes in late 1970s
• Describes a set of beliefs that has us feeling:
– we are frauds
– in some way lacking or unworthy
– we don’t deserve our successes
– it’s only a matter of time before we’re found out.

9. We dismiss our achievements putting them down to
luck, timing or to our having deceived others into
thinking we are smarter or more competent than
we believe ourselves to be.

10. Some (sort of) good news
• Impostor Syndrome is only ever really a problem
for high-achievers
• So, if you recognise it - feel good knowing that
you don’t put up with mediocrity
• (Sorry - that’s about as good as the good news
gets with Imposter Syndrome)

11. Why Does Imposter Syndrome
Matter?

12. Imposter Syndrome
Breeds and feeds on fear and anxiety
Leads to exhausting cycles of procrastination and
over-work
Hot-houses self-criticism, low self-esteem, low
self-compassion
Leads to stress and burn-out

13. Imposters…
 Attribute our success to external factors
(disempowering)
 Focus more on what we haven’t done as oppose to
what we have (demotivating)
 Approach tasks and projects as though we were being
tested not trusted (undermining)
 Compare ourselves with others – typically
unfavourably (dispiriting)

14. Imposter syndrome
• Undermines all areas of
leadership including:
 productivity,
effectiveness and impact
 motivation and
engagement
 creativity and innovation
 relationships and
collaboration
 our health and well-being

15. Danger!
Imposter Syndrome as self-fulfilling prophesy
We buy so fully into our belief that we’re not good
enough…
…that we sabotage our own success
No-one wins…

16. …everyone loses
We
Don’t realise our full
potential
Miss out on opportunities
e.g. promotions, pay-rises
Don’t achieve our work
and wider life goals
Organisations
Don’t benefit from our
knowledge, insight, skills
and talents
Less likely to consider us
for leadership roles
(we don’t own our potential,
why should others?)

17. Are we having fun yet?

18. Different for girls

19. Different for girls
• Men and women both experience Imposter
Syndrome…
• …research consistently shows women are more
affected…
• …and more likely to suffer the consequences

20. Different for girls
“Boys are raised to bluff and exaggerate. Girls learn
early to distrust their opinions and
stifle their voices…
…for girls and women, perfection becomes the goal,
and every flaw, mistake or criticism is internalized -
slowly hollowing out self-confidence.”
The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women, Valerie Young

21. Women…
 Are reluctant to showcase
our skills and talents
 Consistently undervalue
our own knowledge and
abilities
 Downplay our successes
and achievements
 Generally underestimate
ourselves
 Talk ourselves out of:
promotion
opportunities
leadership roles
pay rises
speaking opportunities
and more…

22. Women: ‘imposter behaviours’
Don’t own our successes
Over-inflate negative outcomes
Procrastinate (fear of failure - or success)
Overcompensate
Over-prepare
Tinker, obsess with details
Self-sabotage and other fear-based behaviours
Burn out

23. Different for girls
In her best-selling book, Lean-in, Sheryl Sandberg cites
a group of 1,000 female Harvard law students who
were asked to evaluate themselves across a range of
skills, qualities and aptitudes.
All 1,000 of them marked themselves lower than their
male peers in every single category.

24. “From the high-achieving PhD candidate convinced
she’s only been admitted to the programme because
of clerical error to the senior executive who worries
others will find out she’s in way over her head, a
shocking number of accomplished women in all
career paths and at every level feel as though they
are faking it – imposters in their own lives and
careers.”
Valerie Young: The Secret Thoughts of
Successful Women

25. For all of us - women and men
• Pinballing between desperately trying to be good
enough…
• …and fearing that we will never be good enough
• Brené Brown: “the hustle for worthiness.”
• The Four P’s: Perfect, Perform, Please, Prove
• I will be blogging on all four in the coming weeks
• Sign up at: www.sarahdurrant.co.uk/my-blog

26. Buzz
Spend a few minutes with your neighbours sharing
your thoughts about Imposter Syndrome.
Is it something you recognise?
If so, when and how does it show up for you?
What effect does it have?

27. I think it's time we took a journey…
From never enough… To I am enough

28. Freeing ourselves from Imposter
Syndrome
Seven tips for living with greater
authenticity, confidence, energy and ease

29. For the road ahead…
Four travelling companions (the Four C’s)…
Courage: it takes courage to explore our fears and challenge
our habitual ways of being and doing.
Compassion: New habits take time and patience - be kind to
yourself as you practice
Connection: Remember at least 70% of us struggle with
imposter feelings (you’re not alone)
Confidence: Comes when we practice courage, compassion
and connection.

30. 1. Name it
• Awareness is key to overcoming Imposter Syndrome
• Recognise when you’re in its grip
• Acknowledge that it is a FEELING not a FACT
• Gently challenge imposter thoughts
• Replace them with more truthful, empowering
thoughts
• Remind ourselves of our strengths and successes

31. 2. Accept yourself
• Tough in a culture which subtly - or
unsubtly - insists we are ‘never enough’
• The truth is, we are enough, just as we are
• We’re not perfect but we don’t need to be
• Allow yourself to make mistakes; gradually frees you
from fear and worry…
• …also activates compassionate, affiliating areas of
brain (helps us seek support and connection)

32. 3. Let go of perfect
• Perfectionism comes from our fear of being judged
and our worry that we are not enough
• Draining, frustrating and exhausting
• Let’s stop striving for perfect - it doesn’t exist.
• ‘Good enough’ is more than enough in most
situations
• We don’t have to be perfect to share something that
enriches people’s lives

33. 4. Feel the fear…
• We learn and grow outside our comfort zone
• Take risks and tolerate mistakes and failures
• Learn to take risks – and to do that, we need to be able to
tolerate mistakes and failures
• Embrace the fact that some things are scary and take
them on anyway in service of:
your learning and growth
freeing yourself from Imposter Syndrome
modelling courage and authenticity to
those around you

34. 5. Be authentic
• Having to hide behind a shell of perfection is
exhausting and damaging
• Find your authentic self and speak from there.
• Your values are your compass or ‘north star’: when we
honour them in our work and wider life, we feel
congruent and aligned
• Drop the ‘values’ of perfecting, pleasing, proving or
performing: it feels so much lighter

35. 6. Let go of comparing
“An act of violence against the self.”
Imposter tendency is to magnify others’ abilities and
achievements, assuming they are getting by effortlessly
Acknowledge that we all have our own challenges,
insecurities and struggles
It’s kinder to you, healthier, and more realistic

36. 7: Own your Success
Playing down our successes doesn’t serve us or anyone else
Blow your own trumpet - not to deafen others but so your
music is heard
Define what success looks like for you; worry less about
how others (the media…) define it
List key accomplishments from the last 2-5 years –
celebrate your many successes
Can you celebrate your failures too? (Painful but our
greatest teachers)

37. Summary

38. Imposter Syndrome
• A pernicious and very real phenomenon
affecting most women – and many men
• Unchecked, it impacts our confidence and damages
our health and sense of well-being…
• …undermines most areas of leadership and life
• Prevent us from achieving our goals and realising our
true potential

39. Believe in yourself
When we believe and act on:
 I am enough
 this is good enough
 we’ve done a good enough job
…we overcome Imposter Syndrome and liberate and
empower ourselves.
We also liberate and empower those we love and lead
and give them permission to shine as well.

40. Reflections, comments,
questions…?

41. Believe in
Yourself
Te n tips fo r fre e ing yo urse lf fro m
Im po ste r Syndro m e
& living with g re ate r authe nticity,
co nfide nce , e ne rg y and e ase .
Sarah Durrant CPCC, ACC
www.sarahdurrant.co.uk

42. Thank you for participating
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