Have you attended a meeting at work and felt like somehow, you didn’t quite belong? Or landed a promotion that you didn’t feel you deserve? I know I have, and you may have as well as a working woman who’s ever experienced the Impostor Syndrome at work. This is an issue that has always affected women, and also does racial minorities as well as minority groups.

It doesn’t matter how competent, qualified or driven you are. We’ve all felt this way, at one point or another in our careers. According to this Behavioral Science Research Institute’s study, around 70 percent of people have experienced the Impostor Syndrome at work.

Impostor syndrome, also known as “fraud syndrome”, occurs when we don’t feel like our successes are deserved. Instead, we tend to attribute our achievements to external circumstances, like timing, coincidence or sheer luck. Most people affected by it worry they’ll be exposed as a fraud, and are likely to experience strong anxiety, fear and distress as a result.

 

I started feeling the Imposter Syndrome as early as my college years. I never quite could shake the feeling that I didn’t deserve to be in those upper-level Accounting and Finance classes, or that I could actually graduate as an honor student. Even as I walked across the stage on Graduation Day after completing my Master’s degree, there was a sense that I had only been fortunate to have gotten that far. This sense of sheer luck rather than deserving accomplishment followed me in my career as I would unconsciously sabotage my progress at times for fear to be discovered as a fraud.

Ridding yourself of the Impostor Syndromeis hard! After all, it’s a mindset buried under years of faulty self-belief about who you are, what you’re able to accomplish, and what you really deserve in life. Yet, you can fight it and use it instead as fuel to succeed at work again, this time on your own terms and with a smile on your face. As women, we carry so many societal and social expectations that it can easy for us to succumb to the pressures of feeling like a fraud in and outside of work.

Here are five ways you can fight it at work, and even beyond your career:

 

1. Acknowledge the problem

 

You’ve heard it before. You can’t solve a problem unless you acknowledge it first. Many of us have a hard time taking an honest look at ourselves, and recognizing that we do suffer from Impostor Syndrome. Instead, we use excuses to make ourselves feel better.

 

Where are you undervaluing yourself? Which of your successes are you attributing to luck or favorable circumstances? Do you think you’ve only gotten the promotion because the boss likes you? Or that you’ve been invited to this high-visibility infrastructure project at random? Do you feel like you don’t deserve to manage that project because you’re not experienced enough?

 

Pinpoint those areas where doubt is creeping in and your confidence is crumbling. Be honest about them, and write them down on paper to really identify the problem at hand.

 

 

2. Get Your Success Box Out!

 

One of the most powerful lessons that one of my mentors taught me is to always remember to get your Success Box out! You may be wondering: “What is this Success Box?” It’s made out of all your past accomplishments, everything you have ever done successfully in your life.

 

There’s something about reminding yourself of how far you’ve come, and how much you’ve done, that restores your confidence back. Whether it’s the college degrees, the certifications, the positive feedback, the personal journey, whatever it is that shows that you’ve done it before, is proof that you can do it again! I suggest keeping an actual box where you write down on pieces of paper your recent successes and take it out every time you need that confidence boost!

 

 

3. Sharing is Caring!

 

Sharing your expertise and journey is also a great way to remind yourself of your competence and ability! Find someone who needs help in an area that you’re knowledgeable about, and engage them to see if you can help or mentor them. It may be a more junior employee, a family member or a friend in need.

 

I find that every time I can help someone else by sharing my expertise, I end up realizing how much I know and am capable of. I also learn through the process about myself, my strengths and other areas I can develop.

 

Consider also sharing your experience with the Impostor Syndrome with trusted friends, family members and colleagues. It’s also an empowering way to recognize the problem, and courageously face it by talking about it.

 

4. Ask yourself: What Would You Do If You Weren’t Afraid?

 

The biggest culprit with the Impostor Syndrome is the resulting fear. Try reversing this angst by asking yourself this question: “What would I do if I weren’t afraid?” I actually have a Post-It note on my desk with this question on it. Every time I feel the fear creeping up in me, I look at it and loudly ask myself the question, over and over again.

 

What would you do? Would you go for this exciting career opportunity abroad? Would you apply for the promotion or ask for that raise? Would you create that business? Ask yourself the question, and let the answers lead you towards the success you deserve!

 

 

5. Change your words!

 

A mentor of mine once told me: “Your words are your life!” In other terms, your language is a preview of who you are! It also tells others about how much you trust yourself. Phrases like “I think”, or “I feel” indicate a lack of assurance in your ow potential.

 

Instead, change your words to reflect a more confident personality. Use language that conveys the fact that you believe in yourself, your competence and your ideas.

 

Watch this YouTube video as a recap:

 

 

Now your turn: How do you fight Impostor Syndrome at work?

 

 

To Your Success,

 

The Corporate Sister.