Do you constantly feel like you’re faking your success? Is someone waiting off-screen to pull away the curtain and expose you for the failure you really are? Do you find yourself doubting your success and skills and constantly putting down your achievements? You’re probably dealing with imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is not a medical diagnosis, but it does describe a collection of mental health symptoms and psychological beliefs that can lead to depression and anxiety and can even impact your work success. Here, we discuss the five types of imposter syndrome and how you can overcome imposter syndrome in business.

Recognizing Imposter Syndrome

Before fully diving into imposter syndrome, we should start by telling you that imposter syndrome is incredibly common. If you read memoirs of business leaders you admire, almost all will mention feeling some imposter syndrome. We can almost guarantee that everyone successful has dealt with imposter syndrome at some point.

A good way to notice you’re dealing with imposter syndrome is to think about the five types or categories. These are:

●      The Perfectionist

●      The Expert

●      The Natural Genius

●      The Soloist

●      The Superperson

Of course, you can have overlapping symptoms of imposter syndrome from any of these categories or fit in all at once. The categories aim to help people identify what kind of imposter syndrome they struggle most with and give them tools to cope.

For the Perfectionist, if you do anything, you’re struck with an overwhelming feeling that you could have done it better. Every mistake or slight error is highlighted in your brain and played repeatedly. Even if no one else saw the error, you’re aware of it and hypercritical about it to yourself. If you smudged the corner of your contract, you focus on that smudge over the fact that you landed a huge sale, for example. This kind of imposter syndrome believes they’re not as good as others think they are and struggles heavily with, you guessed it, perfectionism.

With the Expert, you feel like you’re faking it because you don’t have the answer to every question. There are still aspects of a process or subject that you have yet to learn, and that means you must be faking it all, right? The Expert sees their need to know more about a topic as proof they don’t deserve success and haven’t truly reached the rank of “expert,” even if experts are always learning new things in their field.

If you deal with the Natural Genius imposter syndrome, you don’t believe you’re smart, gifted, or even clever. If it takes you more than one try to get something right, or you need practice, you automatically assume that means you’re faking your success. You feel like you’re getting lucky, and people will catch on that you’re not as smart as they think. This imposter syndrome can also be tied to being a gifted or academically successful child. It can manifest as feeling like you’re not good at anything and everyone is mistaken about your successes.

The Soloist feels like asking for help makes them an imposter. If you’ve ever received support, input, or correction on your way to the top, you’re not successful, or that’s what this imposter syndrome feels like, anyway. Everyone needs help to build a business, and not doing it alone doesn’t make you less successful. It makes you a team player. However, this imposter syndrome type would try to convince you otherwise.

Here comes the Superperson, a one-stop-burnout train obsessed with being the hardest worker with the highest level of achievement. If you miss out on a promotion, don’t get the highest marks on a test, or don’t over-perform in every area of your life, this type of imposter syndrome has you thinking you’re a failure when in reality, you’re likely not taking care of yourself and are on a crash course for burnout.

Strategies for Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

The first strategy for overcoming imposter syndrome is to cultivate self-confidence. We know that’s easier said than done, especially since imposter syndrome can come with a whole cocktail of mental health concerns like anxiety and depression. You can add self-confidence into your daily routine with affirmations or start challenging those negative thoughts. It can be helpful to visit a therapist to help deal with the negative self-talk and to learn how to combat spiral thinking.

Another thing you can practice is self-compassion. Being kind to yourself can be challenging but worth the effort. A way you can see yourself in a positive light is to think about how you feel about other people. You would look up to someone with your achievements, so why don’t you offer the same kindness and respect to yourself? Remember that you’re impressive, and your success isn’t some fluke of nature. You’ve worked hard to get where you are today.

Another way to fight imposter syndrome is to seek mentorship and guidance in your industry. You can work with people with more experience than you to learn how to fight off imposter syndrome and get some perspective that many top business leaders struggle with the same things you do. You can also join a community or group for other people in your industry, both as a learning opportunity and as a way for you to be around others who see your success and value your input, both ways to combat imposter syndrome at its root.

Professional Development and Skill-Building

One of the benefits of imposter syndrome is it keeps you constantly working to improve yourself, though not without the downsides of depression and anxiety. Investing in professional development and skill-building exercises is one way to combat that almost anxious need to improve your skills while learning more about your industry. That way, you can continue improving your skills while increasing your confidence and competence in your field. Remember, these skill-building exercises are about taking your experiences to the next level, not doing everything perfectly the first time.

Set Boundaries and Focus on Self-Care

Especially for Superperson imposter syndrome sufferers, setting a workplace boundary or focusing on self-care can be daunting. However, you’ll likely burn out if you don’t take the time to care for yourself. Instead, leave work matters at work and set aside time for self-care like meditation, reading, exercise, and other activities. It’s okay to say no to a work meeting outside your usual work hours and remind yourself that you don’t have to work yourself to the bone every day to succeed. Setting workplace boundaries can be hard, but your health and productivity will thank you for it.

It can be hard to struggle with imposter syndrome while running a small business. At Planted Marketing, we help small- and mid-sized companies find a healthy workplace balance while growing their customer base. Contact us today for more resources if you have questions or want to talk.