20: Special Episode on Imposter Syndrome

In this special episode of the podcast, I speak with a range of people about their experience of imposter syndrome. Louise Goss is founder of Homeworker magazine, Adrian Whelan is a Senior Vice President and Head of Regulatory Intelligence for Investor Services at Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH), Andrea Mara is a crime fiction author, Peter Hill works in analytics in the fast moving consumer goods industry in Sydney, Korina Duffy has her own business Korina Duffy Fitness. All of them share their own experience of imposter syndrome: how it shows up and what we can do about it.

Imposter syndrome can show up in many ways. Trying to be perfect (perfectionism) or overcompensating because you think you don’t know enough and you’re going to be “found out”; procrastinating doing things because nothing you do is ever good enough; you think that “other people” know much more than you do, and you compare yourself to the anonymous masses; you’re trying to be a superhero and be the expert at absolutely everything; you’re afraid of being judged; you believe you’re underqualified; being out of your comfort zone; the more you know, the more you know you don’t know!

Overcoming imposter syndrome: know that you’re not alone, it is experienced by people at all levels it doesn’t favour one gender versus another; recognise imposter syndrome for what it is; learn from your mistakes, using “failure” as a way to learn and grow; do the work now, don’t wait until you “feel” like you’re an imposter/ in a situation where your imposter will rear its ugly head; think about who you serve (it’s not about you); talk to someone about how you’re feeling; put together a success, praise, feedback folder; own your own story, be responsible for your own story.