Do You Believe In Yourself and Your Accomplishments?

History only knows how many great leaders we missed because they didn’t believe in themselves.  You might lack self-confidence for a few reasons, but a pervasive one is the Imposter Syndrome.

 

Official Definition of the Imposter Syndrome: Anxiety or self-doubt that results from persistently undervaluing one’s competence and active role in achieving success, while falsely attributing one’s accomplishments to luck or other external forces.

 

Imposter Syndrome Sufferers Have Already Experienced Success

The Imposter Syndrome is a feeling of inadequacy that persists despite evident success in life. Imposters suffer from chronic self-doubt and feel like intellectual frauds even though they can see, touch, and hear the rewards and achievements they have experienced. The phenomena may be the true definition of “fake news!”

Although your colleagues and even your enemies can see your success, in your mind, there is a reason for the success for which you don’t deserve the credit.

Imposters Syndrome sufferers are unable to internalize their accomplishments, however successful they might be in their field. The sense of “if they only knew” affects very high achieving, successful people in leadership who don’t lack confidence or self-esteem. Some researchers have linked it with perfectionism

 

The Antidote – Your Individual A-Game

The people you lead depend on you to bring your A-game. Everyone knows that everyone has developed higher skill levels in some things than another.  Your team is not ignorant.  They see you, they know you, and if you have been growing in your leadership skills as we have discussed now in this series for 12 weeks, they follow you because of how you navigate being human.

Some days you might be brilliant, and others may be challenging, but your team knows you have their best interest at heart, and you are the leader who is always growing, stretching, and is accountable to yourself and others.  You bring precisely the energy and inspiration they want to identify with and follow.

 Amy Cuddy describes our Authentic Best Self as being present when we show up in our lives, demonstrating a sense of confidence, comfort, and enthusiasm.  I have linked her name to a TED Talk presentation you might enjoy: Fake it Till You Make It.

 

My Best Side

Laura Morgan Roberts from the Center for Positive Organizations explains that we all have moments when we feel acutely alive, true to ourselves, and performing at our full potential. Fortunately, our memories of these moments are particularly vivid. Over time, we collect these experiences into a portrait of who we are at our personal best.

  • Roberts has developed a series of questions that allow us to identify the best parts of ourselves. Your answers to these questions should reflect your whole life, not just the workplace:
  • Name three words best describe you as an individual?
  • What is truly unique about you that leads to your happiest times and best performance?
  • Reflect on a specific time, at work or home, when you are acting in a way that it felt natural and right. How can you repeat that behavior today? Describe are your signature strengths, and how can you use them?

 

Use Your Internal Impact to Move You Forward

The impact of identifying our most valuable strengths and reminding ourselves is immeasurable.

If we feel authentic and happy, we can perform at our personal best and accomplish more.

When we experience genuine satisfaction in our lives, we are engaged as BOLD Leaders to be creative, effective, and enthusiastic.

“The more of us who raise our hands and say, ‘Count me in,’ the greater the chance that we will build the world we imagine”

Simon Sinek

Are you in?