“Confidence is not: they will like me. Confidence is: I’ll be fine if they don’t” ~ Unknown

Some years ago when I was a CEO we were getting to the end of a particularly tough financial year, barely scraping through to meet budget. As a result, I put my heart and soul into ensuring that the business didn’t incur a loss, unfortunately, robbing from the personal to pay for the professional. Despite delivering a hard fought surplus, it resulted in me totally depleting my sense of self worth and self esteem, which left room for imposter syndrome to creep in.

And girl, did it! 😢

So there I was feeling totally depleted and I started speaking to my coach about what next. I remember saying to him “Maybe I should quit and take a smaller role. I think I’ve reached the cap of my capability. I don’t have anything left. I’m a fraud. I don’t think I’ve got it in me to do more”

Another less worn out person might have chosen to celebrate the fact that they met budget!!! But because I had allowed imposter syndrome to creep in I couldn’t see the wood for the trees.

My wise coach counseled me to take a break and go on a holiday before making any rash decisions. And it turned out he was right. I came back totally refreshed with a new perspective and we went onto greater heights.

As a result I’ve been keenly aware of how imposter syndrome is most likely to strike us when we need it least. Times such as when you’re about to:

• Level up and step into a promotion or a bigger role
• Get out of your comfort zone and take a risk in your career
• Make a change of some sort
• Go on a conference or a retreat with other amazing women, and you’re not sure if you’ll fit in or how you’ll measure up (yes I’ve heard this one a lot!! And even experienced it myself 😳)
• Or when you’re worn out and depleted after a really big effort when you’ve been robbing from the personal to pay for the professional and you’ve taken it too far.

SO WHAT CAN YOU DO TO BEAT IMPOSTER SYNDROME
A stitch in time saves nine and an ounce of prevention is worth far more than a pound of cure. So with these sayings that your gran probably told you years ago, here are my six recommendations to help you beat, if not prevent, imposter syndrome and stop it in it’s tracks before it gets in your way.

1. Move regularly – movement is medicine with the power to change how you think, feel and react. When you’re feeling “less than” instead of worrying at your desk, head on out for a walk and change your mind.
2. Proactively manage stress – don’t wait until you are stressed before you do something about it. Prioritise adequate down time, relaxation, mindfulness, connection with others and meditation.  When we proactively manage stress imposter syndrome is less likely to bite deeply.
3. Eat well – sounds crazy I know but how you fuel your body impacts on your thinking.  Rubbish in equals rubbish out. When my diet is out of whack because I’m too busy, being too social or simply being lazy, it’s amazing how much this undermines my sense of confidence and wellbeing.
4. Get enough sleep – Ariana Huffington wrote Sleep Your Way to the Top and she couldn’t be more right. When we sleep well, it helps us be less reactive, make better decisions, gives us energy and helps us focus on our goals. It helps us be better leaders, to connect better and to be better human beings far more easily. More importantly it helps us better manage the small voice on the shoulder that whispers negative messages to us. Sleep might just be the preventative for imposter syndrome that you truly need.
5. Get a coach – having a coach gives you a different perspective which will help you see things differently. My coach wisely suggested that I take a holiday. And do you know what? He was right. I went on to deliver two more amazing years for the business taking it from strength to strength, and have since shifted into running my own business which has quite simply exploded.
6. Take ownership of your imposter syndrome – know that you will get it every now and then. It will bite you when you least expect it. Everyone gets it so you will too and just when you least need it.  So have a process in place to deal with it – whether that’s all the things I mentioned above, or something else that works for you.  

YOUR THOUGHTS? How do you beat imposter syndrome? What works for you or what have you seen work for others? Drop me an email and let me know.