Episode 25: Michele Lewis & Cyndi Po, Executive Career Coaches; Dealing With Imposter Syndrome
Join Executive Career Coaches Michele Lewis & Cyndi Po as we discuss "Dealing with Imposter Syndrome."
Definition of imposter syndrome: Imposter syndrome is the psychological experience of feeling like a fake or a phony despite any genuine success you have achieved.
According to researcher Dr. Valerie Young, there are five impostor types:
- The Perfectionist. This type of imposter syndrome involves believing that, unless you were absolutely perfect, you could have done better. You feel like an imposter because your perfectionistic traits make you believe that you're not as good as others might think you are.
- The Expert. The expert feels like an imposter because they don't know everything there is to know about a particular subject or topic, or they haven't mastered every step in a process. Because there is more for them to learn, they don't feel as if they've reached the rank of "expert."
- The Natural Genius. In this imposter syndrome type, you may feel like a fraud simply because you don't believe that you are naturally intelligent or competent. If you don't get something right the first time around or it takes you longer to master a skill, you feel like an imposter.
- The Soloist. It's also possible to feel like an imposter if you had to ask for help to reach a certain level or status. Since you couldn't get there on your own, you question your competence or abilities.
- The Superperson. This type of imposter syndrome involves believing that you must be the hardest worker or reach the highest levels of achieve.
So let's talk about how this relates to our transitioning service members.