5 types of Imposter Syndrome

The 5 types of impostor syndrome

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This week I am sharing with you the 5 types of impostor syndrome that were categorised by Dr. Valerie Young. Take a look below and decide which one best describes you.

#1: The Expert

You may not like to be called the expert as it might make you feel like you need to have all the answers and you feel the pressure to live up to such a high standard. You might be called the subject matter expert in a certain field or the go to person in a particular project. Now If you are asked a question and you don't have the answer, you feel like a fraud or feel shame. You find yourself reading more books, taking more courses, getting more certificates. You hold yourself back from going for promotions because you never feel qualified enough.”

To clarify if you fall into the expert category, answer the following questions:

• Do you shy away from applying to job postings unless you meet every single educational requirement?
• Are you constantly seeking out trainings or certifications because you think you need to improve your skills in order to succeed? 
• Even if you’ve been in your role for some time, can you relate to feeling like you still don’t know “enough?”
• Do you shudder when someone says you’re an expert? 

What can you do about it today? 

• Start practicing just-in-time learning. This means acquiring a skill when you need it–for example, if your responsibilities change–rather than hoarding knowledge for (false) comfort.
• Become a mentor at work. Mentor or train junior colleagues. Your expertise will be useful to others who long to be where you are now. When you share what you know it not only benefit others, but also helps you to heal your fraudulent feelings. 

#2: The Super Woman/Man

If you fit in the Superwoman/man category you are already convinced you are a fraud amongst your peers. You push yourself to work harder and over do it to measure up. You are an over-achiever. You might be a workaholic and addicted to the validation that comes with working rather than the work itself. You might stay longer hours more than everyone else in order to compensate for your fraudulent feelings. You might feel restless or find it hard to switch off when you are not at work. 

To clarify if you fall into the superwoman/man category, answer the following questions:

• Do you seek external validation to feel that you are worthy and deserving?
• Do you take criticism personally rather than constructively? 
• Do you find it hard to say no and set boundaries?
• Are you a workaholic and is it affecting your personal and family life?

What can you do about it today? 

• Gain clarity and notice the working harder behaviours. Yes, there is a difference between working harder for a particular high end project and working harder for validation. Ask yourself “What is my motive behind staying late?”, “Am I seeking outside validation?” 
• Ask for help where needed. Be okay with handing tasks over. You are only one person and delegation is actually a positive attribute. By delegating you are helping others to up-skill, you are helping your team’s efficiency and sometimes the job gets done better when shared. The best leaders delegate. 

#3: The Perfectionist

If you fall into the perfectionist type, you might find it hard to accept making mistakes. You might have extraordinarily high standards for yourself (and for others!). If you make a mistake, you feel like a fraud. In order to not feel like a fraud, you might find yourself engaging in over-planning, over-preparing, and beating yourself up inside over-thinking.

To clarify if you fall into the superwoman/man category, answer the following questions:

• Do you hold yourself to the highest standard? 
• Have you ever been told you micro manage? 
• Do you kick yourself after a presentation because you made one minor error? 
• Do you focus on your mistakes and failures, much more than your successes? 
• Do you need to achieve 100% and anything less in not acceptable? 

What can you do about it today? 

• Focus on progress not perfection. Stop focusing on what you did not get done today. Notice what you achieved today. What went well today? What tasks did you get done? Give yourself a break, a reward or a pat on the back. At work, we don’t get a gold star on our forehead every time we with put a cross on our t so we must learn to give ourselves some credit. 
• Stop criticising yourself and start complimenting yourself instead. It might feel uncomfortable at first, but start complimenting yourself. Think about the positive feedback and compliments you have received from others. Start writing them now and look through them on days that you are being really hard on yourself. 

#4: The Soloist

If you identify with being a soloist, then you might be someone who doesn’t want to ask for help. You might be afraid to ask any questions and want to do everything yourself. This is because you think asking for help means you are a fraud. You might find it difficult to trust that others are as competent as you or feel threatened if you share the win with others. If you do accept help, or up level through guidance, you question your competence. Even though you know there are other experts in certain areas, you try to do your own research which comes with costs. 

To clarify if you fall into the superwoman/man category, answer the following questions:

• Do you struggle with sharing the work load in a project and feel you must work alone? 
• You are not an expert in a certain field, you know who is, but instead of asking for their help, you spend the whole weekend researching the topic and this costs you quality time with your family and a proper rest?
• Do you try to avoid team work and refuse to take any credit if you receive any type of assistance? 

What can you do about it today?

• Make a list of skills you learned from others: This is a good reminder that yes even though we might have gifts and talents, we also have learned certain skills from others. Think about the trainers and mentors who have shared their knowledge with you and helped you up-level in your career. This will help you realise that solo is not the how people create success.
• Start participating in more team work: Purposely seek out opportunities to work on projects with other people and realise that the teams achievements are also your achievements. You actually need to be able to communicate in many interviews or even in yearly reviews how well you performed as a team player. When you work as a team, you get the work done in an efficient manner which means more time for creativity and balance. 

And finally…

#5: The Natural genius

This is similar to the perfectionist. You might not just focus on getting a task perfect, but you want to know all the facts and information. If you don’t know everything you get really frustrated with yourself. You might have started in a new job that is extremely technical and you are not so technical. You are frustrated at how long it is taking you to grasp the information. You might start avoiding situations like meetings or managers until you feel you know it all. This is because your self-worth was based on being a natural genius. 

To clarify if you fall into the natural genius category, answer the following questions:

• Were you the smart one in the family or in a group?
• Did you perform well academically and are you trying to measure your work the same way now? 
• Do you struggle with ambiguity in projects and get really stressed reporting weekly results because there are grey areas in a project?
• Did you always get things done naturally but now it is not working for you that way now? 

What can you do about it today?

• Appreciate that great achievement takes life long learning. It is not just from studying the reports and knowing the facts that creates success but a strong work ethic is also required. Building confidence and resilience, being a team player, unlocking your creativity and allowing yourself to personally develop is also important. 
• Remember that you are levelling up. Growth comes from learning (hard things). If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t grow you. Remember it is a great thing that you are out of your comfort zone. It is okay to be the student again rather than the one who knows everything. 

And that is a rap! 

Did you relate to any category? You might find that you resonate with more than one category and that is perfectly normal. At one give time, you might feel like an expert and at another given time you might feel like a perfectionist. Please comment below or send me a DM to share your thoughts. Impostor syndrome can affect your sense of self-worth, happiness at work, and professional progression. It affects the majority of people at some stage in their life. 

Addressing your impostor syndrome will allow you to accept that you deserve your success, allow you to reach greater height and be much happier and balanced in work and life. 

If you are interested in breaking through your barriers, then I would love to chat with you. I offer a FREE clarity call which can be booked here.