1.
How to overcome imposter syndrome
&
make better use of your resources
Andra Zaharia
Freelance Content Marketer focusing on cybersecurity & privacy

2.
What exactly is
imposter
syndrome?
“That special brand of
disillusionment that
makes you feel worthless
despite plenty of
evidence to the
contrary.”
Coined by psychologists Pauline Rose
Clance and Suzanne Imes in the 1970s
and used to describe her observations
during therapeutic sessions with
high-achieving women.

3.
What imposter
syndrome feels
like

4.
It can also feel like:
● Inferiority
● Inadequacy and not fitting in
● Not internalizing success
● Believing you’re a fraud
● Unhappiness and anxiety
● Hesitancy and indecision
● Shame or guilt
● Self-doubt and self-sabotage
● Believing your achievements were based on luck
● Beating yourself up for things you can’t control

5.
Follow James.

6.
Imposter
syndrome can
become toxic.
It can make you:
● Less productive
● Risk-averse
● Anxious
● Isolated
● Unhappy
● Depressed

7.
Read the article.

8.
Why we need to talk about imposter syndrome

9.
70%
of people will experience at least one episode of impostor
syndrome in their lives
Source.

10.
62.5%
of people working in Marketing, advertising, and PR have
experienced imposter syndrome in the past year
Source.

11.
68.37%
of people working in in Information Technology have
experienced imposter syndrome in the past year
Source.

12.
86.96%
of people working in Creative Arts and Design have
experienced imposter syndrome in the past year
Source.

13.
It can occur in all
kinds of settings
● A new environment
● Academic contexts
● In the workplace
● In social interactions
● In relationships
(platonic or romantic)

14.
Read the article.

15.
Read the tweet.

16.
“It wasn’t until I started talking to others about my fears
of being a phony that these fears started to go away.”

17.
Imposter syndrome is
not a personal
problem.
It’s a cultural one.
● It’s a reflection of daily
discrimination &
stereotyping
● It highlights how
organizational culture is
lacking
● Data reveals the scale of
the problem
● More stories uncover what
it’s like to experience it

18.
Imposter syndrome is defined
by 6 characteristics

19.
OVERWORKING
“If I work harder, I’ll feel
better about myself.”
IMPOSTER SYNDROME
“I’m not good enough to be
here.”
FEAR OF FAILURE
“If I don’t work harder and
harder, I’ll certainly fail.”
SELF-BLAME
“It’ s my fault that I can’t be
as productive as X..”
SOMATIZATION &
DECREASED PRODUCTIVITY
Imposter
syndrome goes
round and round
1. The Impostor Cycle

20.
Read the article.

21.
Victoria Wood, CBE - comedian, actress, singer and songwriter, screenwriter, producer and director.

22.
It boils down to
various types of
fear
The fear of not
knowing enough.
To fear of not
fitting in /
not being accepted.
The fear of failure.

23.
2. The need to be special or to be the very best
“Impostors often dismiss their own talents and conclude
that they are stupid when they are not the very best.”
Source.

24.
Read the article.

25.
"Impostors often feel overwhelmed, disappointed, and
overgeneralize themselves as failures when they are
unable to fulfill their perfectionistic goals."
Source.
3. Superman/Superwoman aspects

26.
Read the article.

27.
“For Impostors making mistakes and not performing at
the highest standard precipitates feelings of shame and
humiliation.”
Source.
4. Fear of failure

28.
Read the article.

29.
"Impostors attribute their success to external factors
(luck) to a greater degree than non-Impostors."
Source.
5. Denial of competence and Discounting praise

30.
Follow Lindsay.

31.
"For example, when their successes are unusual in their family
or their peers, Impostors often feel less connected and more
distant. They are overwhelmed by guilt about being different
(Clance,1985) and worry about being rejected by others.”
Source.
6. Fear and guilt about success

32.
Read the article.

33.
Source: The creative cycle

34.
20 things that help you
manage imposter syndrome

35.
“If you frame ideas as experiments, you can’t technically fail at
anything. You're just going to prove or disprove a theory you've
arrived at through experimenting. And if it doesn't work the first
time, you can iterate and try something different. It doesn't work
until it does.”
1. Reframe failure as experimentation.
Follow Paul.

36.
“Courage doesn’t come from an absence of fear; it comes
from being afraid and moving forward anyway.”
“You’re afraid of what you haven’t already done enough.”
2. Build and improve your process.
Follow Paul.

37.
3. Build self-awareness.
➔ Act consciously instead of reacting to people & events
➔ Learn to genuinely to appreciate and love yourself
➔ Be authentically happy
➔ Enjoy life experiences more deeply
➔ Manage and redirect your negative thoughts and
emphasize positive ones
➔ Build positive and rewarding interpersonal
relationships
➔ Live bravely and take more chances
➔ Adapt faster to new situations
➔ Build a life and career you truly love

38.
4. Remember it’s temporary.
Read the article.

39.
5. Get perspective from others.
Read the article.

40.
Try the
My Unique Ability
exercise
Source.

41.
6. Build a support system.
Read the article.

42.
7. Try therapy and coaching.
➔ Build self-awareness
➔ Understand your reactions
➔ See your thoughts from a different
perspective
➔ Solve underlying issues that lead to
self-doubt
➔ Learn how to cope with challenges
➔ Become kinder to yourself

43.
8. Try journaling.
Gratitude journal Achievement journal
● X things I’m grateful
for
● What I’m learning from
my challenges
● People I’m grateful for
● The best part of my day
● Achieved goals
● Milestones
● Compliments and
recommendations
● Unexpected praise and
opportunities

44.
9. Avoid generalization.
I never do anything right. >>> Sometimes I screw up and
that’s okay. (failure = experimentation)
I’m never going to be a pro at this. >>> I’m not the best
at this right now but I made a plan to master the craft.
I always fall short. >>> I can’t always be the best at
this but giving it my best effort is good enough for me.
This always happens to me. >>> This happens to me
sometimes. I’m going to reflect on it and see if it’s
real, why it happens, and what I can do about it.

45.
10. Stop apologizing
Avoid apologizing for:
● your beliefs
● your desires
● your goals
● your past
● the fact that you are
a woman/man
● things you can’t
control.
When you don’t apologize,
you:
● Feel empowered
● Become more confident
● Increase your
self-respect
● Strengthen your
integrity.

46.
"The sorrys are taking up airtime that should be used for
making logical, declarative statements, expressing
opinions and relaying impressions of what we want."
Source.

47.
11. Believe in your ability to learn
Follow Donn.

48.
12. Reach out to people you admire.

49.
13. Share your own imposter stories.
ImposterSyndrome.life

50.
Follow Chad.

51.
14. Read good books.
● The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander & Benjamin Zander
● Thanks for the Feedback by Douglas Stone
● The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
● If Only I'd Listen To Myself by Jacques Salomé & Sylvie Galland
● The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday
● Becoming by Michelle Obama
● Linchpin by Seth Godin

52.
15. Unpack feedback
Who is it for? Is it for them?
“The goal isn’t to serve everyone. The goal is to serve the right
people.”
“We're counting on you to trust yourself enough to speak your
own version of our future.”
Seth Godin
Read the article.
Read the article.

53.
16. Give yourself some credit.
Read the article.

54.
17. Remember that nobody knows what they’re doing.
“Nobody knows really what they're doing and there's
two ways to go with that information. One is to be
afraid and the other is to be liberated, and I choose to be
liberated by it.”
Conan O'Brien

55.
“There aren't really any experts, though, just people
further along in their individual journeys.”
Paul Jarvis - Everything I know

56.
“In the beginning, you might fear that you won’t be successful. Once you
achieve some success, you might be afraid that you won’t get any more.
Once you have a lot of success, you might worry about letting down your
now-sizable audience if you change anything or say the wrong thing.
At any stage, there are always fears.”
18. Define what enough is for you.

57.
19. Even if it doesn’t go away, you can handle it.
Follow Lindsay.

58.
20.

59.
SOME imposter
syndrome can be
a GOOD thing.
● Shows you’re
challenging yourself
● Keeps your ego from
ballooning
● Indicates progress
● Points out you're
gaining experience
Read the article.

60.
Read the article at:
https://andrazaharia.com/imposter-syndrome/

61.
Read more stories
about imposter
syndrome:
● Impostor Syndrome: How I Fool
My Bosses, and You Too
● A few words on “Impostor
Syndrome” & women in STEM
● The three levels of
self-awareness
● I can handle my critics –
apart from the nasty voice in
my head

62.
Find me here:
AndraZaharia.com | @andrazaharia