When I established my coaching business 14 years ago, Impostor Syndrome significantly influenced my ability to attract & retain clients – I felt not as competent as other coaches and was always full of doubts as to whether I could create value for high-achieving business owners! The irony is that even after all these years, I still have the same feelings but through a better understanding of them I am more equipped to minimise their impact on my interactions with business owners.

I was recently approached by a C-suite executive who was preparing to present to 60 peers about his division’s future through to 2030 and was seeking help to “defeat” the feeling he wasn’t worthy of addressing such an esteemed group.

I immediately recognized the parallels between us – both accomplished professionals questioning our value. This was not a question about our competence; it was about dealing with our perceptions of the value we bring to the table.

Over my journey to come to terms with such feelings, I explained I had come to understand that such feelings exist and thrive in darkness where outcomes are unknown. When I was faced with that darkness, I became consumed by worry about everything – past, present, and particularly the future. In such moments, worry’s best friend is fear, and together they wreaked havoc on my confidence to deliver value.

The solution I developed to deal with this feeling was to understand that if fear thrives in darkness, I have the choice to make the darkness go away by turning on a light. For me I turned on that light through allowing my fears a voice. By allowing them to explain themselves, I am shown there is no rational basis for the future they are imagining. In that moment, I will see there is a choice to take a different path that will create a positive outcome.

I believe no one can defeat Impostor Syndrome. In fact, the more I try to “defeat” or suppress it, the larger and more destructive it becomes – like trying to keep an inflated beach ball underwater. I might succeed temporarily, but eventually I will tire, and the beach ball will explode to the surface.

Given this, the conversation with the C-suite executive progressed to helping him develop a better understanding on how and when Impostor Syndrome was showing up in his life and an acceptance that it will always be there. The real challenge the executive faces is to recognize its onset and to make positive choices about dealing with it and its impacts.