The Leader Who Is Not Good Enough: The Real Face of Impostor Syndrome
When appearances collapse
Imagine entering the office. Everyone looks up at you. You are the leader, the decision-maker, whose word is golden. From the outside, you radiate confidence, clear strategy and leadership virtue. Inside your head, however, a small, ever-echoing voice whispers: „You don't deserve it. It's only a matter of time before you get caught.”
This voice is none other than the impostor syndrome driver sitting in a chair, his invisible shadow. We know this. With more than two and a half decades of leadership experience and more than ten years of coaching behind us, we've seen enough successful business owners, managers, directors and CEOs who secretly feared that someone would find out they weren't really good enough. He is not the genius that others make him out to be.
Do you think you're alone in this? CoachLab's experience and real statistics show otherwise. Surveys show that managers up to 78%-a also experience the impostor syndrome driverfeeling of a career. This is not a sign of weakness, but of successful, responsible people inherent in. Question, how you can get rid of it so that it doesn't stifle your potential.
What is Impostor Syndrome and why does it affect Successful Leaders?
The impostor syndrome was first described in 1978 by psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes. The essence is that the people affected, although objectively are very successful and competent, they are unable to internalise their successes. They attribute everything to luck, chance or hard work, never to their own innate or acquired their knowledge, their expertise.
When you get up to the management level, the pressure is incredible. You have to make decisions all the time, deal with new and unfamiliar situations, and often „alone at the top”. A leadership role provides a kind of „stage” where mistakes are much more likely to be made than in a subordinate position. A impostor syndrome driver for him, this situation is the perfect breeding ground for doubt. He is constantly confronted with new things, and it is a natural part of development that he does something wrong at first - but then the inner critical voice immediately comes calling: „You see, I told you, but you don't understand!”
This feeling may be particularly pronounced in people who have one of the 5 types of imposter syndrome Perfekcionista or the Expert fall into the category. They are the ones who have unrealistically high expectations of themselves and feel like a fraud for every little mistake.
Examples of what we see every day at CoachLab
There is no better example of this phenomenon than real life. Let us tell you about Stephen.
A case like this...
Stephen, Regional Sales Director of a large multinational company. He manages a team of more than 85 people, the numbers are growing steadily and everyone is amazed at how with expertise built the entire sales network from scratch. Yet Stephen was terrified. But terrified!
At the beginning of the coaching process, she said, „With every promotion, I wonder when they'll realize that they're really just Lucky van. I'm not even good at strategy, I just do the same old tried and tested stuff. I don't dare to question the decisions of the top management because I'm afraid of being found out: I'm talking nonsense.”
Stephen is typical impostor syndrome driver was: all his knowledge, experience and despite the result, he didn't believe it was his, and his alone. External success only added to his internal anxiety. He believed he had to compensate for this perceived lack by working harder and knowing more - which, of course, led to burnout.
You see, it is not competence that is lacking. The leadership impostor syndrome in his chair with an inside, cognitive distortion; a belief that clarify should and must be overwritten. This is where the coaching as solution enters the picture.
The Harvard Business Review and Real Questions
It is important not only to understand the problem on a personal level, but also to look at it from a scientific point of view. A Harvard Business Review (HBR) also highlights this issue, stressing that the impostor syndrome drivers level is not necessarily a complete lack of confidence, but rather an overconfidence that can undermine performance.
„Impostor syndrome is not a disease to be cured. It is an experience. When we recognize that many successful, intelligent people live with it, it allows us to feel less alone and to begin to recover.” - Amy Cuddy, social psychologist and TED speaker, has also published in HBR on the topic.
The research and our Our experience also confirm that the problem should not be eliminated, but relink to. The key is in there, how treat the symptoms of the syndrome.
- What you can do as a leader with the fear that when will we find out, are you not good enough?
- How to can you allow yourself to be vulnerable without looking weak?
- Why it is important to recognise the impostor syndrome drivers the dark side?
The answer to the awareness raisinglies in. This is the first step towards change!
Solution:Treating Impostor Syndrome with Coaching
Let's have a look, how it works executive coaching in practice, if the impostor syndrome driverfor the position of.
At CoachLab, we don't offer you a cookie-cutter, fancy way of doing things, we offer the real thing, human problems focused, university-level training, studies and expertise based on real-world experience we are working on.
Key steps in the coaching process:
- The Facts Mirror: We help you confront your inner feeling (the „I'm a fraud”) with the with facts and the results (the management Your experience and company numbers). Syndrome is about rejecting the facts; we help you to be guided by the data, not your beliefs.
- Framing the Self: Instead of trying to be the „perfect” leader, which is the perfectionist impostor syndrome driver one of the main pitfalls, you learn authentically and of course work. We focus on using your true strengths.
- The Strength of Vulnerability: As Brené Brown says, vulnerability is not a weakness. A leader must learn to ask for help, to say no, delegate, and to admit when you have made a mistake. This transparency increases the reliability and credibility in front of the team, does not diminish!
A our in our view, the management impostor syndrome in the long run, it leads to burnout, indecision, lack of delegation and stagnation of growth. You can't afford to let this inner voice hinders your company or your career! An external coach, expert partner, a executive coach, can help you see the situation objectively.
Table 1: From Deceptive Feelings to Authentic Leadership
With the help of coaching, internal cognitive distortions begin to be corrected along the lines of reality.
| The Perfectionist Impostor Sense | The Reality Based, Credible Leader |
| „I don't know enough yet.” (Procrastination) | Accept that the Experience continuous learning. |
| „If I ask for help, it turns out I'm weak.” | Picture from delegate; know that the team reinforces. |
| „Only luck/incident helped.” (Refusal of success) | Recognises the his own role in both successes and failures. |
| „I'm afraid of criticism and being caught.” | Open on for feedback; it sees criticism as a learning opportunity. |
This change does not happen overnight. An Leadership Coaching or Career coaching process helps you replace old beliefs with proven facts and finally experience the success you've worked so hard to achieve.
The Next Step: don't be alone at the summit
If you knew yourself, and impostor syndrome driverIf you're under pressure, don't wait for anxiety to turn to burnout. Driving is essentially a lonely role, but with CoachLab's support you don't have to be alone with your problems. We know what's behind the pretence and have the our expertise at, how help the drivers your credibility strengthen.
The impostor syndrome driveri sitting in the chair is just an „unreal” fear, a belief. It is time for your experience, your knowledge and your real achievements to take over.
Why should you act now? Because the real impostor syndrome driveris causing, or will soon cause, damage to the company. Fear inhibits innovation and bold but necessary decisions.
We help you to replace your inner voice with your leadership voice!
A CoachLab Coaching Services with complete discretion and the highest professional with experience is at your disposal. Check it out, how much it costs your peace of mind and your credibility:
Find out more about our coaching prices and opportunities: https://CoachLab.hu/coaching-arak/
Some questions/answers
What is imposter syndrome at management level?
Impostor syndrome at the managerial level means that, despite his or her outstanding objective successes, position and expertise, the individual feels that he or she is actually a fraud and does not deserve the position. He fears being „found out” and constantly over-performs due to a perceived lack of competence, which can lead to burnout. This typically affects perfectionist leaders.
Who benefits from Executive Coaching if you have imposter syndrome?
Executive coaching is particularly useful for managers who are impostor syndrome driverburden of the past. The coach helps you to confront your internal, cognitive distortions with your real results and the facts. The aim is to build credibility, accept vulnerability and strengthen your ability to make decisions despite the critical voice within.
What type of imposter syndrome is most common in drivers?
Two types are most common among managers: the Perfekcionista (setting unrealistic goals, feeling like a fraud even if you make a single mistake) and Expert (constantly afraid of not knowing „enough”, so never feeling prepared enough to make a decision).
What are the signs of imposter syndrome in leadership?
The main signs are: inability to accept praise, belittling success („it was just a fluke”), over-complicating or procrastinating tasks, lack of delegation (because „only I can do it well”), and a constant fear of having their shortcomings revealed to colleagues or superiors.
