Imposter Syndrome

Today I feel like an imposter. I have worked in some form of operations for over ten years, but today I feel like I am beginner level; this is called Imposter Syndrome, and it is a nasty bug.

My background includes over ten years of working in some sort of operations role. I have worked as a retail store manager, Chief of Staff, Associate Publisher, Vice President of Operations, Business Consultant, and more during the last ten years, yet I still struggle with confidence. My background and skill set often hide underneath my introverted extrovert self. I am competent in completing a large presentation in front of investors or selling myself when I am behind a screen or in a comfort zone but put me in a room of my superiors and a foreign topic. No matter how confident I might feel or how well-versed in the subject I am, I will feel a sense of failure or nerves.

I attend workshops on self-confidence and sharpen my skills every chance I get, but I still feel inadequate at times. I believe that imposter syndrome hits women harder than men. Men often air on the side of confidence, and women can tend to be more submissive or take a back seat. I want to share an experience that I had in a meeting in which I felt incredibly prepared for and how I felt like an utter imposter at the end. I came into the meeting with a podcast I wanted to share with the team that I felt could bolster morale and felt it was a good listening experience as we grew as a company, I quickly started discussing the subject matter, and a female coworker immediately jumped in and took over the conversation. I felt so incredibly defeated; she had heard the podcast and turned the conversation into how the podcast fit our strides as a company. Instead of standing up and taking the conversation back over, I let her finish and decided not to interrupt. This scenario left me feeling insecure and fearful that I would ever amount to a strong position at the table. If I could go back in time, I would politely interrupt myself and feel confident in my conversation. Ultimately imposter syndrome is a hindrance to your confidence.

Confidence is critical as a female entrepreneur or female in business. To make up for my moment of feeling like an imposter, I began to write myself sticky notes and leave them all over my house and office. I would write myself notes of encouragement or even notes just reminding myself to have a great day. We are our biggest supporter, so love yourself and smile!