The Key to Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

One of the obstacles I had to overcome in my leadership journey

That I still have to be aware of to this day.

I was promoted very quickly in my career.

I had two things I was facing

I was young
My peers had years of experience over me.

And I did the thing that a lot of us do

I compared myself to them.

The skills they possessed vs. the skills I possessed.

The knowledge they had vs. the knowledge I had.

And because of that, I created a narrative

I wasn’t smart enough or skilled enough.

And sometimes that voice left me questioning if I was “good enough” to be in that role.

All of those narratives resulted in me not asking for help.

And by doing so, I spent time and energy trying to figure it out on my own.

Which delayed moving projects along as quickly as they could have.

Working endless hours that in reality, I didn’t have to.

All I had to do was be vulnerable.

Ask for help.

It took me years to start putting this into action.

What I realized was that when I started asking for help, I opened the door for them to do the same thing.

We were a team.

Whether it was my peers or my team.

They needed me, just as much as I needed them.

To this day, I constantly have to be aware of this.

Asking myself, “Am I spending my time on something that someone can teach me much more quickly”?

And make the conscious choice to ask for help.

To give myself that time and energy back.

Have you had to overcome this obstacle?

What did you do?