No Way He Has Imposter Syndrome
Neil Patrick Harris shared that he has imposter syndrome on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast. So a Tony, Emmy, and Screen Actor Guild Award winner faces imposter syndrome!
How can such an accomplished professional still be plagued by fear of failure?
Most of us (including Tony winners) experience Imposter Syndrome whenever we take on new challenges, embrace learning new skills, or seek new responsibilities.
Smart, bold, successful people expect a lot from themselves, and starting something new and different often brings on self-doubt.
Will this new job finally reveal my limits?
Will this skill be the one I don't master?
Will this team is the one I don't lead well?
The fear of being seen as an imposter can trigger predictable reactions; some people work endlessly to quickly gain expertise, others exhaust themselves trying to be perfect, and many have trouble asking for help.
Unfortunately, these reactions don't suppress the fear of failing.
Nancy is a new client. She accepted a new sales leadership role in April. Unfortunately, the former manager left abruptly, depriving Nancy of hearing his insights on the territory or customers. Over the last five months, Nancy has worked tirelessly to become an instant expert. However, each unique situation floods her with self-doubt. She understands her expectations are unrealistic, but she can not quell her ongoing fear of failing at this job.
Nancy wants this feeling to stop, but emotions can't be wished away; they come of their own volition. Striving to become an instant expert or performing tasks perfectly doesn't work. What does work is to take time to notice the emotion and accept the feeling that comes with it.
After all, we experience hunger frequently, and most of us don't react to the first hunger pang by eating a Snickers bar. We notice our feeling of hunger and then plan our response (salad perhaps?). Imposter Syndrome feelings remind us to be alert because we're tackling something new.
Nancy now notices her Imposter Syndrome feelings. Her fears no longer hijack her day. She no longer mindlessly takes action, hoping to quell these feelings. . Instead, she treats imposter syndrome as a helpful alert system, breaths through her feeling, and thoughtfully moves through her day.