The best ways to overcome imposter syndrome at work

One of the biggest stumbling blocks that can impede personal and professional growth is imposter syndrome (or “imposter phenomenon” as we discuss below). It doesn’t matter where you are in your career—it can affect everyone. If you let it, imposter syndrome can overwhelm your mental and physical health. Your performance deteriorates, and your confidence is in the gutter.

But the good news is that imposter syndrome is manageable, and in time, beatable. According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), up to 82% of surveyed individuals responded yes to experiencing imposter syndrome.

I’m here to tell you from experience that it is detectable, manageable, and beatable. And I did it twice at two different points in my career.

Each time I felt imposter syndrome take a hold of me, there were different reasons. But it was overwhelming, adding additional stress to an already stressful process of onboarding to a new company.

I’m writing this article today to help you beat it too.

The secret: you have to master your emotions. I didn’t do that the first time I suffered from imposter syndrome, but I did the second time after reading great books. But before we get to the solution, let’s understand the problem.

What is Imposter Syndrome?

Harvard University defines Imposter syndrome as “a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success. ‘Imposters’ suffer from chronic self-doubt and a sense of intellectual fraudulence that override any feelings of success or external proof of competence.”

There’s been some debate on the term, that instead it should be phrased, “imposter phenomenon“, as “syndrome” represents pathologizing of symptoms, and that it implies mental disease or disorder.

Any time that you feel you haven’t earned what you achieved, or feel like a fraud, you are experiencing imposter syndrome.

This can result in increased stress, anxiety, depression, and even burnout. It’s a toxic mix if you let it take hold of your mental focus.

Experiencing Imposter Syndrome at Google

I worked tirelessly throughout my career to earn technical certifications, volunteer for difficult projects, work extra hours, and complete two Master’s degrees. Yet, when I was hired at Google in November 2019, I somehow felt that I didn’t belong. That I wasn’t good enough. That I was a fraud among my peers.

Going into the office, the open-space floorplan encouraged sitting side-by-side and even directly across from colleagues. Throughout the day, random colleagues would hold informal discussions near my desk discussing highly technical topics, using industry acronyms and buzzwords that I sometimes recognized and understood, and others that I didn’t.

I became so intimidated that I kept my head down, sometimes even putting headphones in to try my best to just blend into my environment and stay silent.

I couldn’t be criticized if I didn’t have anything to say, was my thought at the time.

Of course, I earned my spot here, I tried to tell myself. I worked the past 12+ years at that point in my career to earn a spot at this desk. In this office. In this company. But somehow, I felt so out of place.

My specialization was networking and cybersecurity, but suddenly I’m taking new-hire training on artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data stream analytics. It quickly became overwhelming. This was all new to me.

“Why am I here?”

It was a simple question. But this became an exercise in self-reflection and affirmation.

As I started to talk more to my colleagues who are on my team, I explained my background and what I felt I could contribute to the team. It turns out, some of my area of expertise was exactly what they needed. I also learned that they have areas of specialization and then huge knowledge gaps – just like me.

Then, by chance, I had a random conversation with my manager while on business travel. I explained that I felt the ramp-up to learn and become impactful to the team felt enormous. I had so far to go, and only so much time before I would be thrown into important project responsibilities.

My manager expressed his understanding and reinforced confidence in my abilities and what he knows I can bring to the team. It isn’t easy going from a top performer on a team in a different company to now suddenly being surrounded by an entire team of top performers.

The stakes are raised, and expectations are higher, but at the end of the day, we’re all still human.

He shared with me anecdotes of how a colleague who I already came to admire on my team, who had started just six months prior to me, went through much of what I was experiencing at this moment. He had just completed an important artificial intelligence proof of concept for a customer that was quite impressive. If he could go from zero (where I felt I was at that moment) to presenting an AI use case to an important customer, surely I must be able to find my way.

And I finally did.

How to overcome Imposter Syndrome in 5 Steps

I want to help any of you reading to overcome your individual imposter syndrome or imposter phenomenon experiences. To do so, here are five steps anyone can take to pull yourself back into reality—and overcome imposter syndrome.

1) Write out your feelings

This may seem like a surprise, but writing out exactly how you feel will help your mind process the situation and apply logic. Why do you feel that you don’t belong in the current work environment? What gaps do you feel you have in experience, or qualifications? What do you feel are your strengths, and why you’re an asset to the team? Start writing, whether it’s with pen and paper or in an online document.

2) Start a conversation with trusted peers

It’s important—especially at a new company—to find and establish your own personal “board of directors”, or trusted peers. Try to find people who are in similar roles to yours, and that live your challenges every day.

You need to ask for feedback to grow.

Invite them to your meetings, whether it is with internal teams or external customers whenever possible. Ask for their perspective and constructive feedback on your performance and bounce ideas for growth off this team immediately after engagements.

Feedback is a gift, and we need to take it as often as possible whenever we enter a new role or have a challenging engagement. It’s important to receive feedback after the meeting as quickly as possible so the meeting is fresh in everyone’s minds. We want immediate critical feedback, not stale data points from over a week ago.

3) Find a mentor

Building on the second point, it’s important that you find a mentor as soon as possible whenever you change careers, jobs, or roles. I’ve already covered in detail the benefits of becoming or finding a mentor in a separate piece.

But remember that we’re all in the room for the right reasons. We have a diverse perspective, and it matters. That’s why we’re here. Learn the truths of the business with private “one on one’s” with as many team members as you can within your first 30-90 days.

4) Celebrate your achievements

Early on, its critical that you celebrate your achievements in your new role or company. It doesn’t matter how small or incremental they may seem to the bigger picture; a win is a win.

Did you pass a required internal training that is a critical milestone to your development? Write that down, and celebrate it.

Did you nail that presentation that you have been stressing over? Write that down, and celebrate it.

Pretty soon, your achievements list will grow to a respectable number, and it’s important that you also use these datapoints with your manager. It will help them keep track of your progress, and confirm you’re on the right path.

It will also give you a huge confidence boost that you’re not just a “new hire”—you’re getting stuff done.

5) Stop comparing yourself to your peers

The final step to overcoming imposter syndrome, or inadequacy compared to others, is stop comparing yourself to your peers in the first place. As I explained my personal journey as a new hire at Google, I was comparing myself to my peers subconsciously.

Hear a term I don’t know? I don’t belong.

Do they have a background that is completely different than mine, and thus a strength in something I don’t have? I don’t belong.

That kind of mental anguish is defeating and non-productive. You have to stop comparing yourself to your peers and their accomplishments, and remember you were brought onto the company and the team for a reason: your background, your prior achievements, your expertise.

Stop comparing yourself to other people. Be yourself.

Disclaimer: The author of this article is a current employee of Google. This article does not represent the views or opinions of his employer and is not meant to be an official statement for Google, or Google Cloud.