How to conquer ‘Imposter Syndrome’

Imposter Syndrome can be a particularly pernicious problem for women, but it can also be a predictor of success.

Rowan Brookes was asked to leave school at 15 because of her “challenging” behaviour and so it is hardly surprising that she can feel out-of-place in a university environment.

Brookes has overcome her less-than-promising start to adulthood through hard work and persistence, toiling through nights as a waitress while studying for two undergraduate degrees and a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

Today, as Dr Brookes, she is director of Education for the School of Biological Sciences and the course leader for the Bachelor of Science Advanced — Global Challenges at Monash University.

Yet despite her hard-won achievements, Brookes says she is still dogged by the feeling that she is not meant to be there.

“Throughout my life, I feel I’ve been an outsider and, in many situations I’ve been in, that it would only be a matter of time before I was found about,” She says.

What Brookes is describing is known as the Imposter Syndrome — a feeling of “phoniness in people who believe that they are not intelligent, capable or creative despite evidence of high achievement”, according to the psychologists who coined the term.

This syndrome is found in people who are actually very capable and highly motivated to achieve.

Brookes’ self-doubt is compounded by the fact that, in academia, she stands out among colleagues who are mostly older and male.

“About once week, one of my colleagues will ask me if I am a student at the university because I don’t fit the general mould of what an academic in a leadership position is”.

Brookes expects to never be free of Imposter Syndrome, but has developed some coping strategies to ensure it does not hold her back.

She says she chooses to “lean in” to uncomfortable situations because she knows they will help develop personally and professionally.

“I use mindfulness techniques to notice thoughts and emotions and embodied reactions and I put them aside. They are not serving me and nor are they allowing me to serve other people through my work,” she says.

Brookes also reflects on the “little wins” outside of work, such as the goals she achieves through running.

“That allows me know that I am capable of more than I realise and I can draw strength from that into my professional career.”

Social psychologist, Amy Cuddy, is a proponent of the “fake it till you make it” coping strategy, based on the idea that if you act confident, real confidence will follow. https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are

However, Brookes disagrees, warning that “faking it” could result in people putting themselves forward for roles for which they are not ready.

“That can do damage to their confidence. It can create headaches for colleagues and damage the reputations of the organisations they are working for,” she says.

“And we have seen this in the rise and rise of the shallow expert — where people are speaking or acting without authority or depth of knowledge.”

If people want to put their hands up for a new position, and the Imposter Syndrome rears its ugly head, they could, instead, do an honest evaluation of their skills and work out if they can quickly acquire any missing skills.

The CEO of Screen Queensland, Tracey Vieira, has a different point of view. To her, “fake it till you make it” means ignoring the fear and doing it anyway.

“I feel like I lived that philosophy. We have to be brave enough to stick our hands up earlier [for jobs] so we are not missing out on that opportunity,” she says.

Vieira says she feels self-doubt every day, but does not let it get in her way.

Since taking up her role three years ago, Vieira has revitalised an organisation that was in crisis (having churned through two CEOs in quick succession) and has helped attract a record-breaking amount of film industry business to the State.

She has also collected some non-executive director roles, which include RSPCA Queensland, QMusic and the Sunshine Coast Arts Advisory Board.

Vieira says Imposter Syndrome is a fear-based response and that she gained confidence through spending 10 years working in the US, which is not plagued by a “Tall Poppy Syndrome”, where successful people are cut down to size by others.

“In America, they celebrate success in a bigger way than we do in Australia,” she says. (Vieira was in the US as executive vice president with Australian government-industry partnership AusFilm).

She says she was fortunate to also have some mentors there who encouraged and supported her.

Like Brookes, Vieira challenges herself by seeking out uncomfortable situations.

Last year, her New Year’s resolution was to get out of her comfort zone, so she went rock-climbing and did a fire-walk, applied for the Telstra Business Women’s Awards, listened to the podcasts she would normally skip over and accepted every speaking engagement that came her way.

“Normally, I am very uncomfortable in the spotlight. I am very happy on the business side of what I do,” she says.

“But the only way you can break those fears is to embrace them,” she says.

Rowan Brookes and Tracey Vieira both won Telstra Business Women’s Awards in 2016. Brookes won a Telstra Victorian Business Women’s Public Sector and Academia Award and Vieira was 2016 Telstra Queensland Business Woman of the Year.

The Telstra Business Woman’s Awards shine a light on outstanding business women in Australia and Asia. Entries are currently open. Nominate an outstanding business woman now: https://www.telstrabusinesswomensawards.com/nominate/

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