‘The Audacious Guide to Navigating Imposter Syndrome,’ with DeAnna Avis and Natalia Cerezo Martin
Women in CX members DeAnna Avis and Natalia Cerezo Martin recently hosted a fantastic masterclass titled ‘The Audacious Guide to Navigating Imposter Syndrome’, both for our community and external audience.
The masterclass, which aimed to empower the audience to challenge the status quo, provided strategies for confronting and reframing imposter syndrome. In this article, we’ll go through some of the key takeaways from the session.
TL;DR
In short, imposter syndrome involves feeling inadequate despite evident success and fear of being ‘found out’.
You’re not alone—even some of the world's most successful people can sometimes feel like imposters.
Think of it as imposter moments rather than a whole syndrome to combat. When does it show up for you?
Imposter moments can show up in various ways. Natalia and DeAnna went through four personas: the perfectionist, the superhuman, the natural genius, and the expert. It’s normal to feel imposter moments from all four personas, but maybe one resonates more with you.
It’s not all bad! People who experience imposter syndrome tend to be more empathetic, make better connections and be great listeners.
Understand yourself. Through a Dialectical Behaviour Therapy skill called ‘wise mind’, you can try to observe your emotions without judging them. This can help you debunk some of the thoughts you are experiencing.
We need to talk about our achievements more. It’s not bragging! Start by celebrating awesome women in your network.
Understanding Imposter Syndrome
Speaking on the definition, Natalia explained that “imposter syndrome is a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist, despite evidence of success. And for those of us with imposter feelings, we might have become adept at essentially attributing our success largely to factors outside ourselves [...] As a result, there is a kind of nagging fear that eventually we will be found out, and it is exhausting.”
Sounds familiar?
Imposter syndrome can be frustrating, but Natalia and DeAnna took a different approach, reframing it as an ally and encouraging us to become more aware of our emotions and understand the reason for feeling like an imposter.
“Imposter syndrome is your ally. It will [help you] become more aware of your emotions so you understand the roots of those imposter moments,” Natalia said.
You’re Not Alone
For Natalia, imposter syndrome has shown up several times, for example, when working in the cyber security industry. She would often refrain from asking questions and making suggestions. “I've held myself back. And therefore I prevented other people from seeing things from a different point of view. And also to think of them differently.”
“I've held myself back. And therefore I prevented other people from seeing things from a different point of view.”
DeAnna, on the other hand, explained that imposter syndrome could show up for her because she didn’t go to university. “I used to feel imposter syndrome because compared to everyone else, you know, I felt underqualified.”
Showing images of Michelle Obama, Lady Gaga, Awkwafina and Viola Davis, women who openly acknowledge their struggles with imposter syndrome, DeAnna reminded us how common it is.
Realising that even some of the world's most successful women experience feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt is certainly comforting. And that’s the thing – you’re not alone!
DeAnna told the audience, “That's one message that we want you to take away from today is that it's not anything to be ashamed of.”
Imposter Moments
During the masterclass, we were encouraged to recognise and reframe ‘imposter moments’ as opportunities for growth and self-discovery. “We actually want you to change the narrative. We want you to start calling them imposter moments. They are not permanent, and we want you to become very aware of them,” Natalia said.
The speakers identified various types of imposter moments through four personas, encouraging the audience to raise a virtual hand when they recognised the following imposter moments:
The Perfectionist
You have a need to meet exceedingly high standards, which may be impossible to achieve. Unrealistic expectations also put a lot of pressure on you. A small mistake will make you question your own competence, and it's often a cover for feelings of inadequacy. A way this can show up is through micromanaging and not knowing how to delegate tasks. The perfectionist is often obsessing over little details, which can lead to you struggling with decision-making. Having such a fear of failure or making mistakes can also lead to procrastination.
The Superhuman
You are a high achiever who puts pressure on yourself to excel in all areas of life. You feel like you need to justify your accomplishments and success, and you think you need to work harder than others to achieve what you do. You will struggle to relax and feel guilty when taking breaks or doing leisure activities. You also feel stressed when you're not working and put a lot of pressure on yourself to perform. You're often working late and putting in more hours than you need to. Since you invest so much of yourself into your work, you may find it difficult to accept constructive criticism. When criticised, it can feel like it attacks the very core of your being.
The Natural Genius
You judge your competence based on how easy and fast it is to do something as opposed to your actual effort. Success might have come easily to you in the past. Therefore, when faced with a setback, your self-confidence suffers considerably because you expect things to be easy. You believe success comes from an inherent ability and not hard work, so you have very high standards of yourself. This often comes if you were naturally gifted at school and you didn't have to work hard. Then, later in life when you find that you do encounter obstacles, it can feel like something's wrong with you. You prefer to complete a task on your own and feel that asking for help is a sign of weakness. You think you need to do everything on your own and that you're incompetent if you need help. This might lead to you struggling to network efficiently and effectively, and you might find it hard to accept constructive criticism.
The Expert
You constantly strive to do more and improve your understanding, but you never feel satisfied with your level of knowledge. Despite being highly skilled, you underestimate your own experience and fear that others will discover your lack of expertise. As a result, you feel like an imposter and believe that you need to master every step of the way. You also feel like you need to constantly obtain certifications and training to prove your expertise, and you might struggle with procrastination.
“If you doubt yourself, shouldn't you also doubt your judgments of yourself?”
Perhaps one of these personas resonates with you more than the others, or maybe you feel a bit of them all. Regardless of how ‘imposter moments’ show up for you, you’re not the only one feeling them!
As Natalia said, “If you doubt yourself, shouldn't you also doubt your judgments of yourself when multiple people believe in you? Might it be time to believe in them?”
There is Good News
Although imposter syndrome makes us doubt ourselves, DeAnna also gave the audience some positive sides to imposter syndrome. “People that experience imposter syndrome are more empathetic, and we do connect more with people on a personal level. So, we're better listeners, we ask better questions, and we just connect more. So, it's not all bad,” she reassured us.
“People that experience imposter syndrome are more empathetic, and we do connect more with people on a personal level.”
DeAnna also mentioned the dangers of not feeling any imposter syndrome at all. Can you think of anyone who never doubts themselves for a second, charging ahead without questioning their own judgment? “They're scary people. You wouldn't want to not have it. So it's a question of how can we use it?”
Understand Your Emotions
DeAnna explained that there are healthy and toxic imposter moments. The first step is to know, understand, and recognise when you are in one of those moments. What can you do when you're experiencing imposter moments? Once you recognise that you are, DeAnna advises you to use a Dialectical Behavior Therapy skill called wise mind to observe your emotions. It's a Venn diagram that includes your emotional and rational minds.
You can list out all of the emotions that you're feeling that are causing self-doubt in that moment. On the other side, you can ask the logical side of your brain what logic knows about this. For example, when have you done something similar? What skills do you have? The middle of that Venn diagram is called the wise mind. It's neither too cold nor too emotional. It's the truth in between. Therefore, it's essential to observe your thoughts without judging them.
“Be curious. Let's break the challenges into smaller management goals [...] Whenever you go like, ‘Oh my God, you're not really good at this.’ In reality, what you're saying to yourself is, ‘I think it would be beneficial for me if I understood more,’” DeAnna told us.
Empowerment and Support
Natalia talked about how, especially as women, we feel like we have to be humble and not brag. “We actually need to normalise success and share them regularly. So start creating that environment, but also start praising people in public, especially women. If you can, you know, just say, ‘Hey, I really appreciated that thing you did. I think that was amazing.’”
To wrap us up, DeAnna shared a quote by Barbara Corcoran, “Thank God you doubt yourself because the one thing that I have learned that is true of every single person who is exceptional in whatever they are doing is self-doubt.”
“So self-doubt is not a bad thing. Believe it or not, it is not a bad thing. It's a good thing. And it's about using that to drive you forward, not allowing it to shrink you back,” DeAnna concluded.
Watch the Masterclass and Join our Workshop
Interested in learning more? Become a WiCX member and watch the full masterclass now! Natalia will also be hosting exclusive workshops on imposter syndrome for our community members on March 28th.
