Fraud Syndrome: Feeling Like an Imposter

Do you harbor the fear that one of these days the people you work with will realize that you’re not REALLY as good as they think you are? That you’re in a higher level job than you’re really capable of performing? There are many very bright, competent, well-employed, HIGHLY EFFECTIVE people who suffer from some form of fraud syndrome. The operant word here is "suffer." From the people I have coached, I have learned that every person’s fraud syndrome is unique, so there is no single one-size-fits-all antidote for it. But here are some strategies that seem to apply broadly.

1. It is the nature of high-level work that you don’t always feel completely on top of it. Whether it’s the sheer volume of work you are managing, the sheer weight of the responsibility, or the sheer complexity of the challenges you keep in your head, if you are working to capacity, you will sometimes feel "in over your head."
2. Learn to be OK with that feeling. It’s part of the landscape you live in now.
3. Trust the sequence of events that led you to this position, the people who believed in you along the way, the hard work you did at every step, the personal challenges you have come through. It is no accident you are where you are.
4. Take a look at what your fraud syndrome protects you from. What is the payoff for stressing about this? For some people, it’s a distraction from something else that’s going on. I last experienced it at full throttle when I was a systems analyst. Stressing about my competence was actually more bearable than the underlying truth I eventually had to confront: I didn’t want to do systems work any more – and I had no idea what else I would do. Feeling overwhelmed by all the new software I had to learn was unpleasant, but facing my unknown future was absolutely terrifying.
5. You always, always, always have choice. If the stress of being in this field at this level is not sustainable for you at this time in your life, figure out what needs to change, and change it. Take a job at another level, renegotiate your workload, change fields. I don’t mean to be cavalier about these kinds of changes – they are huge, life-changing transitions. But isn’t that perhaps just what’s called for? And if you don’t want to leave the field, commit to learning how to do the work in a more sustainable way.
6. Be sure you have other things in your life to counterbalance the stressors. It’s a simple concept, I know, but you wouldn’t believe the number of people who WORK all the time, every day, year in and year out, at the office and not at the office, constantly. Or maybe you would believe it . . . ! If you are deeply depleted, it’s pretty impossible to feel good about yourself or to enjoy your life.

Need some help sorting it all out? Contact me for an initial consultation at no charge.

Copyright 2004, Sharon Teitelbaum.

Sharon Teitelbaum is a Work-Life and Career Coach who works with high achieving women with young children, people at mid-career, and professionals seeking greater career satisfaction or work-life balance. Her book, Getting Unstuck Without Coming Unglued: Restoring Work-Life Balance, is available at her website, http://www.STcoach.com.

Certified as a Professional Certified Coach (PCC), Sharon works by phone with clients around the world and in-person in Boston.

She delivers keynotes and workshops on work-life balance issues, has been in national publications including The New York Times and Working Mother Magazine, and has appeared on cable and network television. She publishes Strategies for Change, a newsletter offering practical tips for work-life success.

Sharon has been married for 30 years and is the mother of two amazing young women. You can contact her here.