Latest / The Confident Entrepreneur With Jennifer Ann Johnson / Imposter Syndrome Is Lying to You With Jennifer Ann Johnson
Transcript
- 0:37Jennifer Johnson: Today, we're diving into one of the most persistent and painful challenges that entrepreneurs face.
- 0:43Jennifer Johnson: That nagging voice that asks, Am I good enough to be doing this?
- 0:47Jennifer Johnson: You know exactly what I'm talking about.
- 0:50Jennifer Johnson: That moment when you're about to hit publish on your website and suddenly you're paralyzed by the thought that someone else might discover you don't know what you're doing.
- 0:58Jennifer Johnson: That feeling when you're preparing for a client presentation and you're convinced they're going to figure out that you're just making it up as you go along.
- 1:07Jennifer Johnson: That voice in your head that whispers, who do you think you are?
- 1:11Jennifer Johnson: Every time you consider raising your prices or pursue a bigger opportunity.
- 1:15Jennifer Johnson: If you've ever felt like a fraud despite your achievements, if you've ever attributed your success to luck rather than competence, you know what I mean.
- 1:26Jennifer Johnson: And you are absolutely not alone.
- 1:29Jennifer Johnson: Today I want to talk about why this happens, why it's so common among entrepreneurs and high achievers, and most importantly, how to move through it so you can show up confidently in your business and life, regarding what your inner critic is saying.
- 1:42Jennifer Johnson: Let's start by understanding what imposter syndrome actually is, because I think there's a lot of confusion around this term.
- 1:49Jennifer Johnson: It gets thrown around pretty loosely.
- 1:52Jennifer Johnson: It's not just feeling nervous before a big presentation or being humble about your achievements, it's a persistent pattern about doubting your accomplishments and fearing that you're going to be exposed as a fraud.
- 2:04Jennifer Johnson: The term was first coined by psychologists Pauline Clantz and Suzanne Imuz in 1978 when they identified a particularly common, uh this particularly common among high-achieving women.
- 2:16Jennifer Johnson: But what they've learned since is that imposter syndrome affects people of all genders, backgrounds, and professions, and is especially prevalent among entrepreneurs.
- 2:26Jennifer Johnson: So here's what imposter syndrome typically looks like in practice.
- 2:30Jennifer Johnson: You achieve something significant, but instead of feeling proud, you feel like somehow you fooled people into thinking you're more capable than you are.
- 2:39Jennifer Johnson: You attribute your success to external factors like luck and timing, and you live in constant fear that the next challenge will be the one that exposes your incompetence.
- 2:50Jennifer Johnson: I remember the first time I had a major client in my journey.
- 2:54Jennifer Johnson: And instead of celebrating, I spent the entire weekend consumed with anxiety as to whether or not I could actually deliver what I'd promised.
- 3:02Jennifer Johnson: I was convinced that I had somehow oversold my capabilities and that they would figure it out, and I was in over my head.
- 3:10Jennifer Johnson: That, my friends, is imposter syndrome.
- 3:14Jennifer Johnson: And entrepreneurism and imposter syndrome are, I would think, the perfect storm because the very nature of building a business creates conditions that feed our deepest insecurities about our own capabilities.
- 3:27Jennifer Johnson: When you're an entrepreneur, you're constantly stepping into unfamiliar territory, and you're wearing a lot of different hats, learning new skills on the fly and figuring things out as you go.
- 3:37Jennifer Johnson: That constant state of being a beginner can trigger this feeling because you rarely feel like you've mastered anything before you move on to the next challenge.
- 3:48Jennifer Johnson: Unlike climbing a corporate ladder where your established paths and benchmarks and you have all of this stuff charted out for you, entrepreneurship is uncharted territory.
- 3:58Jennifer Johnson: You're creating your own path.
- 4:00Jennifer Johnson: The absence of that roadmap can trigger the imposter syndrome because you don't have a way to validate your approach.
- 4:09Jennifer Johnson: And as an entrepreneur, your name is on everything.
- 4:12Jennifer Johnson: Your reputation, your livelihood, and often your personal financial security are tied directly to your performance.
- 4:19Jennifer Johnson: And this can really amplify imposter syndrome because the stakes are incredibly personal and incredibly high.
- 4:28Jennifer Johnson: Social media and business media love to tell the stories of entrepreneurs who came out of nowhere to achieve massive success.
- 4:37Jennifer Johnson: What these stories don't show are the years of preparation, the failures to get to those breakthroughs.
- 4:45Jennifer Johnson: Imposter syndrome doesn't look the same for everybody.
- 4:48Jennifer Johnson: Dr.
- 4:49Jennifer Johnson: Valerie Young, who has extensively researched this topic, identified five different types that show up in different ways.
- 4:56Jennifer Johnson: One is the perfectionist.
- 4:58Jennifer Johnson: Who out there is a perfectionist?
- 5:00Jennifer Johnson: I know that I am not, but this is driven by the belief that anything less than perfect is a failure.
- 5:07Jennifer Johnson: I see it a lot of times with entrepreneurs who won't launch their product until it's perfect, which of course never happens.
- 5:14Jennifer Johnson: So then their product never seems to get to market.
- 5:18Jennifer Johnson: Then you have your expert.
- 5:20Jennifer Johnson: They're afraid to apply for jobs or speak up in meetings because they don't know everything that there is to know.
- 5:25Jennifer Johnson: They fear being exposed.
- 5:28Jennifer Johnson: The soloists believe that asking for help reveals a weakness.
- 5:32Jennifer Johnson: They feel like they should be able to handle everything on their own and they don't need assistance.
- 5:37Jennifer Johnson: Then we have the natural genius.
- 5:39Jennifer Johnson: They judge themselves based on ease and speed, and they believe that if they were truly competent, everything would just come naturally and quickly to them.
- 5:48Jennifer Johnson: When they hit a challenge or they need to work hard at something, they interpret this as being inadequate.
- 5:55Jennifer Johnson: And then we have the superwoman or superman.
- 5:58Jennifer Johnson: This type is driven by the belief that they need to excel in all areas of life at the same time.
- 6:04Jennifer Johnson: Who knows one of those?
- 6:06Jennifer Johnson: Super people measure success based on how many roles they can juggle and how hard they work and how much they actually sacrifice.
- 6:16Jennifer Johnson: Imposter syndrome isn't just uncomfortable, it's real.
- 6:21Jennifer Johnson: And understanding the costs that are the real costs of having imposter syndrome is accepting that, hey, you know what?
- 6:33Jennifer Johnson: This is inevitable.
- 6:34Jennifer Johnson: It's an inevitable part of the process of being an entrepreneur.
- 6:38Jennifer Johnson: But what are those what are those costs that are involved in that?
- 6:43Jennifer Johnson: Well, you have missed opportunities.
- 6:45Jennifer Johnson: When you don't think you're qualified or capable, you don't pursue those opportunities.
- 6:49Jennifer Johnson: I have watched talented entrepreneurs turn down incredible opportunities because you guessed it, they convinced themselves they weren't ready or qualified.
- 9:25Jennifer Johnson: Or they undercharge themselves or undervalue themselves.
- 9:29Jennifer Johnson: They don't think they deserve premium pricing, so they convince themselves that uh that they're worth less.
- 9:35Jennifer Johnson: So that's what they charge.
- 9:37Jennifer Johnson: Then they become burnt out and overworked.
- 9:40Jennifer Johnson: When you believe you're naturally capable, you often try to compensate by working harder than everyone else.
- 9:47Jennifer Johnson: And you say yes to everything, you overprepare for meetings, and that overwork might temporarily quiet that imposter syndrome, but it's not sustainable.
- 9:57Jennifer Johnson: You will burn out.
- 9:59Jennifer Johnson: Perhaps the most important one is stunted growth.
- 10:03Jennifer Johnson: Because when you're convinced you're already in over your head, you don't take risks.
- 10:08Jennifer Johnson: And that stops your growth.
- 10:11Jennifer Johnson: It stops you from stepping into that uncertainty because it's uncomfortable, which then quells you from actually growing.
- 10:21Jennifer Johnson: One of the most powerful ways to address imposter syndrome is to reframe how you think about competence and expertise.
- 10:30Jennifer Johnson: Most people with imposter syndrome operate from a faulty assumption about what competence looks like.
- 10:36Jennifer Johnson: You don't need to know everything, you don't need to be perfect to be competent.
- 10:41Jennifer Johnson: Competence means having the skill and the knowledge necessary to achieve good results, not flawless.
- 10:49Jennifer Johnson: Every expert was once a beginner.
- 10:51Jennifer Johnson: And even experts continue to learn, and even experts make mistakes.
- 10:57Jennifer Johnson: When you encounter something you don't know how to do, that's not evident that you're not, it's not, it doesn't mean that you're incompetent.
- 11:04Jennifer Johnson: It's evidence that you're growing.
- 11:06Jennifer Johnson: The feeling of being challenged and having to learn new things is a sign that you're pushing yourself beyond your current capabilities.
- 11:14Jennifer Johnson: Here's the secret: it may shock you, but everybody is making it up as they go along to some degree.
- 11:21Jennifer Johnson: Even the most successful entrepreneurs.
- 11:23Jennifer Johnson: They're constantly encountering new challenges, making educated guesses, and adjusting their approach based on what they learn.
- 11:31Jennifer Johnson: And understanding imposter syndrome intellectually is one thing, but managing it when it shows up is quite another.
- 11:39Jennifer Johnson: Here I'm going to give you a few practical tips and strategies that can help you move through imposter syndrome when it arises.
- 11:48Jennifer Johnson: Documenting your wins.
- 11:49Jennifer Johnson: Keep a record of your accomplishments or your feedback.
- 11:53Jennifer Johnson: When imposter syndrome strikes, because it will, take a look at those because it's going to help quell and dismiss the fact that you don't know what you're talking about.
- 12:06Jennifer Johnson: It doesn't have to be elaborate.
- 12:07Jennifer Johnson: It can just be something simple that you write down in a notebook, but it lets you look back at something and reflect on it.
- 12:14Jennifer Johnson: Then separate your feelings from facts.
- 12:17Jennifer Johnson: Learn to figure out the difference of how you feel when it's actually true versus when you're just telling yourself a lie.
- 12:24Jennifer Johnson: Just because you feel like a fraud doesn't mean you're a fraud.
- 12:29Jennifer Johnson: Just because you feel unqualified doesn't mean that you lack the qualifications.
- 12:34Jennifer Johnson: And then normalize that learning process.
- 12:37Jennifer Johnson: And instead of expecting yourself to know everything before you take action, learn on the job.
- 12:43Jennifer Johnson: Every entrepreneur learns by doing.
- 12:46Jennifer Johnson: They make mistakes.
- 12:47Jennifer Johnson: It's not a bug in the system, it's actually a feature.
- 12:52Jennifer Johnson: And then seek perspective from others.
- 12:55Jennifer Johnson: Sometimes we're too close to our own experience to really see it.
- 12:59Jennifer Johnson: So talk to your mentors or your peers.
- 13:01Jennifer Johnson: What's their view?
- 13:03Jennifer Johnson: Then focus on value creation.
- 13:05Jennifer Johnson: Instead of focusing on where you're whether you're qualified or not, focus on the value that you're creating for your clients.
- 13:11Jennifer Johnson: When you shift your attention from your own adequacy to their results, it becomes much harder to maintain that fraud narrative.
- 13:20Jennifer Johnson: Ultimately, the most effective way to overcome imposter syndrome isn't through positive thinking, it's through taking action despite the fear, pushing through.
- 13:30Jennifer Johnson: Confidence doesn't come before action, it comes through action.
- 13:33Jennifer Johnson: You don't wait until you feel confident to take action.
- 13:37Jennifer Johnson: You build confidence by taking action despite not feeling confident.
- 13:42Jennifer Johnson: Every time you do something successful that scared you, add that to your bank account of evidence, because that's what's going to ultimately help you through the imposter syndrome.
- 13:53Jennifer Johnson: And instead of trying to appear like an expert when you're still learning, embrace that beginner.
- 13:58Jennifer Johnson: There's actually a lot of power in admitting when you don't know something and it's coming through the lens of curiosity.
- 14:05Jennifer Johnson: And then imposter syndrome often stems from an all-or-nothing mindset where anything less than complete mastery feels like a failure.
- 14:13Jennifer Johnson: Instead, practice celebrating progress and incremental improvements.
- 14:19Jennifer Johnson: While imposter syndrome is often talked about as something to overcome or eliminate, I want to offer a different perspective.
- 14:26Jennifer Johnson: Imposter syndrome can actually be a gift if we understand how to work with it rather than against it.
- 14:32Jennifer Johnson: People who never experienced imposter syndrome become overconfident and stop learning.
- 14:37Jennifer Johnson: A healthy dose of uncertainty about your own capabilities can keep you humble.
- 14:41Jennifer Johnson: It can keep you curious and committed to continuously improving.
- 14:46Jennifer Johnson: The discomfort of imposter syndrome often motivates people to work harder and prepare better and deliver higher quality work.
- 14:54Jennifer Johnson: While you're vulnerable about your struggles with imposter syndrome, it often creates deeper connections with other people who feel the same way.
- 15:01Jennifer Johnson: Some of the most meaningful professional relationships I've built started with the honest conversations about being uncertain and self-doubt.
- 15:10Jennifer Johnson: As we wrap up today's episode, I want to leave you with this truth.
- 15:14Jennifer Johnson: Feeling like an imposter doesn't make you an imposter.
- 15:17Jennifer Johnson: Questioning your abilities doesn't mean you lack them.
- 15:20Jennifer Johnson: Feeling uncertain about your qualifications doesn't mean you're unqualified.
- 15:25Jennifer Johnson: The very fact that you care enough to question whether you're good is often evidence that you're good enough.
- 15:31Jennifer Johnson: People who truly aren't qualified for what they're doing rarely worry about their qualifications.
- 15:36Jennifer Johnson: The fact that you have high standards for yourself and want to serve your clients well is a strength and not a weakness.
- 15:43Jennifer Johnson: Your imposter syndrome is not a character flaw that needs to be fixed.
- 15:47Jennifer Johnson: It's normal human response to growth and challenges that need to be managed.
- 15:52Jennifer Johnson: Your goal isn't to eliminate the feeling entirely, it's to learn how to take action despite them and to build confidence through experience rather than wanting and waiting for the confidence to magically appear.
- 16:05Jennifer Johnson: Remember, every successful entrepreneur has moments of doubt, and every expert was once a beginner.
- 16:11Jennifer Johnson: Every competent person has areas where they feel uncertain.
- 16:15Jennifer Johnson: What separates successful entrepreneurs from those who stay stuck isn't the absence of imposter syndrome.
- 16:21Jennifer Johnson: It's the willingness to move forward despite it.
- 16:25Jennifer Johnson: You are good enough to be doing what you're doing.
- 16:27Jennifer Johnson: You wouldn't have the opportunities you have if you weren't capable of rising to meet them.
- 16:32Jennifer Johnson: Trust the people who believe in you.
- 16:35Jennifer Johnson: Trust the evidence of your past successes.
- 16:38Jennifer Johnson: And most importantly, trust yourself to figure it out as you go.