Dear Fairygodmentor,
I was recently promoted, but I can’t shake the feeling that I don’t belong in this role. How do I overcome impostor syndrome?
– Doubting My Crown
Dear Doubting My Crown,
Congratulations on this new promotion! What a wonderful testament to the hard work, knowledge, skills, and abilities you’ve showcased to reach the next level in your career.
This is a time to celebrate and recalibrate. And of course, your Imposter Syndrome monster has come to rear its ugly head again. She doesn’t belong here; she’s not invited to this party!
Firstly, please take a pause for the cause and celebrate how far you’ve come. I want you to think back to your first day of work. Remember the butterflies you had about doing the job for which you were hired? Those butterflies are just a reminder that you care and want to do a great job. Can you recall the challenges that you struggled with surrounding learning the job? Remember navigating the personalities and departments you worked with and understanding how to rock that role?
I bet you had the same kind of self-doubt back in the day. Your mind was swimming with worries that you weren’t doing a great job when everyone else was giving you evidence to the contrary. All signs were pointing to “Yes” when you finally took off your training wheels of worry and started cruising the road to career success. I bet you even started teaching other new people how to do things you seem to do so easily.
This newest career milestone is no different than your first day. Yes, the stakes are higher because you were promoted. And now with this new role, you feel like 2Pac singing “All Eyez On Me.” You may feel like everyone has you under a microscope. And yes, folks are watching you.
Let me give you a little insider tip from being a hiring manager. We want you to be the one. The one who possesses all of the job’s requirements. The one whose past performance helps us predict future success. The one who was able to articulate their success and future wins for the business.
You most certainly belong in this new role. You are the one. They wouldn’t have promoted you if they didn’t think you were the best candidate for the job.
Now, your next assignment is to own your role. You are the one. It’s perfectly OK to walk into that office or your next teleconference with your head held high, crown straight, and marinate in the confidence that you are the one. The learning curve may be steep, but you’ve done it before and you’ll do it again. Give yourself the space and grace to learn and showcase the magic that you possess.
The next time your Imposter Syndrome Monster starts creeping back into your consciousness–– get those butterflies in formation, tell that monster to go away, because ain’t nobody got time for that today–you have important work to do because you earned it.
You got this!
Yours truly,
Your Fairygodmentor®
About Joyel Crawford:
Joyel Crawford is an award-winning career and leadership development professional and founder of Crawford Leadership Strategies, a consultancy that empowers results-driven leaders through coaching, training, and facilitation. She’s the best-selling author of Show Your Ask: Using Your Voice to Advocate for Yourself and Your Career.
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