Ditching Imposter Syndrome

If you've hit a wall with DIY Google methods of clearing your Imposter Syndrome and you're ready to hire a professional to help, then this episode is especially for you.

No, I'm not selling my coaching services (I rarely coach imposter syndrome these days) but I have seen an explosion of coaches claiming to clear imposter syndrome without the proof to back up their claims.

The hard truth is that classic coaching methods are not up to the job when it comes to working with imposter syndrome. So you need to know who to trust when hiring someone to banish your imposter syndrome.

To make sure you find the right coach, I’ve created this episode to guide you through the questions you need to ask before hiring an imposter syndrome coach. So that you can be sure you’re getting the help you need from someone who has those advanced skills. 

What you'll discover:

• The Basta Moment! And why you need to experience this before you can ditch Imposter Syndrome
• 10 Questions to ask your potential Imposter Syndrome coach
• The pitfalls to avoid when hiring a coach
• Why I don't teach classic coaching and why this matters
• The problem with the coaching industry (and why it's an opportunity)
• And how you can avoid a "cobbled together" approach that might do more harm than good.

Resources:

• Download your free workbook here: https://www.ditchingimpostersyndrome.com/10questions/
• Discover your Imposter Syndrome score, plus get a personalised action plan, absolutely free here.
• Podcast Episode 7 - What's the difference between Imposter Syndrome & self-doubt?
• Podcast Episode 24 - But surely Imposter Syndrome is incurable?

Why does Imposter Syndrome skyrocket during Christmas?

The holiday season can deliver a snowball of Imposter Syndrome triggers making the next week an incredibly difficult time for anyone suffering from Imposter Syndrome.

There is a pressure to present a perfect view of our holiday, our lives and our past year. Yet, when 82% of people living with imposter syndrome are comparing themselves with others and finding themselves lacking, it’s no wonder that they find this time a struggle. 

In this episode, I’m breaking down each of the big seven Imposter Syndrome triggers that you’ll be facing this Christmas and showing you how you can manage each one in a healthy way.   

What you'll discover:

• A 2-step process to step pause on Imposter Syndrome this Christmas
• The 7 key triggers for Imposter Syndrome
• Healthy tips to support you over the holiday season
• Strategies to help you manage difficult situations
• Practical advice to enjoy Christmas 
• How the 4 Ps of Imposter Syndrome play into the pressures of Christmas
• Plus two self-coaching questions that will help you over the next week. 

At the end of the episode, I invite you to make one big change for 2024 that will put you in a good place going into the new year.  This specific change will mean December 2024 feels very different to this year.

Resources:

• Podcast Episode 25: Performance Review Anxiety
• Podcast Episode 46: Microwins - turning your brain into a genuine cheerleader
• Imposter Syndrome Bootcamp™ - ditch it in under eight weeks
• Get certified to help others in this work

Who is really to blame for you experiencing imposter syndrome? This is an important question that I recently answered at a Q&A session. 

This episode is for everyone who feels like they have tried everything to fix imposter syndrome for themselves or their team and it hasn’t worked. It's likely to be because they're only addressing one of the three pillars - I spill the beans on those during the episode.

71% of your team is experiencing toxic resilience right now and feeling the need to cover up and carry on as though nothing is wrong. This leads to them operating on a fight, flight or freeze response which makes burnout and imposter syndrome so much worse.

Listen now to discover how the three key pillars of Imposter Syndrome are getting in the way of preventing imposter syndrome, and what you can do about it, even in the next few weeks. Plus, I’ll share how you can become a beacon of hope for others. 

What you’ll discover: 

• Why your habits give you the power to press pause on Imposter Syndrome and turn down the dial
• How imposter is context-dependent and removing yourself from the situation can temporarily change how you feel, but doesn't actually fix anything
• What the Three Pillars of Imposter Syndrome™ are and what you can do about them
• Which of these has the biggest impact on your experience imposter syndrome 
• Why you need to be aware of toxic resilience in the workplace and how this is contributing to imposter syndrome
• How the office environment and layout might be contributing to imposter syndrome
• The real reason you have toxic team members and bosses
• Why imposter syndrome is holding back your DE&I initiatives

Useful Resources:

• The 2022 Imposter Syndrome & Burnout Research Study
• How the Natural Resilience Method® addresses all 3 pillars
• Calculator: what are Imposter Syndrome & burnout likely to be costing your teams?
• Article: Why I quit the engineering career I loved
• The 4 Ps of Imposter Syndrome
• The Hypervigilance podcast episode
• Podcast: the needs of introverts vs extroverts in the office environment
• Get certified to support others in Clare's Natural Resilience Method® work

Do you want to offer more than a 'tea and sympathy' approach to your colleagues or clients with imposter syndrome? 

25% of your team are actively thinking about quitting their job every single week as a result of imposter syndrome. Yet, untrained line managers, HR, and mental health first aiders are at the frontline of trying to fix their colleagues' pain. 

In this episode, I take you through why tea and sympathy is an essential first step and what needs to come next to start clearing imposter syndrome, which is often caused by complex trauma, rather than a mindset-level issue.

Listen now to find everything you need to know about how you can help people with imposter syndrome beyond sharing the war wounds of your own experience. 

What you’ll discover: 

• Why tea and sympathy is only a first step and what else you can offer to support your colleagues or clients
• The impacts of normalising imposter syndrome
• Why your team are stuck in survival mode, using coping strategies to deal with it and are losing productivity as a result
• The dangers of an untrained person trying to fix the deep causes of imposter syndrome and how this could be making everything worse
• Why we shouldn’t be using mindset approaches for imposter syndrome
• Why you need to fix your own imposter syndrome before you try help others
• Key questions to ask when looking for imposter syndrome training (and red flags to watch out for). 

Useful Resources:

• Imposter Syndrome 101 For Line Managers & HR Professionals
• Get certified with Clare to help others to ditch Imposter Syndrome

Join in the discussion:

And here's where we're talking about today's episode on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Last week we talked about the praise-criticism rollercoaster. And today I'm sharing with you one of my favourite techniques that you can start using, right away, to get off it!

This episode is for you if you ever find yourself beating yourself up, deflecting praise, and lying awake for far too long at 3am worrying about somehow not being good enough.

It's not your fault - it's simply that your brain (and body) have accidentally got wired to look for what you're doing wrong. And this technique rewires all of that - painlessly, I promise - so you can start to turn your inner critic into a genuine cheerleader.

In just sixty seconds a day.

What you'll discover:

• Why mindset and pep talks aren't enough to get you off the praise-criticism emotional rollercoaster
• The secret addiction your body has that keeps you beating yourself up
• Why it's not your fault if positive thinking and affirmations haven't worked for you in the past
• The sixty-second end-of-day habit that could change your life forever, in the next week
• How you can use this to take toxic teams back to thriving - and other hidden benefits!

Resources from this episode:

• Episode 45 - getting off the praise-criticism emotional rollercoaster
• Get breakthrough-level support with the Imposter Syndrome Bootcamp™
• Get certified to support others in this work

Join in the discussion:

Remember - tag me @clarejosa on LinkedIn or Instagram and use the hashtag #microwins. And here's where we're talking about today's episode on LinkedIn and Instragram.

Are you stuck on the praise-criticism rollercoaster? And what role might Imposter Syndrome be playing for you in feedback?

This episode is for you if whenever somebody praises you, you're silently thinking of the 'but' (and perhaps even saying it out loud)...

... or if you're a line manager, HR professional, coach, or someone else who needs to give people feedback, and you want to know how to make it Imposter-Syndrome safe, so it actually gets through their self-judgement filters, and can help to improve their performance, rather than trashing their confidence.

What You'll Discover About The Role Of Feedback In Imposter Syndrome:

• The surprising results from our research study into the link between Imposter Syndrome and feedback - even if it's praise
• 3 things I want every line manager to stop doing immediately, to stop feedback from triggering Imposter Syndrome
• The little-known role of our brain's neurology in the praise-criticism rollercoaster
• The unconscious body-addiction for those experiencing Imposter Syndrome that drives judgemental self-talk
• How to get off the praise-criticism rollercoaster, without pretending or becoming arrogant.
• Top tips for line managers and anyone else who needs to give feedback, so that the feedback actually improves performance, instead of accidentally trashing confidence

Resources For This Episode:

• Here's the latest research study white paper
• Book recommendation: Words That Change Minds by Shelle Rose Charvet
• What's your feedback mastery score? Free research-backed quiz plus personalised action plan
• Find out more about the Natural Resilience Method®

Here's Where We're Talking About This:

Join in the discussion on LinkedIn and Instagram.

How do toxic teammates trigger Imposter Syndrome?

This is for you if you figure you've generally got Imposter Syndrome under control, and you're handling it, but there's that one person who has the secret superpower to totally trash your confidence, in nanoseconds, no matter what you've tried.

In today's episode, you'll discover:

• How on earth does a toxic teammate seem to have the power over your Imposter Syndrome buttons?
• Why my personal definition of Imposter Syndrome is the key to understanding this.
• The biggest mistake I see people making when 'handling' Imposter Syndrome, and why it leaves you more vulnerable to toxic teammates.
• The beautiful Native American saying that can set you free from this, instantly.
• My two-step approach to becoming 'immune' to toxic teammates, without pretending.

Resources:

• Read Ditching Imposter Syndrome (or listen!) - steps 2, 3 & 4 are your BFF for this episode
• Imposter Syndrome Bootcamp™ - get inspirational 1:1 support and ditch Imposter Syndrome forever in the next six weeks.
• Learn how to help others with Imposter Syndrome, whether you're a coach, therapist, line manager, Mental Health First-Aider, or general all-round good egg!
• And get your Ditching Imposter Syndrome score, plus a personalised action plan, as my gift here.
• The 3 Pillars model - read the research white paper here

Join In The Discussion:

Have you seen toxic teammates triggering Imposter Syndrome and driving down confidence in your organisation - past or present? What's the answer?

Here's where we're talking about this on LinkedIn and on Instagram. See you there!

How can you tell if your company is a secret breeding ground for Imposter Syndrome? This episode is for you if you work for an organisation where you secretly think that maybe it's making Imposter Syndrome worse and you want to be able to find out how and why, and maybe have that conversation...

... or if you're a line manager, business leader, or HR professional, coach or therapist, and you want to understand more about the 3 Pillars Of Imposter Syndrome, and how these work in organisations, to either help people be immune to Imposter Syndrome, or make it much more likely that it's going to play a daily part of their working lives.

What you'll discover today:

• What is Imposter Syndrome and how to spot the warning signs
• The 3 pillars of Imposter Syndrome, and which one is hardest to change
• 5 common cultural factors that make Imposter Syndrome worse
• 3 super-common environmental factors
• 3 mistakes I see companies making with the habits pillar
• Are there any specific industries that are more prone to fostering imposter syndrome?
• Are there any specific leadership behaviours or management approaches that can exacerbate imposter syndrome within an organisation?
• What strategies or resources can leaders and managers implement to identify and address imposter syndrome within their teams?

Resources:

1. Free masterclass on how to help others with Imposter Syndrome (including a downloadable line manager advice guide) - get instant access here
2. Get certified - join our next Imposter Syndrome First-Aider cohort or book me to run a round in-house for you
3. Get your Imposter Syndrome score and personalised action plan with our free scorecard
4. Burnout research white paper - read it here
5. Episode 29 - the truth about 'do it scared'
6. Get in touch to book a call about working together - on clearing toxic teams or The HOPE® Matrix for cultural change
7. Episode 31 of the Soultuitive® Leaders podcast - The Resilience Backlash: And What Does The Research Say About Its Harmful Role In Burnout?
8. Episode 31 - Imposter Syndrome and Personality Types: Breaking the Introvert Myth

Join in the discussion:

Here's where we're talking about this on LinkedIn & Instagram.

Imposter Syndrome and the curse of comparisonitis! This is for you if you ever catch yourself doom-scrolling and feeling so much worse by the end of it, because everybody else seems to have their act together and be happy and successful... and when compare yourself, you find yourself lacking and secretly beat yourself up, maybe even holding back on going for your dreams.

We're going to talk about how to fix this, both with an 'in the moment' self-mentoring question, for when comparisonitis strikes, and with a preventative technique that could transform your life forever, in just a couple of minutes a day.

What you'll discover today:

• What is comparisonitis and where does it come from?
• Three things that trigger it - aside from social media
• My uncommon definition of Imposter Syndrome, and why this explains how it triggers comparisonitis
• The secret assumption we're making when we compare ourselves with others, and how this makes us feel worse
• How the 3 pillars of Imposter Syndrome contribute towards comparisonitis
• The self-mentoring question that can press pause on this, and how to set yourself free from it, once and for all

Resources:

• Ditching Imposter Syndrome - read or listen to the book - page 206 has a whole section on this topic, plus my 'Turning Jealousy Around' extended exercise, or search for "The Curse Of Comparisonitis" in the eBook, or the chapter titled "The Curse Of Comparisonitis" in the audiobook
• Start creating breakthroughs even before bedtime tonight with the Ditching Imposter Syndrome Transformation Toolkit
• Get 1:1 support and ditch Imposter Syndrome in just eight weeks with the Imposter Syndrome Bootcamp™
• Microwins - This is one of the strategies I teach in my Transformation Toolkit & Bootcamp trainings, and it's something we do every Friday morning in our Soultuitive® Academy - a 10-minute co-working session to celebrate your microwins! Here's how to get onto the waiting list for when doors next open to join the academy.

Join in the discussion:

Here's where we're discussing this over on LinkedIn.

We're talking about how to speak up with your idea, even if you're secretly scared you'll sound stupid. This is incredibly common!

This impacts everything from sharing your ideas in meetings and reports, even to posting on LinkedIn. "What if they think I'm stupid?" is a super-common bit of self-talk for someone running Imposter Syndrome.

So today we're going to explore how to spot when this is happening, what is going on under the surface, and I want to share with you some really practical step-by-step things you can do, both in-the-moment and on a preventative basis, to speak up feeling confident, losing the fear of 'stupid'.

What you'll discover today:

• Understanding the fear - unravelling the roots of why we worry about sounding stupid
• Are you letting your inner perfectionist decide whether you're expert enough?
• Why 'growth mindset' and learning from your mistakes makes this fear worse - and what you can be doing instead
• Building your confidence - practical techniques for clearing the fear of sounding stupid
• What we need to do in organisations to create a genuinely encouraging environment - and it's not about telling people that making mistakes is ok
• A beautiful native American saying that can help you to feel ok again, even if a plonker is waving their inner critic around in public, telling you you're wrong

Resources:

• Start creating breakthroughs even before you go to bed tonight, with the Ditching Imposter Syndrome Transformation Toolkit
• Episode 33 - Why Does Imposter Syndrome Make Your Mind Go Blank In Meetings?
• Episode 36 - Forget Focusing On Mindset If You Want To Overcome Imposter Syndrome
• Get in touch with us so we can connect you with a coach who is certified in this work
• Want to train to help others? Find out more here.

Join in the discussion:

Here's where we're talking about this over on LinkedIn and Instagram.