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What Is Impostor Syndrome?

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Have you ever felt like a fraud, despite your achievements and credentials? Do you worry that you’ll be exposed as a phony, or that you’re not as competent as people believe you to be? If so, you may be experiencing impostor syndrome.

This psychological phenomenon affects millions of people worldwide, from high-achieving students to successful professionals. It’s characterized by feelings of self-doubt, inadequacy, and fear of failure, despite objective evidence to the contrary.

Impostor syndrome can hold you back from reaching your full potential, sabotaging your confidence and progress. But it’s not a permanent condition. With the right mindset and strategies, you can learn to overcome impostor syndrome and thrive in your personal and professional life.

What is Impostor Syndrome?

Impostor syndrome is a psychological condition in which a person doubts their accomplishments and feels like a fraud, despite evidence to the contrary. People with impostor syndrome often attribute their successes to luck or external factors and believe that they are not as competent as others believe them to be.

This often results in feelings of anxiety, self-doubt, and fear of being exposed as a fraud. Impostor syndrome is not a clinical disorder, but rather a common experience that affects people from all walks of life.

It can manifest in various ways, from feeling like a fraud in a particular area of expertise to doubting your overall abilities and worth. While it is more prevalent among high-achieving individuals, impostor syndrome can affect anyone, regardless of their achievements or status.

The Psychology Behind Impostor Syndrome

Impostor syndrome is rooted in a person’s self-perception and self-esteem. People with impostor syndrome often have a distorted view of their abilities and accomplishments and tend to compare themselves unfavorably to others. They may have a fear of failure or a need for perfectionism, which drives them to set unrealistic standards for themselves.

The roots of impostor syndrome can be traced back to childhood and upbringing, where a person’s sense of self-worth and validation is shaped. Family dynamics, societal pressures, and cultural expectations can all contribute to the development of impostor syndrome.

Signs and Symptoms of Impostor Syndrome

Impostor syndrome can manifest in various ways, both in thoughts and behaviors. Some common signs and symptoms of impostor syndrome include:

  • Persistent self-doubt and fear of failure
  • Believing that your accomplishments are due to luck or external factors
  • Feeling like a fraud, despite objective evidence to the contrary
  • Comparing yourself unfavorably to others
  • Setting unrealistic standards for yourself
  • Procrastination or avoidance of challenges
  • Downplaying your achievements or avoiding recognition

These symptoms can be mild or severe and may vary depending on the individual and the situation. However, if left unchecked, impostor syndrome can harm your mental health, career, and overall well-being.

The Psychological Impact of Impostor Syndrome

Impostor syndrome can have a profound impact on your mental health and well-being. It can lead to feelings of anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem, and can interfere with your ability to function and thrive.

The psychological impact of impostor syndrome can manifest in various ways, such as:

  • Negative self-talk: Constantly criticizing yourself and doubting your abilities can create a negative self-image and perpetuate feelings of inadequacy.
  • Procrastination and avoidance: Fear of failure or being exposed as a fraud can lead to procrastination and avoidance of challenges, which can further reinforce impostor syndrome.
  • Burnout and stress: Constantly striving for perfection and feeling like a fraud can lead to burnout and chronic stress, which can have physical and mental health consequences.

The impact of impostor syndrome can be particularly challenging for people in high-stress or demanding professions, such as healthcare, law, or academia. However, with the right mindset and strategies, it is possible to overcome impostor syndrome and achieve success and fulfillment.

Registration is now open for our Power UP Your Leadership Presence: How to Beat Impostor Syndrome program. The Introductory Session takes place September 28 and the Advanced Program October 12. Take advantage of the Early Bird prices.

For more information and to register: https://redworkscoaching.com/services/executive-coaching/powerup-your-leadership-presence-how-to-beat-impostor-syndrome/

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Leader Foundations Leadership Academy

ATTENTION: Small to Medium-sized Businesses

Do you have emerging or new leaders who would benefit from leadership training?

If yes, your organization may be eligible for funding for our Leader Foundations Leadership Academy program to support new and current leaders build a solid foundation to succeed in their role. For more information about our program: https://lnkd.in/eYdPFfe5

Take advantage of the Canada Job Grant for up to $100,000/year to help train your employees.

There is a Canada Job Grant Program in every Canadian province. To find out more about the Grant program in your province: https://lnkd.in/eA3KAbE6

Take action now to provide training opportunities for your staff.

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Stop Sabotaging Yourself

When we stop sabotaging ourselves, research has shown that:

– we use mental and emotional energy more effectively – 90%

– we’re better at teamwork and collaboration – 92%

– we have increased happiness – 85%

– we manage stress better – 91%

– we have improved self-confidence – 83%

– we’re better at conflict management – 85%

Learn how to increase your mental fitness and reap tremendous personal and professional benefits.

Registration is now open for the next Positive Intelligence® Mental Fitness program starting September 17. Program is based on Shirzad Chamine’s Positive Intelligence® work.

For more information and to register:

https://redworkscoaching.com/services/executive-coaching/positive-intelligence-increasing-your-mental-fitness/6-week-mental-fitness-foundation-program/

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Leader Foundations Leadership Academy

ATTENTION: Small to Medium-sized Businesses

Do you have emerging or new leaders who would benefit from leadership training?

If yes, your organization may be eligible for funding for our Leader Foundations Leadership Academy program to support new and current leaders build a solid foundation to succeed in their role. For more information about our program: https://lnkd.in/eYdPFfe5

Take advantage of the Canada Job Grant for up to $100,000/year to help train your employees.

There is a Canada Job Grant Program in every Canadian province. To find out more about the Grant program in your province: https://lnkd.in/eA3KAbE6

Take action now to provide training opportunities for your staff.

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Master Your Mind, Master Your Life

Imagine what would be possible if you could choose:

  • to not stress out over what you can’t control
  • push away self-doubts
  • recover from disappointments immediately and
  • spend little time in anger, regret, or blame.

This is absolutely possible with mental fitness training. In as little as 10 seconds, you can:

1. Develop greater mastery over your own mind
2. Quiet the negative and
3. Activate the positive region of your brain.

In fact, MRI research found that within 6-8 weeks of mental fitness training the brain’s grey matter:

  • increased in the Sage PQ brain region and
  • decreased in the Saboteur “survival brain” region

Enroll in the Positive Intelligence®: Mental Fitness Foundation Program.

The next program begins May 28.  

For more information and to register: https://lnkd.in/gBUVe2X8

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Take advantage of the Canada Job Grant for Leadership Training

ATTENTION: Small to Medium-sized Business Owners

Do you have emerging or new leaders who would benefit from leadership training?

If yes, take advantage of the Canada Job Grant for up to $100,000/year to help train your employees.

There is a Canada Job Grant Program in every Canadian province. To find out more about the Grant program in your province: https://lnkd.in/eA3KAbE6

Your organization may be eligible for this funding for our Leader Foundations Leadership Academy program to support new and current leaders build a solid foundation to succeed in their role. For more information about our program: https://lnkd.in/eYdPFfe5

Take action now to provide training opportunities for your staff.

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Leader, what responsibilities have you accepted?

“From great power comes great responsibility.” Versions of this adage has been attributed to many people and became popular in the comic book story of Spiderman. With the superpower he possessed, he felt responsible for using it for good.

Leadership is not that much different from being a superhero. Yes, a leader may not have superpowers like Spiderman or any other superhero, but a leader’s superpower is to lead others toward success. This is so much a greater and stronger power since it can be used by real people in a real world.

Hence, being a leader requires a deep sense of responsibility, towards themselves and others.

The power to lead people towards the leader’s and the organization’s vision comes with responsibilities like keeping everyone on the team inspired towards the bigger picture; helping them grow; and ensuring everyone is aligned in the same direction.

It isn’t easy to be a leader nor is it for the faint of heart! Being a leader comes with a lot of responsibilities and true leaders are willing to accept them all.

There are instances when sometimes it makes us feel better to blame others or something else when things go wrong. This, however, is not practiced by a good leader.

Making excuses and blaming someone else or something for a failed job or task is not a quality of a good leader. A good leader accepts the fact that something went wrong and works with their team so that everyone, leader included, learns from the mistakes. When things go wrong, a leader uses the situation as an opportunity for everyone to learn and grow.

Leaders don’t have control over others or their actions. Leaders do, however, have full control over their own actions and behaviours – one of the biggest and most important responsibilities for a leader.

So leader, what responsibilities have you decided to accept?

Leader Foundations Leadership Academy program

Leader Foundations Leadership Academy program

If you want to become a stronger leader, our Leader Foundations Leadership Academy program will support you to build a solid foundation for success in your role.

You will interact with other leaders in a similar situation and will develop or strengthen the required skills to level up and increase your effectiveness.

Your organization may be eligible for up to $100,000 to help train employees.

For more information on the Leadership Academy: https://redworkscoaching.com/services/executive-coaching/leader-foundations-leadership-academy/

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New leaders: build a solid foundation to succeed in your new role

Leaders in transition face a steep learning curve with high expectations and often receive insufficient support to be successful in their new role. In fact, research has shown that nearly 50% of leader transitions fail.

A leader in a new role must quickly adapt to new processes, perspectives, and expectations. There is also an expectation for them to ramp up their skills fast and build new key relationships. Leaders often struggle in any one or more of these areas.

These struggles create risks that can have immense impacts on the business as they can reduce productivity, performance, and engagement of the incoming leader and out further into the organization.

Not addressing these struggles, impact not only the transitioning leader, but their direct reports, partners, other internal as well as external stakeholders including customers.

If this is you or your new and emerging leaders are struggling, then our Leader Foundations Leadership Academy program will be beneficial.

The Leadership Academy is a customized program specifically created to support new leaders build a solid foundation to succeed in their new roles.

The leader will interact with other leaders in a similar situation and will develop or strengthen the required skills to level up and increase their effectiveness.

Your organization may be eligible for up to $100,000 to help train your employees.

For more information on the Leadership Academy: https://redworkscoaching.com/services/executive-coaching/leader-foundations-leadership-academy/

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Take full command of your mind

You’re not in full command of your mind. If you were, you would choose to entirely silence the Saboteurs in your head.

If you were in full command of your mind, you would:

  • Choose to not stress out over what you can’t control
  • Push away self-doubts
  • Recover from disappointments immediately and
  • Spend little time in anger, regret, or blame.

If you’re able to do this congratulations! If you’re not, get back in the driver’s seat to build your self-command muscle and shift from a negative to a positive mind set.

Enroll in the Positive Intelligence®: Mental Fitness Foundation Program https://redworkscoaching.com/services/executive-coaching/positive-intelligence-increasing-your-mental-fitness/6-week-mental-fitness-foundation-program/

The program starts May 28.

Your organization may be eligible for funding through the Canada-Saskatchewan Job Grant or the Re-Skill Saskatchewan Training Subsidy.

Contact us to learn how we can support you to build your mental fitness muscles.

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Mental Fitness Foundation Program

If you want to:

  • Be more empathetic of yourself and others
  • Achieve your goals with more ease
  • Have greater professional and personal achievements
  • Have more satisfying relationships
  • Experience better health and
  • Greater happiness

Enroll in the Positive Intelligence®: Mental Fitness Foundation Program to:

  1. Develop greater mastery over your own mind
  2. Quiet the negative and
  3. Activate the positive region of your brain.

The next program begins May 7.  

For more information and to register: https://redworkscoaching.com/services/executive-coaching/positive-intelligence-increasing-your-mental-fitness/6-week-mental-fitness-foundation-program/