Many of us take what we call “impostor syndrome” as a sign that we are in too deep. But in my mind, it’s actually a sign that we are on the right track. Here’s how.
Making it up as we go
As purpose-driven leaders, we often seek projects and roles that can change the world. We build lives of purpose that not only heal the deepest wounds within us but help heal other people. We dare to envision and enact a world more beautiful, prosperous, and free when others tell us it is naive.
We take on a lot. We push ourselves. At times, we strive to accomplish the seemingly impossible. This is perhaps more true today than ever.
But as we do this, we are often overcome by the inescapable feeling that we personally are just not up to the task. The vision is too bright. The responsibility is too heavy. The genius required is too great. We have somehow convinced others that we are capable of great feats or qualified to take on important roles. But in reality, we are clouded by doubt. We don’t really know what we are doing. We are just making it all up as we go.
We are haunted by the fear not only that we will fail but that our peers will expose us as fraud. We tell ourselves that our organizations, our communities, and our society need someone more capable, experienced, and confident. We’d be better off tackling something a little less audacious, something that asks a little less of us.
We find ourselves in the grips of impostor syndrome.
Impostor syndrome just means you are in the growth zone
Here’s a little secret: Basically, everyone I’ve ever coached has struggled with impostor syndrome at some point in their journey. I hear it from everyone. And I’ve never met anyone I actually believe to be an impostor. It’s just that this feeling seems to be an almost universal human experience, regardless of experience or authority. So unless you are intentionally lying about your qualifications or identity, I’m willing to state definitively that you are not an impostor or a fraud. If you are feeling fear or doubt, you are simply in the growth zone, where you should be.
In the comfort zone, you take on roles and projects in which you feel safe, relaxed, and well-equipped. You can easily feel and project confidence. You can rest assured that you will find success so long as you go through the motions of your tried-and-true formula. But while you may have the opportunity to be effective (though you also may suffer from boredom and laziness), you have little chance to be as impactful as you might otherwise. You inherently aren’t able to offer the fullest expression of your potential because you are bound by the confines of what is safe and easy.
In contrast, in the stress zone, you are trying to do so much or do something so far beyond your current capability that you become paralyzed or panicked. It is terrifying. It is not simply challenging, but likely impossible to be truly effective for very long at all. You are in way over your head and drowning. You are on the path to failure and burnout.
But in the middle ground of the growth zone, you are tackling roles and projects that require you to stretch and challenge yourself. This is where you experiment and learn. This is where you ask something more of yourself than you have asked before. This is where you dare to venture into unknown territory. It is impossible to be truly confident, prepared, and assured here because you are attempting to do things you have never done before.
Always go a little further into the water than you feel you’re capable
The most impactful change agents split their time between the comfort zone and the growth zone. In other words, they spend at least some of their time experiencing impostor syndrome.
Of course, some of their time will be spent on tasks and in roles that they can do efficiently and confidently and teach others to do the same (the comfort zone). Otherwise, they’d likely take on too much and find themselves in the stress zone, overwhelmed.
But they also commit to stretching and growing themselves bit by bit every day. They commit to learning, experimenting, and even failing. They commit to being in the growth zone. In doing so, they allow themselves to make greater and greater contributions over the course of a project and throughout their lives. They also demonstrate the practice of growth to their teams, organizations, and communities and teach and give permission for others to follow suit. Perhaps most meaningfully, they get to experience more of what life has to offer them and what they have to offer the world. They feel their most alive.
In short, they commit to the growth zone because it is the only place where their genius can truly thrive.
As David Bowie once advised: “If you feel safe in the area that you’re working in, you’re not working in the right area. Always go a little further into the water than you feel you’re capable of being. Go a little bit out of your depth and when you don’t feel your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting.”
Impostor syndrome is just growing pains
In the growth zone, we inevitably feel pangs of fear and doubt as we step into unfamiliar roles and capacities. But we often interpret these pangs of doubt or fear as evidence that we are not ready or equipped. We label ourselves as impostors. We tell ourselves that if we were truly ready, we’d know and feel it. We’d ooze confidence. We’d know exactly what to do.
But if we followed this logic and acted only when we were confident or knew exactly what to do, none of us would ever grow or offer our highest contribution. We would all be stuck exactly where we are right now. We would deny ourselves, our teams, our organizations, and our communities all the untapped potential and genius within us.
The most transformational leaders are rarely so self-assured and poised that they do not feel these feelings or think these thoughts. They don’t have some magic wand to free their minds of doubt and discomfort. They simply learn to tolerate and even embrace them. They realize that this near-universal experience we’ve collectively decided to label “impostor syndrome” is much more accurately labeled simply as “growing pains.” It is the inevitable, wise discomfort of stepping into the unknown and stretching ourselves beyond what we were previously capable of. They realize that that pang of fear and doubt is not evidence that we don’t belong or aren’t ready. It is actually evidence that we are exactly where the world needs us. It is evidence that we are engaged in the process of growth with courage, humility, and awareness.
Perhaps this “impostor syndrome” is even part of what defines us as leaders. We are courageous enough to tolerate and even partner with our pain, fear, and doubt. We are willing to risk failure, be wrong, and look stupid. We are willing to admit we are just making it up as we go because no one has ever gone where we are going. We embark into the unknown. We know that meaningful change requires us, as individuals and collectively as a society, to be in our growth zone.
If you are feeling that pang of fear or doubt, don’t run away from it. Follow it. Impostor syndrome is not a sign that something is wrong. No, “impostor syndrome” is a sign that something important and good is happening. It is a sign that you are practicing leadership.
More from the Purpose 101 series
What is change? (Part 1: Impermanence, growth, and emergence)
What is change? (Part 2: Well-being, service, and integrity)
What is genius?
Antidotes to polycrisis despair
Stop trying to save the world
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