What do you do if you're struggling with imposter syndrome in management consulting?

Establishing a support network of colleagues and mentors who can provide perspective and feedback helps validate your experiences and contributions. Regularly reflecting on and documenting your successes and the challenges you've overcome can also reinforce your competence and build self-confidence in your professional role.

Seek feedback and mentorship to gain an objective perspective on your skills and contributions, and use this insight to set realistic goals and celebrate achievements, no matter how small. Engaging in professional development and networking can also help build confidence in your abilities and reinforce your value within the industry.

Self doubt among high achieving consultants can lead to a certain level of anxiety. Take the bull by the horns and accept that imposter syndrome is a natural response to high expectations. The next step is look at data about your successes. If the data is positive this should boost your self esteem. Furthermore, if many colleagues and clients swarm to you for advice - this too should help the clouds of self doubt disappear.

It is important to share these feelings with people who can bring a different perspective. ✅ Your peers: They might be going through the same thought process and will definitely understand your feelings. However they might not always be of great help calming you down. ✅ Your seniors: They can be extremely helpful, as they have managed to go through the same feelings and emotions when they were your seniority. Make sure they are not part of your direct project team. ✅ Your mentors: External mentors can also help you in dealing with pressure, high expectations as well as uncertainty. Seeking help / exchange is paramount. 🚀

A Sensai of mine once said - "Never refer to any part or capacity of yourself as 'weak', instead use 'reactionary' response". Perhaps 'imposter syndrome' for you is simply a reactionary response, we can work on that. It might be your initial 'default pause' to quickly analyze the situation before allowing your true strength to shine through. For this reason I never do a SWOT Analysis when working with a client, rather we do go through a SPOT Matrix. Problems can become opportunities, when addressed properly.

When seeking feedback and support it is critical to be aware of who you are choosing to seek both feedback and support from. There are rattlesnakes and elf's amongst us, and the 'feedback and support' they offer is often toxic, presented as something else. Thus it is important to take time and choose your counsel wisely!

Create a strategic advantage out of your own self-doubt. Have you been feeling like a fake? Avoid running away! To conduct a project evaluation, you should look for the best player in your team. The insights that they provide will not only reveal blind spots but also reveal hidden capabilities that you can capitalize on. Fostering trust, boosting morale among the team, and putting you in a position to face any problem with a unified front are all benefits of this collaborative feedback loop.

Imposter syndrome is a common experience. We need to realize that it's only our inner saboteur trying to prevent us from progressing. We are where we are because we belong. We need to actively work on trusting our skills and experience and make the conscious decision to keep moving forward despite the doubts in our minds.

We all get imposter syndrome at various points in our lives. A default pivot I have used, that works for me, is to switch the dialogue in my head from "Am I worthy, am I deserving" to "I bring value (which is why I was hired for this role) and what I don't know today, I can learn". Then back up the "I can learn" inner dialogue, with the proven situations in the past, when I was actually able to learn something entirely new in fast-track mode, and go on to carve out a niche in it for myself - all I needed, was the positive recall of those situations. Additionally, I would switch the inner spotlight on to the combination of skills which make me unique - i.e. how I can combine creativity with analytics, and so on...

Find humour in the moments. Ask yourself 'what's funny about this?' at every moment you begin to question yourself, whether or not you 'deserve' to be here. When you find the humour in things, you start to look at things a bit different, things lighten up, and you can laugh at yourself. None of us is perfect (and that might not even be grammatically correct, but who cares!). Lighten up, laugh, and naturally reframe your mindset in the process.

Gratitude and self-compassion are effective strategies for overcoming imposter syndrome. It's important to be kind to ourselves and recognize our values and successes, especially when things are hard. Gratitude exercises help us change our attention from what we lack to what we have and have received, which promotes feelings of fulfillment and contentment. Including these routines in our everyday life can have a significant impact on how we view ourselves and handle difficulties at work.

Sometimes when we begin talking and sharing our experience in life, we find things naturally start to lighten up - we have cleared the air, we have gotten stuff aka 'crap' off our chest. We can then appreciate and become grateful for what we have received in this life, thankful for our gifts, and then determine how best we can share those gifts with others.

While there is a lot of talk around authenticity of late, what does it really mean when it comes to overcoming Imposter Syndrome? The way I see it, and the way I have applied it in my life, is to remain firmly grounded in the value I bring to the table. To be the most "me" I can be. Example - I am not the loudest voice in the room; but I am the most introspective and "quietly" analytical voice. Introspection is not a highly valued skill in extrovertish workplaces and Consulting, especially. But it makes me fully me. I mull solution approaches and play devil's advocate, so I can shoot down my own solutions first, so that what then emerges will be defensible, when presented to others. This is how I am fully authentic :)

If you are in the role, recognize 'you deserve to be here'. Start stating out loud or in quiet to yourself, "I deserve to be here, I am worthy of being here, my value is being sought out by others." Because if you are here, you do!

Despite having the education, experience, and certifications, as a reformed perfectionist, my mind still tends to go there at times. However, I've learned to shift my mindset and remind myself that while professional development and continuous learning are essential, I am already enough. Recognizing that I bring valuable skills and expertise to the table helps me combat feelings of inadequacy and embrace my capabilities.