How can we battle imposter syndrome?

Realising you’re not alone

Fake it till you make it’, that’s what they say. But how realistic or easy is it to keep up that act?

The perception or appearance of confidence is a powerful tool as it projects strength, stability and determination to those around you.

As a founder, presenting this image can be crucial. You lead employees, engage with investors, and are ready and raring to conquer the tech world - but this comes with pressure to have all the answers and face uncertainty head on.

However, ‘faking’ it can make you feel like you don’t actually deserve the position you’re in, or that you’re ‘playing’ a role - and that’s a lonely place to be in.

When imposter syndrome sets in, it can be difficult to shake off. In a highly competitive sector, where self-worth is defined by your success and comparison is constant, it’s important to remember that you're not the only one battling this invisible beast.

In reality, most people in leadership positions face these feelings of inadequacy more often than they’d like to. Taking on new challenges, or building something innovative from scratch means there’s no blueprint to follow.

Onfido co-founder Husayn Kassai, in conversation with Verdict Magazine highlights: “At any point when you scale quickly in a short amount of time, it’s an adjustment period. And there’s a point at which you think ‘hey, are we [growing] big too quickly?”

Co-founder Justin Kan confessed he felt like ‘a failure’ even after selling Twitch, an American video live streaming service focusing on video game content for a billion dollars.

On his experience with imposter syndrome, he elaborates: “When you're in a startup, it's easy to feel like everyone else is crushing it while you are drowning. Comparison is a fundamental part of our human nature and it is also our greatest bane.”

Anna Jordan a 27 year old co-founder of Alchera Technologies, a transport focused AI start-up based in Cambridge, speaking to the Sunday Times here notes: “There remains this niggling idea that there is some secret that other entrepreneurs know, some magic they have learnt that lets them go out confidently and build something.”

As a woman in tech…is the impact worse?

Imposter syndrome doesn’t necessarily discriminate. However, for women in the world of tech it can seem like standards are impossible to meet.

In a field dominated by men, the feeling of not measuring up can be further amplified by unconscious bias, with the assumption that you don’t belong in the first place.

Almost two-thirds of women considering building their own businesses haven’t acted on their ambitions due to feelings often linked to imposter syndrome, according to recent research by NatWest.

France-based founder Charlène Guicheron sums it up in a nutshell when she says: “When I started my business, I didn’t feel like I belonged. I felt like someone who wasn’t supposed to lead a team or ask for funding. My identity didn’t align with that of a successful startup founder.”

Slaying the ‘beast’: How to overcome these feelings?

Giving the way you’re feeling a name is the first step to taking away its power over you. Beyond that, it’s important to recognise there are more steps you can take to overcome (debilitating) feelings of ‘not being good enough’.

1. Take a break from social media

These platforms are brilliant for creating content and community, however, we tend to only share the ‘good’, not the ‘bad’. This can distort the reality of what creating a business truly looks like, reinforcing the idea that you’re not getting it right.

2. Write a list of what you’ve achieved

This is to reinforce that you do deserve to be exactly where you are. Your experiences have given you the tools to accomplish your goals and listing your achievements is evidence of just that.

Husayn Kassai, speaking to Verdict Magazine advises: “People don’t trust you or your organisation just for the sake of it. They have bought into something. What they’re buying into is you as a co-founder and the team that you have been able to attract to work on a problem.”

3. Stop comparing yourself to other people

Emily Rigby, Head of Engineering at Ovo International says it best in an interview for shecancode: “Comparing yourself to someone further along in their career journey is so dangerous and doesn’t achieve anything. You have your own set of skills, they have theirs. There’s no comparison to be made.”

4. Build a support network around you

No (wo)man is an island. Even as founders, leaders and innovators, it’s not actually possible to know everything. Surrounding yourself with the right team, with the right skill sets it vital.

Genevieve Leveille, Founder of Agriledger emphasises here that ‘you can teach yourself just about anything. If you can’t get it, you can seek people who have that knowledge.’

Surrounding yourself with friends, trusted confidantes - that’s also just as important.

5. Manage your expectations

You may work in tech, but that doesn’t mean you’re a machine. Break down your major goals into small stepping stones and remind yourself that success needs to be nurtured. The bigger picture takes time to build.

Ultimately, the goal is to move away from building a ‘perception’ of confidence for the outside world, to truly believing you are in fact, exactly where and who you should be.