Is Imposter Syndrome Stopping Your Impact?

Imposter syndrome affects people in all industries, but it can be especially insidious in the social impact space. When your work centers on actions that will change the world, it’s easy to fall into the comparison trap of worrying whether you’re making enough of an impact. You may find yourself over-researching, convinced you still don’t know enough to put yourself out there and get involved in the work, which could prevent you from ever getting started, or you may decide not to share your innovative ideas out of deference to those who’ve been working on the issues for longer. 

Imposter Syndrome can wreak havoc on career confidence, causing many talented young professionals to shy away from social impact work out of fear of seeming like a fraud, when in reality, the world needs all of us to use our talents and energy to tackle the world’s most pressing social issues. 

Your insights and ideas are valuable. But “fake it till you make it” does little to actually empower you to overcome these very real feelings. I’ve developed a four-part Career Confidence Framework that offers a structured way to mitigate Imposter Syndrome for the long term. 

The Framework combines deep self-awareness shows up for you, with short-term, long-term, and community-based strategies you can actually implement to meaningfully diminish the effects of Imposter Syndrome over the long term. 

In this workshop I recorded for the University of Chicago, I explain what Imposter Syndrome is (and isn’t), why it’s so common among high-achievers, and how to implement the Career Confidence Framework to take decisive action to quell this negative influence on your long-term career trajectory. 

You can catch the (free!) workshop here. (Don’t forget to download the accompanying worksheet!)

Want to go even deeper? Registration for my online course, Beat Imposter Syndrome: Strategies for Career Confidence, is open now! Over seven modules, we’ll take a deep dive into each element of the Framework, and you’ll learn powerful strategies to manage the everyday impacts of Imposter Syndrome while also building your long-term career confidence. Check out the complete breakdown of the course right here--registration is only open until June 14!

There are so many ways to enact social change—you owe it to yourself—and the world—to learn how to manage Imposter Syndrome so you can leverage your skills and energy to address the world's most urgent social impact issues.