How to combat imposter syndrome

Understand common misconceptions about imposter syndrome and learn how to overcome it.

Before You Start

Goal: Debunk seven common myths about imposter syndrome, and walk away with a more nuanced, useful understanding of what it is and how to work with it.

Read: "7 Things You Get Wrong About Imposter Syndrome" — Melody Wilding, Forbes. Members are encouraged to read it beforehand, but a quick recap at the meeting works too.

Meeting Agenda · Approx. 60 mins

  • Member Updates · 10 mins
  • Icebreaker · 10 mins
  • Key Takeaways · 5 mins
  • Discussion Questions · 20 mins
  • Write It Down · 2 mins
  • One Action · 10 mins
  • Wrap-Up · 5 mins

👋 Member Updates · 10 mins

Go around your Circle and share personal updates. Keep them brief and focused on significant changes or important decisions since the last time you met. It's OK not to have one every month. If you have a One Action update from last time, share that too.

🧊 Icebreaker · 10 mins

Invite everyone in the group to share. Keep answers to one or two minutes per person.

When you hear the phrase 'imposter syndrome,' what immediately comes to mind?

💡 Key Takeaways · 5 mins

Imposter syndrome is real, widespread, and far more nuanced than most popular coverage suggests. Understanding it matters, because misunderstanding it can make it harder to address.

  • Myth 1: It's not real. Imposter syndrome has been researched for over 40 years across academia, medicine, and the corporate world. It exists.

  • Myth 2: It's a mental health condition. It's better described as a phenomenon: a situational pattern of thinking that shows up under specific conditions, not a pervasive diagnosis.

  • Myth 3: It mostly affects women. Studies show it's equally common in men. Up to 82% of professionals experience it.

  • Myth 4: It's your fault. High-achieving, sensitive people are more prone to it because of how deeply they process experiences, not because of a character flaw.

  • Myth 5: Confident people don't have it. Some of the world's most successful people, from Maya Angelou to Sheryl Sandberg, have experienced it. Paradoxically, feeling imposter syndrome is often evidence you're not an imposter.

  • Myth 6: It keeps you humble. Relying on imposter syndrome to check your ego comes with costs: missed opportunities, burnout, holding yourself back from growth.

  • Myth 7: Awareness and positive thinking fix it. These bring short-term relief but rarely work long-term. Real change requires specific, actionable tools.

💬 Discussion Questions · 20 mins

Move through the questions at the pace that suits your Circle.

  1. Which of the seven myths was most surprising for you? Which resonates with you the most?
  2. The article argues that experiencing imposter syndrome is actually evidence you're not one. Does that make sense to you?
  3. Research shows that the following tools can be highly effective. Which of these have you already used, and how did it go? Which do you want to try?

Tools to combat imposter syndrome:

  • Separate feelings from facts. Remind yourself that feeling like a fraud is not evidence you are one. In fact, this feeling can be evidence that you're NOT a fraud.
  • Keep an "evidence file:" a running log of positive feedback, wins, and concrete accomplishments you can revisit when self-doubt creeps in.
  • Change how you talk about your work: Swap "I got lucky" or "I got help" for owning your role in outcomes.
  • Interrupt the perfectionism loop: Set a "good enough" threshold before starting a task, rather than an open-ended pursuit of perfection.
  • Talk to peers or mentors candidly about how you're feeling. They can provide reassurance and may have felt the same way.
  • Seek help from a career coach or therapist.

✍️ Write It Down · 2 mins

Take a few minutes to connect the discussion to your own life.

What's one myth about imposter syndrome you've been believing, and what's a more accurate way to think about it?

🎯 One Action · 10 mins

Commit to one concrete action — big or small — you'll take before next meeting. Go around the Circle and share (1 minute or less per member). Vocalizing it helps hold each other accountable.

Choose one thing you've learned today, or one tool from the list above, and share how you'll put it into practice before your next meeting.

📅 Wrap-Up · 5 mins

Before you break, plan the next meeting and close on an energetic note. Go around your Circle one by one and finish the sentence:

Now I am feeling… (choose one word).

  • Set the day, time, and location
  • Choose the next topic or resource
  • Confirm who's leading the discussion
  • Decide how you'll stay in touch in between