THANK YOU FOR JOINING OUR EVENT!
Last week, on December 9th, we were delighted to have an inspiring speaker, Lucy Lei, Executive Director for Russell Reynolds’ Board & CEO Advisory Partners and ICF certified coach with PCC qualification, as our Thought Activator of the Month. She shared with us her knowledge and personal experience on the topic which is not given recognition and attention that it deserves, although it is incredibly important and there is a big chance that most of us will experience it sooner or later in life, no matter nationality, gender, or job title – overcoming Imposter Syndrome.
Lucy defined what Imposter Syndrome is, explained how to recognize imposter-like symptoms and what could the possible causes of shaping imposter-like feelings be on personal, societal, institutional, and interpersonal levels. She also underlined how important it is to differentiate between competence and confidence which are often misunderstood.
“This [Imposter Syndrome] can happen to anybody, even me or you. The point is not to eliminate it, because we are just human beings, sometimes in our lives things happen that will make us feel that way. The most important thing is to learn how do we deal with that.”
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Lucy was incredibly kind to talk about the time when she experienced imposter-like symptoms and she unveiled the methods and processes she used in order to overcome those feelings, which led her to make a promise to herself that she will never reject an opportunity out of fear of failure, and she will always take it as a chance to grow and learn. Here are some of the key tips from Lucy:
- daily reflection or meditation: just a few minutes in silence reflecting on what happened during the day will give you a new perspective and peace
- self-awareness: truly understanding who you are, what are your strengths and weaknesses and what do you stand for will help you to be stronger while facing criticism
- acknowledge the emotions: when you experience a negative emotion, notice it, put a pause, reflect on it, think about it why are you experiencing this emotion, and is it helping you or hindering you – if it’s not helping then let it go
- you are not perfect YET
- reframe your question: instead of asking WHY something is happening to you, ask HOW you can improve it
- see a bigger picture: stop waiting until everything is perfect, because sometimes when it’s perfect, the time is over
- score your performance every day and find someone who will help you to be accountable for it
👉Nurture physical health & fitness – often ignored although having a tremendous influence on every aspect of our life.
On an Interpersonal/Organizational Level:
👉share your feelings and emotions – you will discover you are not the only one feeling like that
👉create a network of support – perfectionists think that they have to do everything by themselves and it’s overwhelming
👉build a workplace environment that supports Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion
👉pay attention to your team – other people might have imposter-like moments; notice when they show a lack of energy or self-esteem, and help them by showing your compassion and understanding
“You can have an impostor-like moment
But not an impostor-like life.”
We want to express our appreciation to Lucy for sharing her experiences with us, and we hope these tips will help you make positive changes in the upcoming 2022 bringing a more balanced life.
Our special thanks goes to photographer Yolanda vom Hagen for her wonderful work in capturing moments from the evening. To see Yolanda’s full portfolio, visit her website at www.yovohagrafie.de
To connect with Yolanda, send her an email at mail@yovohagrafie.de or contact her via her Linkedin profile.
