At some point in our careers, 70% of us feel we aren’t worthy of the job we are doing.

Let that sink in. 70% of us!

Academic research by Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes reveals that an estimated 2 out of every 5 successful people consider themselves frauds.

Take Sally, for example, she’s a successful Senior Designer. Throughout the company she is well respected and valued. She’s constantly outperforming her colleagues and producing a high standard of work.

Petrified that she will be found out to be a fraud. That someone is going to walk into her office and ask her what on earth she thinks she is doing in such a high powered job.

As we know, Sally isn’t alone. So why is this and why are women, in particular, more vulnerable to something commonly known as Imposter Syndrome?

This term was coined following an academic study in the 1980’s that was centred on women who were able to break the glass ceiling. It revealed that they believed they were only promoted because they were lucky or judged to be better than they actually were. This telltale sign of a disconnect between actual and perceived performance is key – despite lots of proof that they are doing well those with Imposter syndrome believe they are ‘faking’ it and even praise can make them feel uncomfortable, compounding their feelings of incompetence.

I’m sure many of you now can really resonate with that description of Imposter Syndrome and how it can present itself into multiple areas of our lives, not just in our career journey.

Here’s my five top tips:

• Realise where this insecurity stems from and understand it. Learning to accept that you feel this way is a big step forward, and making a conscious decision that you are not going to let these feelings stop you doing what you want to do or from being successful. This is, of course, easier said than done, but you can begin by controlling how you react to emotional stimuli.

• Notice when you are allowing the negative thoughts which erode your confidence ‘airtime’ and counteract them with positive thoughts such as ‘I am skilled and experienced, and good at my job.’ Retraining yourself not to listen to these negative thoughts will take conscious effort and hard work but in time will become more natural.

• Know that at times of pressure or stress you may be more susceptible to feelings associated with Imposter Syndrome so develop a strategy to make time for the things that make you feel good, and plan in advance how you might deal with the ‘wobbles’ when they appear.

• Allow yourself to be human – the fear of being ‘found out’ can often make those with Imposter Syndrome play it safe at work but making mistakes are part of becoming successful – by taking a risk and trying different approaches we can learn much more than we would from just following the tried and trusted path.

• Keep an achievements journal to build confidence and remind yourself why you are in the job you are in. When the doubts creep in you can instantly access lots of ‘evidence’ of when you have performed well.

Finally, using a skill Pauline Clance talks about has helped so many of my clients actively deal with their Imposter Syndrome. This is the ‘well enough’ theory – which encourages people to stop focusing and aiming for perfection. I encourage you to do a task, in the next seven days, ‘well enough’. Don’t focus on the tiny details, don’t procrastinate, don’t beat yourself up that it isn’t perfect. If it is ‘good enough’ accept that and celebrate your hard work. I bet no one else sees the ‘imperfections’ that you do.