Is The Imposter Syndrome destroying the career you've worked so hard to build?

Are you feeling constantly disappointed by your lack of progress and know that you're capable of more - but you don't know what to do next to shift yourself up a gear?

The Imposter Syndrome is a feeling of being a fake, a fraud, someone who doesn't belong in their role.

The Imposter within often waits for the tap on the shoulder to let them know that they've been caught out - "I can see you, in that role that you have no right to be in. It's time to go!"

Feelings of being an imposter will cause you to believe that:

• You don't deserve your role
• How on earth did you get this role?!
• Your success is a fluke
• Other people don't see the real you - and if they did, they wouldn't be impressed
• Someone else should be doing your job
• You'll be shot down in flames if you share your ideas
• You're stuck - you won't be able to sustain this, and you'll never convince anyone else ever again that you deserve a new role

When you're in the grip of your imposter, it means that you effectively put the brakes on your career:

• You stop speaking up
• You stop sharing your work and ideas
• You diminish yourself and play small
• You stop applying for roles you'd shine at
• You beat yourself up repeatedly after imagined transgressions
• You spend most of your time ruminating over past events and making up stories about future ones - none of which do you any favours
• You dread situations where you're required to present to a group of people

You begin to self sabotage and put a spoke in the wheels of your career - which then grinds to a halt.

I know all this, because I've had an Imposter on my shoulder for many years. As a teacher and mid-level leader, it caused me all kinds of problems, including making an idiot of myself in an early leadership role. 

Over the years, I've learned to manage my imposter, and a large part of my work is helping others do the same. 

This liberates them, and allows them to begin to move forwards, to make their next career move or to begin making a REAL impact in the role they have.

Like Sally, a senior educational leader, who proudly announced in one session that she no longer felt like an imposter in her role, and had the inspection results to prove it! 

Or Ella, a lawyer who anchored her identity to a mistake 15 years previously - when she saw how she could see herself through more up to date eyes, she went on to become a partner in her firm.

Or Michelle, who learned to see herself as being the perfect person for the role she was in - and went to become a CEO of a large charity.

How about you? Are you in thrall to your own imposter? Isn't it time that you did something about it?

I'm offering a short 1:1 programme to help you do that. 

It's an ideal way to work with me if you're curious to know what coaching is about and how it works.

You'll get:

• A two hour 1:1 session to help you develop strategies and tools to manage your own imposter, delivered online via Zoom, and can be recorded for you to listen to as often as you want to with no need to take copious notes
• A follow up one hour session approximately 4 weeks later to evaluate your progress and plan for the future
• Ongoing email support and accountability during those 4 weeks
• All materials, including a welcome pack to get you started

Email me at  hello@susanritchie.co.uk and we'll arrange a time to have an initial chat. 

This programme will help you. I've helped hundred of clients to re-invigorate themselves and get things moving in their careers.

If you want to stop diminishing yourself, and begin telling yourself stories that build you up and help you to access your resources instead, then let's work together.