Imposter Syndrome at work - help!

[al88]

I'm really struggling with this at work. I'm middle management and I continually feel like I shouldn't be there, like I'm going to be found out as not having a clue.
I'd like to progress to senior management and have had some feedback that I'm not initiating and leading new ideas and changes enough. I find that I do have the ideas but don't feel confident in driving them forward. I overthink it and talk myself out of it and before I know it someone else has come up with the same idea and the chance is gone.
I also need to work on my leadership skills, which is really hard when I don't believe in myself.

Has anyone successfully overcome this? How did you do it? What changes did you make to the way you approach things? Were any books helpful, or even a course of some sort?

I think very few people ever overcome it and everyone has it to some extent.

So just keep reminding yourself when sitting in a meeting or talking to a senior manager etc that every single other person probably has the same doubts you have and just power through. Not all new ideas and changes come to fruition or work out well. If you have an idea just go for it and if it doesn't work try something else.

I went to a women’s conference a few weeks back and the Imposter Syndrome talk was one of the most widely attended. I’ve tried to attach the slide with some suggestions to overcome it but it was essentially give yourself a break. Understand and be objective with your negative voice. Keep track of your value add and succcess and it’s really helped me in the weeks since. At another session a woman suggested using “amplification” in meetings with trusted colleagues that you can count on to back you up and help build on ideas. This talk was from a woman that had 5000 people reporting in to her and she’s in the process of managing it so don’t beat yourself up!