If you’re in a senior role do you feel like this?

[Snoopsnoggysnog]

I’m in a senior client facing role (board or board minus 1 usually) - very high expectations and standards.
I constantly feel like I am winging it and getting it wrong. I feel I don’t show leadership and come across more junior / younger than I am. I work very hard but sometimes fail to meet the mark. I’m easily intimated by certain types of senior people.
Sometimes I produce amazing work but I feel like these are flashes of brilliance than how I operate all the time.

I know about imposter syndrome but in my case I don’t have imposter syndrome I’m just genuinely not meeting the mark!

Not sure what I’m asking but I need to change something.

Sounds like imposter syndrome to me. That’s why you think you’re really an imposter if that makes sense.
Do you get any feedback from the Clients or your manager? That should guide you if there’s an area of your work that needs improvement. They should also tell you what you’re doing well. It sounds like you just need more confidence in your abilities tbh. In my experience you wouldn’t be put in front of senior clients if your manager thought you were incapable, so you must be doing something right!

Doesn’t everyone feel like this ?

We’re so used to seeing success as a middle aged white man with unwavering confidence that being any other normal human is just too fallible for our brains to cope with.

What about
Get a executive coach to help you work on your confidence at c level
Become a mentor to others more junior to remind yourself how far you’ve come

Fake it

Until you make it

Sounds like you need executive coaching

When studying at uni.. my lecturer told us that you will feel and may always feel like you will be ‘found out’ that you can’t do the job 🤣 I felt like this for about 5 years, I don’t feel I will be ‘found out’ as such but let me tell you that when I put on my professional and corporate front, sometimes total BS, I am very much believed, I think it’s the perceived confidence.. but like you I am totally winging it

Yes I used to
Now I work for an agency in a lower role, but get paid more.

Yes I can absolutely relate to this.

I feel like I don't deserve my salary.

It's all about confidence and how you hold yourself. Doesn't matter about the rest...Well provided you're not a complete muppet, which clearly you are not or you wouldnt be there.

I often feel like this. It's definitely imposter syndrome.
What helps me is to repeat to myself that no one gets promoted out of kindness, no one gets carried if they're not pulling their weight and if I was really as rubbish as I think I am then I would have been out on ear many years ago.

If you're looking for commiseration, I can assure you that you are not alone! I feel the same.

Oh absolutely yes! I do have bouts of confidence here and there at times, but mostly similar to what you described.
I think it might stem down to the area of work too. And especially now that I am back from maternity leave I almost had to justify to myself why they even wanted me back !

Coaching certainly helped me in the past as it allowed me to focus on all of the good stuff that I was delivering.

Yes. But I'm trying to change it by

• reminding myself that I am very good at my job
• my job is to make the difficult decisions. If it was easier, they wouldn't pay me what they do
• sounding more mature and considered. Sometimes this is as simple as pausing and looking contemplative before saying something; at other times it's summarising what's going on and what the issue when everyone else is waffling; at other times, it's not using slang and colloquialisms.

@MavisMonkey

I often feel like this. It's definitely imposter syndrome. What helps me is to repeat to myself that no one gets promoted out of kindness, no one gets carried if they're not pulling their weight and if I was really as rubbish as I think I am then I would have been out on ear many years ago.

I get this but I just feel like I've been lucky to not have been caught out.

I'm in the Civil Service but in a much lower grade to you. If one of our senior leaders was feeling insecure like this, we would worry that we hadn't been doing our jobs right. Surely at your level you're providing an overview of what those beneath you have been doing? When you work as a team everyone has to be working and delegating.

Means a lot to read these. Thank you for replying.

It’s interesting to read that so many others feel the same. Any senior women out there that don’t feel like this?

Like a PP I also feel that I don’t deserve my salary. I often think about doing something else that I would really love, but my self worth is tied up now into being a high earner I suppose.

Coaching and mentoring - both great suggestions and both are things I’ve got a lot out of in the past. I am definitely going to pick both of those up again.

I find video client meetings hard. I’m so much more effective and confident in the flesh. I know this is opposite to how some people feel.

I have had times of feeling like this and even went to HR to worry at them about it and they got me a wildly expensive coach. Tbf it did work.

I hate feeling like this - I’ve had a rough week and have felt very anxious. I do have anxiety but I’m very good at managing it and have strategies for it but this week has been crap.

I am currently in the middle of the UPFRONT Fifth Bond confidence course and it is really helping me with these feelings. Not sure how much an executive coach is, but Bond 6 is open for booking, could be worth comparing.

Sounds like the role is not a 100% fit for you - there are things that you like but other areas which don’t feel natural to you.

Certainly pursue coaching et al but maybe also consider the job as a whole and your definition of success - you’re clearly very capable but might need a role that maps better onto the areas where you’re more naturally at ease.

@Snoopsnoggysnog

I hate feeling like this - I’ve had a rough week and have felt very anxious. I do have anxiety but I’m very good at managing it and have strategies for it but this week has been crap.

Can I ask if you procrastinate or what it is about this week that has been tougher than others?

Are you avoiding a hard piece of work?

Yes, I also have imposter syndrome even if my role is junior and on paper I'm very qualified. Sometimes I would like to go for promotion but then I think the imposter syndrome would be much worse if I was paid more and given more responsibility!!! I feel worse when I meet more junior colleagues who are stellar... They really put me to shame...

Ended up right at the top and had this feeling often. Are you female in a male environment? I wasn’t an imposter it turns out. I did a better job than most.
Taken me 5 years of retirement to realise I was in fact good and many male colleagues weren’t.
It’s hard but try to build your confidence and when you don’t feel confident pretend you do.
Trust me you will look back and realise how good you really were x

Different field but I recognise the feelings of imposter syndrome. I hope what follows doesn’t offend anyone but what helped me get over this was looking at our current government. They clearly have confidence in themselves way beyond their abilities. I had this moment of realisation - “why am I spending so much time worrying about whether I’m good enough when they clearly don’t”.

I obviously do still look at where I can improve but now do it from the point of view of “I’m doing a pretty good job and performing as well as anyone else but how could I do it better” rather than crippling self doubt. It’s a small but powerful mental shift.

People that had coaching - I guess you had to be honest about your thoughts to allow them to coach you?

Finding people’s response v helpful thank you