Do you sometimes act as if you are not qualified for a role even though you know you are?

Do you downplay your ideas and accomplishments so that others won’t feel threatened? If so, you are acting like an "intentional imposter." 

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Welcome to Ever Better Today: the daily podcast for creating your optimal business, career, or overall life in ten minutes or less. I’m Lisa Conners Vogt, Executive and Leadership Coach and founder of Ever Better Coaching and Consulting. Let’s jump in!

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Why would anyone be an intentional imposter? 

Avoiding Conflict

We’ve all seen examples of women who confidently speak their truth and face a firestorm of criticism because of it. Maybe you’ve witnessed this or even experienced it yourself. This can cause individuals to play smaller. 

Consider Dr. Christine Blasey Ford who was harassed, ridiculed, and experienced death threats because she shared her experience of being assaulted by Brett Kavanaugh in high school. 

Avoiding the Spotlight

Sometimes being in the spotlight can result in public shaming and people speaking out against an individual whom they don’t know. This very real experience of trolling can cause individuals to avoid the spotlight so that they can continue to live their lives as they have been. Unfortunately, they may not be living and speaking their authentic truth and they are not making a difference in the world as they might. 

Consider what happened when Dr. Brene Brown gave a TEDx talk in 2010 that becamse wildly popular. Word of her research and her relatable explanations of shame became widely quoted - and the trolls came for her online. She openly discusses how hurtful and potentially damaging the barrage of negative comments about her looks and her work could have been. She discusses this in her Netflix special, The Call to Courage.

Avoiding Responsibility:
Which May Reveal Symptoms of Imposter Syndrome 

Sharing your ideas in a meeting or public forum can result in being assigned with leading a task force or taking on a special assignment. This can be great for your career. But it can also be one more responsibility for which you won’t receive additional compensation. It may also put you into a role for which you don’t feel qualified. This can cause imposter syndrome to reveal itself. Listen to Ever Better Today Episode 104 to learn more about Imposter Syndrome. 

How to break the cycle of intentional impostering.

Take steps to stop intentional impostering little by little. 

Practice sharing your authentic ideas a bit more every day. When you do this regularly, people will get used to hearing from you and expect it. You’ll create the understanding and expectation that you have valuable ideas and qualifications. 

Expect to be invited in as a leader. And if you’re not, remember what Shirley Chisholm said: “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” 

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