Have you ever felt like you didn’t deserve the accomplishments you received? If so, you’ve experienced what psychologists call imposter syndrome. 70% of people experience these feelings at some point in their lives, and this problem affects people from all walks of life.
How to help your clients with imposter syndrome
Imposter syndrome is the idea that someone has only succeeded because of luck and not talents or qualifications. Imposter syndrome can include people who set extremely high expectations for themselves and people who feel like a failure even if they meet 99% of their goals.
Working as a life coach, you will encounter many people who suffer from imposter syndrome. Here are three tips you can use to help your client with imposter syndrome.
- Get them to open up. The first step to changing a problem is to recognize you have one. Once you get your client to open up about their imposter syndrome, it will be easier to overcome it.
- Recognize when one should feel like an imposter. Next, there are some situations where you will feel like an imposter. For example, if you are in a location where people are much older or younger than you, or if you are the only woman, person of color, or person with a disability, it is natural to feel like an outsider.
- Play up the positives. Finally, focus on positive qualities instead of the negative. It’s important to strive for excellence when it matters, but remind your client that mistakes are inevitable.
Many people suffer from imposter syndrome, including writers, artists, and even doctors, but there are ways to overcome them. With quality coaching, anyone can work through these feelings. If you have never coached someone struggling with imposter syndrome, Coach Training Alliance has many continued-education classes to help you further hone your coaching skills and offer the best to all of your clients.