LeadershipHQ Magazine 3rd Edition September Issue | Page 6

Are you a
fake leader?
By Sonia McDonald

Are you a successful leader but
sometimes feel like it was a stroke
of luck instead of hard work that
made it happen? Do you think you
give the impression of being more
competent than you really are, or
when you receive a promotion or
an award, you struggle to accept it
until you see it on paper?
You might feel like you’re the only
one who has these feelings, but
what you are experiencing is more
common than you think. It actually
has a name; Imposter Syndrome.
Discovered in the 1970’s, the
phenomenon described a group
of high achieving women who felt
they were not actually as capable
as other people thought, and
showed how that effected their
motivation and performance.
Feeling like a fake can hamper
performance and stop you from
reaching your full potential as a
leader. It may hold you back from
applying for the next step in your
career for fear of drawing attention
to