RICA LACENTRA
THE XX FACTOR
Face It: The Mirror Of Success Doesn’t Lie Too many people feel like they’ve lucked into success, rather than earned it. That can hold you down from reaching your top potential. BY ERICA LACENTRA | CONTRIBUTING WRITER, NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL
“But who really develops the overall marketing strategy for the company. Is it you or is the CEO behind it all?” As I let that question linger in the air during a recent call with an industry colleague, it took me far longer than it should have to claim ownership of one of my main job functions as Director of Marketing for RCN Capital. After almost eight years in the industry and spending all of that time building RCN’s marketing department up from a team of one (just me) to a now team of ten employees, why did I have such a hard time saying, yes, I was in fact a part of that success and growth? Turns out, I was suffering from something known as imposter syndrome.
FEELING LIKE AN IMPOSTER So, what exactly is imposter syndrome? Imposter syndrome is the idea that someone feels like they don’t actually deserve the accomplishments and recognition they have received, mainly in their professional life. They feel like they have only made it this far by sheer, dumb luck, and not because of their talent or qualifications. I had no idea this feeling had a name until speaking with another colleague recently about an upcoming Women’s Conference, but once I hung up the phone, I wanted to get to the bottom of this phenomenon. After some thorough digging, I realized experiencing this feeling is more common than I initially expected. According to a review article in the International Journal of Behavioral Science, “an estimated 70% of people experience these impostor feelings at some point in their lives.” Also, while these feelings affect both men and women, typically women seem more likely to suffer from imposter syndrome than
their male counterparts. This is especially true for women in male dominated industries and industries where women are underrepresented in senior management positions. Being a female in a director role in the mortgage industry, I checked every box. So, while I may be in good company, it still isn’t pleasant feeling like a fraud in your everyday life.
WHAT’S THE REAL HARM? You may be thinking, how can imposter syndrome really have any lasting negative effects? Just push those thoughts of doubt out of your mind. Unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple and it can seriously impact people that experience it. Since imposter syndrome instills such a heavy sense of self-doubt, its not just a case of someone shunning praise or glossing over major achievements, it can lead to much larger, long-term issues. Sufferers will tend to not seek out opportunities for promotions or push themselves to negotiate for better pay. Also, since they tend
While I may be in good company, it still isn’t pleasant feeling like a fraud in your everyday life.
