Guest blogger and proud phony Stephanie Sparks discovers the cure for feeling like a fake

At the Alberta Women Entrepreneurs’ “Innovative Approaches to Success” event last week, a stranger called me an imposter. But I’m okay with that, because you’re likely an imposter, too. That stranger was Valerie Young, who says her job title is Dreamer-in-Residence, though she is, in fact, a career counsellor and motivational speaker from Massachusetts.

Young told the crowd that about 70 percent of professionals have “Imposter Syndrome,” a fear among successful and competent employees that they will be found out as fakers, phonies or just plain lucky in their careers. Successful people, she noted, often make excuses for how they got where they are, or why they should have done better.

After Young’s talk, audience members shared imposter stories and talked about what kind of imposter they were. There are six types:

1. The Perfectionist’s primary focus is on “how” something is done. This includes how the work is conducted and how it turns out.
2. The Rugged Individualist cares mostly about “who” completes the task. To make it on the achievement list, it has to be them.
3. The Expert’s primary concern is on “what” they know or can do. Or more precisely, what they don’t know or can’t do.
4. The Natural Genius also cares about “how” and “when” accomplishments happen. But for them competence is measured in terms of ease and speed.
5. The Extremist focuses more on “where” they are on the brilliant-continuum at any given time. If they aren’t on the brilliant end all day-every day, they automatically banish themselves to the other side.
6. The Superwoman/Super Student measures competence based on “how many” roles they can both juggle and excel in.

I won’t tell you what kind of imposter I am. I don’t want to pigeonhole myself so early on in my career. But I will admit that Young had my number. Perhaps by rejecting my imposter identity, I’m on my way to becoming a “real” person.