Imposter Syndrome: Here I am…Please Send Someone Else
Have you ever felt that you shouldn’t be doing the job you have been asked to do? You are just waiting for everything to crash down and people will realize you are an imposter?
As leaders we often feel that pressure and I want to look at a passage from Exodus 4:1-16.
Moses tried to lead Israel on his own the first time; that didn’t end well when he killed an Egyptian. Exodus 4 picks up with God and Moses, in reality Moses was arguing with God about why he couldn’t lead again.
How many of us have jumped and tried to force God’s hand? How did that end up for you?
The term Imposter Syndrome was first published in 1978 in a paper entitled “The Imposter Phenomenon in High Achieving Woman by Dr. Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes. They quickly found out that this applied to men and women in society. In a study by INC. it was found that 8 out of 10 people experience imposter syndrome. I think the other two people were feeling like imposters and couldn’t admit it!
When we look at Moses, he had already spent 40 years working for his father-in-law Jethro; he was comfortable in his new life. Moses made every excuse about “why” he couldn’t do it to the Creator of the Universe and the Creator of Moses! Ultimately, God brought in Aaron to assist Moses in leading Israel. Do we often believe that we need to do it all alone?
The world might have convinced us that we aren’t fit to be leaders, however God doesn’t listen to what the world says…he had other plans for Moses. You might discover He has other plans for you or you might see how you can be even more effective in what you do!
Here are 4 keys to leadership and growth from Moses:
- You can’t force his timing-sometimes you need time to mature or a little time of reflection and prayer in the desert. You might need some Quadrant one nutrients, Moses certainly needed containment as he argued with God. Does that sound familiar to you?
- You aren’t going to be perfect in how you lead. Through God’s power He will give you the words and the presence and when the weight of perfection is lifted, often you can perform better. The power of the saving work of Christ is that he paid for our debts on the cross, which allows us to rest on him because perfection is not something we can attain on our own.
Be careful with the harsh inner judge-what tape is playing in your head? How do you change the message that you have created? It isn’t easy but finding safe people to create mismatching experiences that will slowly silence the inner judge, what do you need?
- Find the right team-Moses had Aaron. Who do you surround yourself with? Do you trust or merely tolerate them? When you need Reality or a Call to Action, can your team provide that? I know in my own life that I might believe I have a wonderful idea but I need a team…like the time I bought a DVD Redbox machine; I should have listened to my wife who said the business plan didn’t make sense….I could have saved myself time and money.
Gallup found that 48% of employees are actively searching for new opportunities. People are finding out that they are not content at work. What kind of culture have you created for your team?
- Your journey might not be what you expected…remember it all started with Moses talking to a burning bush in the desert, what do you think his other shepherd friends would have said if they saw this!
He suffered from the Imposter Syndrome and regret/embarrassment over how his “leadership” went the first time…he had a significant amount of time to reflect on that.
What are you feeling an imposter about in life? Job, a project, parenting?
I have felt that many times in my own life, especially when I came to California over 20 years ago. I had anxiety and fear that I would fail and head home immediately, what does a guy from Kansas have any business out in California! I have heard this often from students and clients who have this feeling in their stomach that they are on the brink of being found out they are an imposter.
God has a purpose and a calling that we don’t expect in life, what challenges do we need to trust God in more with our lives?
Christ is the one foundation in life that helps us move forward, spiritually we are all imposters. He died on the cross so that we can serve in our vocation as a leader, coach, or counselor. We know that through Christ the battle for eternal life has been won, what an honor that we can share that with others.
Finally, it is stressful to run an organization or lead a group. Moses found that out…
What we can learn is that leadership is hard but the call that God has given us to serve makes the hard parts worth going through. How can the Townsend Institute continue to be on the cutting edge of training people that will influence and save lives?
Instead of asking God to send someone else, trust in the Creator of the Universe who has given us victory over sin, death, and the devil that you can be the person to lead.
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