Imposter syndrome has the power to stand in the way of even the best personal brands - but only if you let it.  

Fear of putting yourself out there or downplaying your achievements can all get in the way of confidently showing up in your brand and reaping the rewards of effective personal branding efforts.  

The good news is that imposter syndrome can be squashed with the following evidence-based techniques to help you show up confidently in your personal brand.  

What is impostor syndrome?  

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Imposter syndrome is the psychological feeling that you’re a fraud and the fear of being exposed. It’s thinking that you don’t belong, that your skills and achievements are inadequate, and that success is due to luck, timing, or external help, rather than your skills or hard work.  

Bleak, right? But it affects all of us at some point in our careers. Even the most successful people aren’t immune to self-doubt from time to time. Take Tom Hanks, for example, he’s famously quoted as saying, “There comes a point where you think, ‘How did I get here? ‘When are they going to discover that I am, in fact, a fraud and take everything away from me?”  

Key characteristics  

• Self-doubt: Constantly questioning your abilities and downplaying your accomplishments.  

• Attributing success to external factors: Believing that success happens because of luck, help from others, or being in the right place at the right time, not because of your talent.  

• Fear of exposure: Worrying that others will eventually "find out" you aren't as capable as you seem.  

• Perfectionism: Setting extremely high standards and feeling like a failure if they aren't met.  

• Difficulty accepting praise: Brushing off compliments or feeling uncomfortable when people acknowledge your achievements.  

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Recognising impostor syndrome is the first step to overcoming it. With the right mindset and support, you can learn to separate feelings from facts, build genuine confidence in your skills, and take ownership of your success. From there, you’ll feel more empowered to share your story, showcase your expertise, and position yourself confidently through a personal branding strategy. But where do you start?  

1. Keep a note of all your achievements  

Often, the main source of imposter syndrome is forgetting how far you’ve come. Writing down all your achievements in a notepad or re-reading your CV can be an effective way to remind yourself of all you’ve accomplished in your career.  

A common symptom of impostor syndrome is the fear of coming across as conceited or arrogant. This can often stop people from using their personal brand to promote their success. But good personal branding isn’t about bragging, it’s about having the confidence in your ability to communicate about topics that will resonate with your audience.  

Keeping a note of all your achievements will allow you to tap into this confidence. For example, it helps you remind yourself that you do know what you’re saying because you have the skills and expertise to back it up.  

2. Establish clear goals for yourself  

Establishing clear goals for yourself can help you overcome imposter syndrome as it will remind you why you started, what you want to achieve, and hopefully keep you motivated.  

Making sure these goals are clear and broken down into smaller, achievable tasks can also help you stay on target, not get sidetracked, or feel overwhelmed by the bigger goal.  

This attitude can be applied to personal branding. If you have a clear goal in your head of what you want to achieve, it will help you to stay consistent with tasks like posting on social media.  

Having attainable goals also helps you build confidence in your personal brand. Especially when you first start out in personal branding, it’s easy to get caught up in your own head about posting on social media, networking, or speaking at a big event.  

If you face setbacks and challenges like low engagement or aren’t getting the results you set out to achieve, remind yourself that these hurdles are all part of your progress.  

With personal branding, it’s important not to give up and to maintain consistency. Those who post frequently on LinkedIn see higher overall engagement on their posts. Even if one post flops, it’s part of the broader goal of getting more leads for your business, and reminding yourself of the benefits of reaching this goal will help you feel more confident.  

3. Seek constructive feedback  

It might feel counterproductive, but good and honest feedback can help you get past your fears and insecurities.  

Confiding in a colleague, close friend, or fellow business leader about how your personal brand is coming across can help you overcome self-doubt.  

When it comes to personal branding, authenticity is essential—asking a friend if your online voice sounds like you can help you stay true to yourself. Content with an emotional undertone, be it happy or sad, is twice as likely to turn a profit. So, sharing your genuine emotional response to something is also recommended.  

4. Keep learning  

Self-improvement is the key to overcoming self-doubt. Often, imposter syndrome is rooted in a fear of ignorance. For instance, “I don’t know enough about the fashion industry to deliver an hour-long talk on it”. That’s why it’s essential to keep learning and growing your skill set and awareness in your industry.  

Effective ways to do this include reading, networking, taking a course, or setting aside some research time each week.  

5. Get expert support  

Overcoming imposter syndrome and being self-assured in your voice is difficult to do by yourself; sometimes, you need a helping hand in the right direction.  

Expert personal branding support helps grow your confidence, expand your network, and build trust and credibility with your audience. Creating a personal brand takes time, patience, and consistency—all these things are made 10x easier with the right support and advice from a team of professionals to guide you.  

Grow your confidence and your reach

AXD Agency is a leading sales & content marketing agency specialising in sales enablement and personal branding services. We help business leaders stand out with impactful and high-quality content that positions you as a thought leader and the go-to expert in your industry.  

Your voice, our expertise  

To find out more, book your free discovery call today. 

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