I went from food stamps to the C-Suite of a $600 million company in a decade. And I know better than anyone that imposter syndrome can cripple you—until you realize everyone struggles with it.
I never planned on having a corporate career. My father was a construction worker, and my mother cleaned houses. I wanted to get married young and have kids, and I didn’t think I was smart enough for college or a career.
For a while, that’s how my life unfolded: I met my husband, John, at 18, got married at age 23, bought a house and had three sons by the age of 30.
In our early twenties, John was the owner of a successful plastic injection molding business in Naples, Florida. He manufactured air mattress pumps and eventually signed a lucrative deal with Walmart. There was a time when every air mattress pump sold at a Walmart in the U.S. came from our company.
Then we lost the Walmart contract to Coleman, which had moved their manufacturing to China and undercut our pricing. Simultaneously, the 2008 market crash happened—and John fell off a ladder and was injured. Almost overnight, we were upside down on our house, our family business fell apart, and my husband was confined to a wheelchair and then a cane, which he would use for almost two years.
Bankrupt, we signed up for Medicaid, unemployment and food stamps. I stood in line for milk and cheese, made my own diapers, and tried not to let my anxiety affect our 7-year-old, toddler and newborn. I knew I needed a job, but I had no degree and no experience, except for a few brief jobs in retail before I got married.
I posted my resume on Monster.com, and a few weeks later, I was contacted for an interview for a store manager position at a nearby Ulta. I landed the job, and a year later, I was promoted to a manager position at Ulta’s new location in Orlando. Over the next six years, I rose to district manager and regional vice president of Ulta Beauty, and head of stores for the Zales Diamond Store, in charge of more than $1 billion in revenue. Today, I’m the COO of the fitness brand Solidcore, which was just acquired for over $600 million.
It took me years to stop thinking other executives were going to “figure out” that I didn’t belong with them. Now I know that nearly everyone in the boardroom has gone through a season of feeling like they shouldn’t be there. Nearly 70 percent of people have entertained imposter thoughts at least once in their careers, according to Harvard Business Review. And a recent survey found that 71 percent of U.S. CEOs say they currently experience imposter syndrome.
Here are my tips for overcoming those doubts:
- Say yes to every opportunity. My promotion to the Orlando store came with only a $5,000 raise, but I accepted it and moved my family to Orlando anyway. That decision reaped so many rewards in the long run.
- Be a lifelong learner. I read a lot. From the start of my career, I’ve committed to reading 100 business and leadership books a year. There’s no shame in asking questions or admitting you don’t know something.
- Embrace discomfort. If you feel uncomfortable, that means you’re growing. I’ve learned that when I start to feel too comfortable, I’m stagnant and need to look for a way to change.
- When people believe in you, believe them. The people who hired me, promoted me and mentored me saw something special in me. At first I felt like they were wrong. Now I know I should have believed what they were telling me.
- Don’t try to be someone else. I’m a bubbly blonde, but I used to wear glasses and a different hairstyle so I looked “smarter.” But once I learned to accept my authentic self, my success skyrocketed.
- Life laughs at your plans. Embrace the unexpected. Self-doubt can be crippling, especially for women and people of color, who are more likely to be the victims of imposter syndrome. This may be partly why one in four female CEOs leave their position within two years—more than twice the rate of male CEOs.
Executives today are more diverse than ever, and often the unconventional backgrounds of their leadership team are the reason for a company’s success. When you realize that the days of the cookie-cutter executive expired years ago, it’s more possible to breathe easy and thrive at work.