When I became a headteacher at 31, I knew little of the emotional and psychological complexities of the role and what I’d have to do to overcome them. 15 years after being told by my careers teacher that I’d amount to nothing more than a supermarket checkout girl, I became the headteacher of an inner-city primary school.
To the outside world I appeared confident and happy, but internally, it was a different story. Nearly every day I questioned myself – did I have the right to be here? Was my careers teacher right? Did I have what it took to be a headteacher? For more than a few headteachers, this is how imposter syndrome works. If they have previously had experiences that have caused them to question their self-worth, they can find it incredibly difficult to internalise their achievements once they’ve reached the pinnacle of their careers. As a result, they feel an array of emotions – guilt, shame, anxiety, fear and self-doubt, to name but a few. Without the right support, many heads will adopt behaviours that do little to address the root cause of their feelings. Instead, they will adopt coping strategies that only serve to exacerbate their feelings of inadequacy.
DESTABILISING THOUGHTS
As an executive coach for headteachers, I’ve found that one of the best ways to help school leaders overcome imposter syndrome is to help them consider their emotional and psychological challenges within the context of Maslow’s ‘Four Stages of Learning’ model (see above). Maslow’s model helps us make sense of the emotional and cognitive processes that accompany new learning experiences – particularly those destabilising emotions and thoughts felt with differing levels of intensity between ‘Unconscious incompetence’ and ‘Conscious competence’. Newly appointed heads will experience this at the beginning of their headships; they might conceal it well, but established heads can experience something similar when changing schools, or when the circumstances surrounding their role changes dramatically. In my own practice, I’ve found that a positive mental and emotional shift can be created when individuals are encouraged to respond to questions that cause them to reflect on their sense of purpose and vocation.
BY ASKING…
- Why am I in this role; what guides me?
- Who do I want to be?
- Who believes in me?
YOU SHIFT FROM…
- Complying with others’ expectations
- Being affected by imposter syndrome
- Experiencing self-doubt
TO…
- Acting with authenticity and confidence
- Focusing on the best vision of yourself
- Seeing evidence of your achievements
When school leaders engage in ‘inner work’ such as this, the ‘outer’ work becomes less scary. The symptoms of imposter syndrome will soon disappear as individuals learn to fully embrace and accept who they are.
Viv Grant is the director of Integrity Coaching, which specialises in tackling professional and emotional isolation among school leaders; for more information, visit integritycoaching.co.uk
