Why lacking confidence is not really imposter syndrome.

Why you don’t really have imposter syndrome.

Imposter → Impersonating somebody you’re not.
Imposter Syndrome → Also called perceived fraudulence, refers to an internal experience of self-doubt and believing you are not as competent as others perceive you to be.

You. Are. Not. As. Competent. As. Others. Perceive. You. To. Be.

“One could feel as though at any moment one is going to be found out as a fraud — that one doesn’t belong where they are, and they only got there through dumb luck.”

If you lack confidence, there’s a solution: build expertise quickly.

How can you do it?

One way is by specializing.

It lets you work quickly in one set of work that allows you to see the patterns. When you see the patterns, you know you’re onto something.

Philip Morgan, in his Positioning Manual For Indie Consultants, defines 3 ways to specialize:

Vertical. Defined by a market vertical a.k.a. industry [ie. creative agencies, hospitality, electric cars] or by audience a.k.a. a group of people that shares something important in common [ie. purpose-driven]

Horizontal. Pure horizontal: a nonspecific, broad range of services to a large set of customers [ie. business strategy, marketing, communications] or by platform [ie. facebook ads, instagram, notion, twitter, you name it].

Service Specialization. Focused on the service delivery. It’s vastly performed also as productization or as the standardization of scope. [ie. diving certifications, get your website in a day, find your purpose in a session].

Choosing one of these options will let you see the patterns in a faster way (get competent quickly) and build your confidence.

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