Click the link below the picture
.
“I was intimidated for many years in the early part of my board career because I didn’t have a business degree and felt underprepared,” a female board director once told me. Another director, explaining that she “grew up in the shadows of a plantation” reflected, “It’s still very much a white male show, so the fact that I was the first African American female on the board was astounding to me.”
As U.S. practice leader of CEO and board services at Boyden, an executive search firm, I interact with hundreds of aspiring and existing directors. Questions about their qualifications for board service remain a concern for many of the people I talk to, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds.
My experience aligns with research that shows that high achievers from underrepresented backgrounds often find themselves confronting imposter syndrome, or doubting their skills and achievements, or fearing being exposed as a fraud. Women and people of color may be more likely to feel they don’t fit in, they’re not welcome, and they don’t belong.
Imposter syndrome can be crippling mentally and emotionally, drain your energy and attention, and cause you to fall short of the performance you are capable of, thus, feeding the cycle of self-doubt. If you experience imposter syndrome, you may explain away your successes by thinking anyone could have done what you did, or thinking you just got lucky, or fearing that others are mistaken in believing that you’re talented. As if that isn’t bad enough, when you stumble or face challenges, your self-perceived incompetence looms larger than life — increasing your chance of failure and perpetuating the syndrome.
.
HBR Staff; Simone Wave/Stocksy; Vladimir18/Getty Images
.
.
Click the link below for the article:
.
__________________________________________
James' World 2 
Leave a comment