Whenever you’re working with super smart, capable-seeming people, it’s easy to feel inadequate, and let impostor syndrome set in. Most advice in dealing with this is centered around recognizing that you’re more critical of your deficiencies than other people are – in short, you’re better than you give yourself credit for.
That’s totally true advice, and worth heeding. But there’s another helpful way to look at this – the people around you aren’t as good as you think they are. When we are kids, adults seem to be the ones with all the answers. Yet once we’re adults, there’s still plenty we don’t know.
In the workplace you might feel like some of your work is poor or inadequate – but it’s helpful knowing that everyone else feels the same about their own work. No one really knows what they’re doing – we’re all just good at hiding that fact.
Recognize that this appearance is deceiving before holding yourself to a double standard.