Page 30 - Adnews magazine Sep-Oct 2022

Investigation
Imposter Syndrome
The advertising industry excels at it. Self doubt holds back many.
WORDS BY
CHRIS PASH
At first glance, imposter syn- drome could be describing being thrown in at the deep end, learning to swim. But in the talent pool, this can be a crippling fear holding many back from leading full careers.
A fraud. A persistent internal voice, dragging at confidence. I must be rubbish.
Imposter syndrome. Is it holding back bright people from realising their potential? Or is it yet another label forcing action back on individ- uals, and disproportionately women, rather than the industry itself?
Aimee Buchanan, CEO of GroupM in AUNZ: “The first time I stepped into a client leadership role, I’d worked on the business for six years, and I was still freaking out.
“As CEO, I was beside myself with anxiety for a few months. I had a five or six month old baby and was think- ing ‘I’m barely getting dressed every day. How can I run a company?’”
Buchanan says people get con- fidence by succeeding and when you haven’t succeeded in a role, it gives cause to question ability.
“There’s a lot outside of your control in these agency leadership roles, where
you’re desperately
trying to keep all the pieces mov- ing,” she says.