Fake It ‘Til You Make It Is a Great Strategy–but Only If You Do These 3 Things

By Andy Molinsky
Careers
2 min read

You’re going for a key interview and terrified you’re going to fail.  You’re about to give a key pitch to investors and you’re sweating through your shirt, worried they’ll see you as the imposter you really are.  You’ve probably heard the famous advice to “fake it ’til you make it.” But you’re not even sure what it really means–or, more importantly, how to do it well.

In my role as a professor, mentor, and coach I’ve worked with hundreds of young professionals struggling with this question.  Here is what I believe are the key tips for “faking it ’til you make it” in a sensible way that will help you grow into the professional you aspire to be.

 

1. Fake it with others, but don’t fake yourself.

If you’re going in for that big pitch to your boss or to an investor, you don’t necessarily want to reveal every one of your worries doubts and inadequacies.  It’s perfectly fine–sometimes even really smart–to fake your way through a scary situation. But don’t fake yourself into overconfidence. Forgetting what it took to take this scary leap and that you are still a novice with quite a bit still left to learn.

 

2. Balance faking with learning.

The whole point of the “fake it ’til you make it” strategy is to benefit from what psychologists call the “self-fulfilling prophecy”–the idea that by pretending that you feel confident, you’ll actually start to feel confident.  But this transformation doesn’t happen magically.  You also need to dedicate time, effort, and attention towards learning, which is the true engine of self-development.  Make sure that in the aftermath of your performance to do whatever you can to learn from what happened. Treat “mistakes” as data for improvement instead of something to sweep under the rug.  You just had the courage to try something really hard.  Don’t be ashamed; feel proud!  And see how you can improve.

 

3. Don’t fake alone.

Faking can be a lonely experience–working so hard to project a confident façade, when underneath it all, you don’t feel confident at all.  So, the third tip is to not fake alone.  Fake in collaboration with a coach or mentor who can help you learn to “fake” judiciously and strategically.  You’ll be surprised at how useful it can be to get feedback from others.  And you’ll quickly learn that you’re not alone in faking it or in grappling with the challenges of doing so in a way that works for you.

Originally published at Inc
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Andy Molinsky
Andy Molinsky is a Professor at Brandeis University’s International Business School, with a joint appointment in the Department of Psychology. Andy received his Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and M.A. in Psychology from Harvard University. He also holds a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from Columbia University and a B.A. in International Affairs from Brown University. Andy’s work helps people develop the insights and courage necessary to act outside their personal and cultural comfort zones when doing important, but challenging, tasks in work and life. His research and writing has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Inc. Magazine, Psychology Today, the Financial Times, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, NPR and Voice of America. Andy was awarded as a Top Voice for LinkedIn for his work in education. His first book, Global Dexterity (Harvard Business Review Press, 2013), received the Axiom Award (Silver Medal) for Best Business Book in International Business & Globalization and has been used widely in organizations around the world, including Boeing, AIG, the US Air Force Academy, and the Clinton Foundation, among others. His new book Reach was published with Penguin Random House in January 2017. He teaches, consults, and lectures widely to university and corporate audiences.
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