Is Imposter Syndrome holding you back?

Many clients tell me that they are suffering from ‘Imposter Syndrome’ and it has been cited as a reason for the lack of female advancement in organisations. 

So, what is Imposter Syndrome? Where does it originate from? How does it affect people?

How do you get over it?

Imposter Syndrome is recognised as something that generally affects high achievers.

It is described as a feeling of not being qualified to do the work that you are doing, or that you are about to be found out as an ‘intellectual phoney’.

These kind of beliefs about oneself can have a negative impact on performance, leading to a lack of self-confidence, anxiety or even depression. In order to cover up these feelings sufferers have a tendency to work extra hard or avoid situations where they may be ‘found out’. It can mean that they choose easier tasks or lower level jobs, or avoid speaking up and sharing their ideas in meetings. Clearly if high achievers are limiting themselves in this way, business is not getting the most from these employees.

The phrase ‘Imposter Syndrome’ was coined by two psychologists, Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes, who in 1978 studied 150 high achieving women. The argument for studying women only, was that Imposter Syndrome is less prevalent in men and where it does exist, has less intensity.

Research shows that 70% of people suffer from Imposter Syndrome. Early family dynamics are cited as a contributing factor, children who are told they are intelligent or special in some way can spend their adult lives trying to live up to this ideal. Other contributing factors are; public criticism of work, comparisons with others, and belonging to a minority group within an organisational context. This last factor is why we see Imposter Syndrome linked to women more often than men.

In recent times it has been argued that Imposter Syndrome is one reason that we are still seeing a lack of female advancement in organisations. Sheryl Sandberg talks about her own experience. ‘Every time I was called on in class I was sure I was about to embarrass myself. Every time I took a test I was sure it had gone badly. Every time I didn’t embarrass myself or even excelled I believed I had fooled everyone yet again. One day soon the gig would be up…”

However, the existence of Imposter Syndrome may not be a matter of gender but rather that limiting beliefs are more likely to be triggered in those that are not part of a dominant ‘in-group’. Where an individual does not fit easily into the company cultural norms, there is more opportunity for limiting thoughts to thrive. Cultural norms are driven by the dominant group in any organisation. People may be excluded from this in-group due to their gender, race, and sexuality, and even where they went to university.

What I have learnt from working with high achieving business leaders is that most have some form of limiting belief that can stop them operating at full potential. Beliefs such as ’I should succeed at everything I do’, ‘I should automatically get it’‘, I should be able to anticipate problems before they occur’, ‘I should be able to do everything myself'.

These thoughts are particularly heightened at times when one is in an unfamiliar role such as after promotion or on return from maternity leave.

The writer ‘L. V Anderson says “Feeling like an impostor is not a syndrome, it’s a totally normal part of experiencing success.”

And in fact, Pauline Rose Clance who carried out the original study recently stated “If I could do it all over again, I would call it the impostor experience, because it’s not a syndrome or a complex or mental illness, it’s something almost everyone experiences.”

The good news is that neuroscience has discovered that we can re-wire our brains to help overcome Imposter Syndrome.

Let’s take the situation of presenting to the board as an example of how this works.

Your automatic response could be something like ‘I don't know enough about the topic, I will be asked questions that I haven’t prepared for, I am going to look unprofessional.'

Once you are aware of what triggers these thoughts you have an opportunity to respond differently and set an intention to succeed. New attitudes can be adopted such as ’I know as much as I need to know, if I can’t answer questions immediately I will get back to them, I am professional and have a lot of experience in my field.'

New attitudes lead to new behaviors which, when repeated often enough, stimulate a response from the brain. Our brain can grow and change throughout life due to neuroplasticity. Nerve cells in the brain adjust their activities in response to new behaviours, which results in the forming of new neural pathways. In other words, if we practice something often enough it will soon become our habitual response.

So, does raising our awareness of Imposter Syndrome contribute to better results? In my experience of discussing this topic with groups who are diverse in terms of status, gender and generation, it is revealed that in fact we are all very much the same. Understanding that even the most successful leaders can suffer from self -doubt leads to a sense of inclusion. In addition, a manager skilled at identifying others' limiting beliefs, can provide challenges with enough support and fire-cover to allow employees to discover new, more productive behaviours.