What is imposter syndrome and how can you overcome it?
Have you ever felt like you don’t have enough expertise or skills at your job? That others are better than you, and you don’t belong in your workplace?
If it helps, you will have to know you’re not alone in suffering from what researchers call “the imposter syndrome.”
Imposter syndrome was first identified in 1978 by psychologists Dr. Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes. While studying women with high accomplishments, they found that such women who are generally recognized as highly successful by outsiders do not feel the same way about themselves. They incorrectly believe that they have duped people into overestimating their abilities and that their successes only occurred by luck. Moreover, they fear they will be exposed as fraudulently pretending to be successful.
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Later research, however, proved that this condition is not exclusive to women, rather it is found in both men and women.
The imposter syndrome, also referred to as the imposter phenomenon, refers to an individual who doubts their own skills, abilities, successes, and overall capabilities in their life.
It is feeling like an imposter to your achievements, that you are not as qualified as you come across to other people. Despite having many achievements as evidence of their competence, such people do not own their successes. Their self-defeating beliefs make them feel inadequate, self-doubt, and anxious.
What is Imposter Syndrome- Signs and Symptoms
What is imposter syndrome: signs and symptoms
While imposter syndrome is not a disorder listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, psychologists recognize it as a serious psychological condition. They outline the following features to identify the presence of imposter syndrome:
- Self doubt and low self-esteem
- The feeling of being fraudulent
- Perfectionist tendencies leading to either procrastination and underperformance, or on the other extreme, working too hard
- Doubting your abilities and skills despite opposing evidence
- Lack of self-praise, and self-defeating talk such as undermining your achievements
- It may be accompanied by anxiety and depression
To find out if you have imposter syndrome characteristics, use the following questionnaire: Clance IP Scale
How the Imposter Syndrome Impacts your Life
Imposter syndrome lowers your quality of life and work
Imposter syndrome affects your workplace performance and overall quality of life. It can impact you in the following ways:
Imposter Syndrome and Mental Health Problems
Imposter syndrome has historically been linked to mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, etc. It can cause performance anxiety that affects your capability to handle important roles.
Overworking and Perfectionism
Feeling like an imposter often compels people to work harder than is needed to fill the gap of their perceived self-incompetence.
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Limiting Personal Growth
Having negative core beliefs and being hypercritical about yourself significantly reduces your confidence in yourself. You start feeling you are not authoritative enough to state your opinion or take up leadership positions.
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Imposter Syndrome and Work Performance
Imposter syndrome affects employee workplace productivity by raising stress and burnout and reducing job performance and satisfaction. It can also discourage a person from assuming roles of leadership and responsibility.
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How to Overcome the Imposter Syndrome
As overwhelming as it seems, imposter syndrome can be mitigated. The good news is that it may wear off with time as you gain mastery over your skills and people begin to recognize and acknowledge you for it. The first step is to understand what imposter syndrome is and how you are being affected by it. If you are still unable to shake off your feelings of inadequacy, you can try the following:
Be conscious of your self-talk
Notice how you talk to yourself. Do you often engage in thoughts and behaviors that are self-limiting? Is the way you talk to yourself empowering or self-defeating? Change your tone immediately whenever you catch yourself in negative self-talk.
Control your perfectionist tendencies
No one is perfect. Not everyone doing their job is an expert at it. It would be best if you accepted that being imperfect is human. Expecting yourself to be perfect will only hurt you.
Get comfortable with being uncomfortable
Get comfortable with a good enough job. Learn to make peace with the flaws in your work that make you uncomfortable. Just do it rather than fearing not getting it just right.
Strengthen your identity with supportive evidence
Don’t look for evidence against yourself, as you’ll always find it. Instead, strengthen your identity by spending time to create evidence that supports your identity.
List down your strengths
This advice may sound banal but writing things down simplifies them more than you think. Make a list of things you’re good at. Also, include examples that support your strengths.
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Celebrate your wins
Refrain from giving in to your urge to attribute the win to luck whenever you get something right. Instead, own the win and celebrate it. That does not mean you have to throw a party every time you get good feedback from your boss. You can make small celebrations such as treating yourself to your favorite meal or taking an extra hour of nap.
Educate yourself and gain experience
Imposter syndrome often comes along with insufficient experience. Individuals who may be qualified but need to be more experienced to do a job feel alien at their work due to a lack of familiarity with the tasks. You can take control by gaining exposure and educating yourself.
Connect to a mentor
It is always a good idea to share your feelings with a friend or mentor whenever you struggle mentally. Connect to a coach or a mentor who understands your job and the challenges associated with it. They will be able to guide you as they may have experienced it at some point in their life and may be able to offer a different perspective.
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Speak with a professional
If your imposter feelings are too deeply rooted in your mind, it is a good idea to seek professional help. A therapist can help improve your symptoms by working on your belief systems or exploring your childhood dynamics that contributed to developing this condition. Consider consulting a coach that can guide you to navigate yourself out of this condition to help you embrace your successes.
Group therapies are also helpful as imposter syndrome makes people feel like they are the only ones experiencing this, making them feel isolated. Voicing their thoughts to other people with similar experiences can help alleviate their concerns.
Imposter Syndrome at the Workplace: A Note for Managers and Leaders
Managers and employers must be informed about the prevalence of imposter syndrome and its impact on their employees and organization. They can support their employees through this condition by offering coaching and training opportunities to reduce their symptoms. Educated employers can create healthy work cultures where employee achievements are recognized and celebrated.
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