Combating Imposter Syndrome

What is Imposter Syndrome, how does it impact you and how do you overcome it?

Impostor syndrome (also known as impostor phenomenon or impostorism) is a psychological occurrence in which an individual doubts their skills, talents, or accomplishments and has a persistent internalised fear of being exposed as a fraud. Despite external evidence of their competence, those experiencing this phenomenon do not believe they deserve their success or luck. 

It has been estimated that 25-30% of high achievers and nearly 70% of individuals will experience signs and symptoms of impostor phenomenon at least once in their life in an academic or professional environment.

It’s normal to feel this way from time to time, especially when starting a new job. In some ways, imposter syndrome can be a good thing – it can give you enough drive to go the extra mile. But if your feelings of insecurity are always there, this may be stopping you achieving your full potential and goals, or even lead to burnout.

What causes imposter syndrome?

Personality traits largely drive imposter syndrome: Those who experience it struggle with self-efficacy, perfectionism, and neuroticism. Competitive environments can also lay the foundations. For example, many people who go on to develop feelings of impostorism faced intense pressure about academic achievement from their parents in childhood.

What triggers imposter syndrome?

Calling attention to one’s success, ironically, this can unleash feelings of imposter syndrome. This could occur when receiving an award, passing an exam, being promoted or getting a new job. Failure after a string of successes can also cause someone to critique and question their overall aptitude.

Can you be diagnosed with imposter syndrome?

No, imposter syndrome is not an official psychiatric diagnosis in the DSM. People with imposter syndrome may struggle with other mental health conditions, such as anxiety or depression, but an individual couldn’t be diagnosed as having imposter syndrome. So right now it's only self-diagnosed.

Who should people with imposter syndrome turn to for support?

In certain situations, turning to a colleague or mentor who understands one's feeling of insecurity can be advantageous. But research suggests that reaching out to people outside of one's academic or professional circle may be a better tool to combat imposterism. Those individuals can put the person's concerns into context, recalibrate their perspective, and offer support and love.

Where does it comes from?

There’s no single clear cause of imposter feelings. Rather, a number of factors likely combine to trigger them.

Potential underlying causes include the following.

Parenting and childhood environment

You might develop imposter feelings if your parents:

• pressured you to do well in school
• compared you to your sibling(s)
• were controlling or overprotective
• emphasized your natural intelligence
• sharply criticized mistakes

Academic success in childhood could also contribute to imposter feelings later in life.

Personality traits

Experts have linked specific personality traits to imposter feelings.

These include:

• perfectionistic tendencies
• low self-efficacy, or confidence in your ability to manage your behavior and successfully handle your responsibilities
• higher scores on measures of neuroticism, a big five personality trait
• lower scores on measures of conscientiousness, another big five trait

Existing mental health symptoms

Fears of failure can prompt plenty of emotional distress, and many people coping with imposter feelings also experience anxiety and depression.

But living with depression or anxiety might mean you already experience self-doubt, diminished self-confidence, and worries around how others perceive you.

This mindset of feeling “less than” can both lead to and reinforce the belief that you don’t really belong in your academic or professional environment.

Imposter syndrome can worsen mental health symptoms, creating a cycle that’s difficult to escape.

New responsibilities

It’s not at all uncommon to feel unworthy of a career or academic opportunity you just earned.

You want the job, certainly. It could even be your dream job. All the same, you might worry you won’t measure up to expectations or believe your abilities won’t match those of your co-workers or classmates.

These feelings may fade as you settle in and get familiar with the role. Sometimes, though, they can get worse — particularly if you fail to receive support, validation, and encouragement from your supervisors or peers.

5 Common Types of Imposter Syndrome and How To Battle Them

1. The Perfectionist

Perfectionism and imposter syndrome often go hand-in-hand. Think about it: Perfectionists set excessively high goals for themselves, and when they fail to reach a goal, they experience major self-doubt and worry about measuring up. Whether they realise it or not, this group can also be control freaks, feeling like if they want something done right, they have to do it themselves.

Not sure if this applies to you? Ask yourself these questions:

• Have you ever been accused of being a micromanager?
• Do you have great difficulty delegating? Even when you’re able to do so, do you feel frustrated and disappointed in the results?
• When you miss the (insanely high) mark on something, do you accuse yourself of “not being cut out” for your job and ruminate on it for days?
• Do you feel like your work must be 100% perfect, 100% of the time?

For this type, success is rarely satisfying because they believe they could’ve done even better. But that’s neither productive nor healthy. Owning and celebrating achievements is essential if you want to avoid burnout, find contentment, and cultivate self-confidence.

Learn to take your mistakes in stride, viewing them as a natural part of the process. In addition, push yourself to act before you’re ready. Force yourself to start the project you’ve been planning for months. Truth is, there will never be the “perfect time” and your work will never be 100% flawless. The sooner you’re able to accept that, the better off you’ll be.

2. The Superhero

Since people who experience this phenomenon are convinced they’re phonies amongst real-deal colleagues, they often push themselves to work harder and harder to measure up. But this is just a false cover-up for their insecurities, and the work overload may harm not only their own mental health, but also their relationships with others.

Not sure if this applies to you?

• Do you stay later at the office than the rest of your team, even past the point that you’ve completed that day’s necessary work?
• Do you get stressed when you’re not working and find downtime completely wasteful?
• Have you left your hobbies and passions fall by the wayside, sacrificed to work?
• Do you feel like you haven’t truly earned your title (despite numerous degrees and achievements), so you feel pressed to work harder and longer than those around you to prove your worth?

Imposter workaholics are actually addicted to the validation that comes from working, not to the work itself. Start training yourself to veer away from external validation. No one should have more power to make you feel good about yourself than you—even your boss when they give your project the stamp of approval. On the flip side, learn to take constructive criticism seriously, not personally.

As you become more attuned to internal validation and able to nurture your inner confidence that states you’re competent and skilled, you’ll be able to ease off the gas as you gauge how much work is reasonable.

3. The Natural Genius

People with this competence type believe they need to be a natural “genius.” As such, they judge their competence based ease and speed as opposed to their efforts. In other words, if they take a long time to master something, they feel shame.

These types of imposters set their internal bar impossibly high, just like perfectionists. But natural genius types don’t just judge themselves based on ridiculous expectations, they also judge themselves based on getting things right on the first try. When they’re not able to do something quickly or fluently, their alarm sounds.

Not sure if this applies to you?

• Are you used to excelling without much effort?
• Do you have a track record of getting “straight A’s” or “gold stars” in everything you do?
• Were you told frequently as a child that you were the “smart one” in your family or peer group?
• Do you dislike the idea of having a mentor, because you can handle things on your own?
• When you’re faced with a setback, does your confidence tumble because not performing well provokes a feeling of shame?
• Do you often avoid challenges because it’s so uncomfortable to try something you’re not great at?

To move past this, try seeing yourself as a work in progress. Accomplishing great things involves lifelong learning and skill-building—for everyone, even the most confident people. Rather than beating yourself up when you don’t reach your impossibly high standards, identify specific, changeable behaviours that you can improve over time.

For example, if you want to have more impact at the office, it’s much more productive to focus on honing your presentation skills than swearing off speaking up in meetings as something you’re “just not good at.”

4. The Soloist

Sufferers who feel as though asking for help reveals their phoniness are what Young calls Soloists. It’s OK to be independent, but not to the extent that you refuse assistance so that you can prove your worth.

Not sure if this applies to you? Ask yourself these questions:

• Do you firmly feel that you need to accomplish things on your own?
• “I don’t need anyone’s help.” Does that sound like you?
• Do you frame requests in terms of the requirements of the project, rather than your needs as a person?

Realize there’s no shame in asking for help when you need it. If you don’t know how to do something, ask a co-worker. If you can’t figure out how to solve a problem, seek advice from a supportive supervisor, or even a career coach.

5. The Expert

Experts measure their competence based on “what” and “how much” they know or can do. Believing they will never know enough, they fear being exposed as inexperienced or unknowledgeable.

Not sure if this applies to you? Ask yourself these questions:

• Do you shy away from applying to job postings unless you meet every single educational requirement?
• Are you constantly seeking out trainings or certifications because you think you need to improve your skills in order to succeed?
• Even if you’ve been in your role for some time, can you relate to feeling like you still don’t know “enough?”
• Do you shudder when someone says you’re an expert?

It’s true that there’s always more to learn. Striving to bulk up your skill set can certainly help you make strides professionally and keep you competitive in the job market. But taken too far, the tendency to endlessly seek out more information can actually be a form of procrastination.

Start practicing just-in-time learning. This means acquiring a skill when you need it–for example, if your responsibilities change–rather than hoarding knowledge for (false) comfort.

Mentoring junior colleagues or volunteering can be a great way to discover your inner expert. When you share what you know it not only benefits others, but also helps you heal your fraudulent feelings.

I'll leave you with this thought:

If you’ve experienced this at any point in your career, you’ve at one point or another chalked up your accomplishments to chance, charm, connections, or another external factor. How unfair and unkind is that to yourself and your abilities? Take today as your opportunity to start accepting and embracing your capabilities and how truly wonderful you are..