Imposter Syndrome May Be Limiting Your Team
We may find humor in the jokes but imposter syndrome is real
Standard cartoon repurposed to be more serious
Intro
So, you want to be a great manager. You want to be more than a transactional or task oriented leader because you recognize that people are a team's true source of success. Then you need to be on the lookout for imposter syndrome in yourself and in your team.
Imposter syndrome has also been variously referred to as imposter phenomenon, fraud syndrome, perceived fraudulence, imposterism, or imposter experience. Regardless of the term you heard when you first encountered the description you probably thought to yourself, "Oh, heck yeah! I've felt like that!"
If you dig beyond the bullet points and humorous graphics, you'll find there is more going on. We often joke about our own feelings, but true imposter syndrome can have a serious impact on individuals and therefore on the effectiveness of their team.
What We Know
Here we summarize findings from articles listed in the reference section. I recommend listening to the Freakonomics podcast if you don't have time to read stuff.
Imposter syndrome was originally defined by two psychologists: Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes. They originally referred to the experience as 'imposter phenomenon', but I guess syndrome is catchier, as that is what I've heard most.
We can all experience imposter syndrome at some point, regardless of our competence or success. I remember my dissertation advisor explaining that he still felt imposter syndrome. A highly respected computer scientist with a named chair at a highly regarded university, saying he did not always feel adequate. Imposter syndrome does not discriminate.
Imposter syndrome exists on a spectrum. There are even quizzes to give you a reading on where you land on that spectrum. (I've added a link for one quiz in the references.) However, we usually diagnose by counting the number of matched symptoms.
Imposter syndrome does not appear in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), so it is not currently considered a mental disorder. However, the health care community is discussing creating an entry. That clinical definition would in turn make it a first class medical condition.
The original thesis that women suffered from this experience more than men is no longer clearly supported. About half of surveyed studies show a difference and about half do not. It may be that women are just more outspoken about their feelings (imagine that). If there is a difference, it is not a large one when measured with anonymous questionnaires.
There is at least anecdotal evidence of correlation with "I'm new" and/or "I don't fit in here" -- think minorities and people fresh out of school. Thus low diversity could create an environment conducive to imposter syndrome for your underrepresented team members. Some studies indicate a higher rate of occurrence in underrepresented populations.
The stress of a serious version of imposter syndrome may lead to a number of negative health outcomes. It is correlated with depression and anxiety and is associated with impaired job performance, reduced job satisfaction, and burnout.
Some people who have strong forms of imposter syndrome will engage in self sabotage as a means of having a reason for failure. This avoids attributing potential failure to inadequacy.
Diagnosis
Approaches to diagnosing imposter syndrome are proposals. Remember, there is no DSM entry so we don't have standardized criteria. However, the proposals generally provide a list of characteristics or symptoms, and count the number the person matches with. Here is one list.
◼️ Suffering the imposter cycle
◼️ Intellectual self-doubt
◼️ Low self-esteem
◼️ Feelings of fraudulence and/or inadequacy
◼️ Denial and/or failure to internalize competencies, accolades, achievements, or successes
◼️ Feeling fear and guilt about success
◼️ Fear of failure
◼️ Super-heroism
◼️ Anxiety
◼️ Depression
◼️ Burnout
◼️ In professional settings: excessive comparison to peers
The imposter cycle needs some unpacking. Here are two ways I have seen it described.
◼️ You feel like a fraud, so you behave like a fraud, which leads to feeling even more like a fraud. Rinse, repeat.
◼️ The cycle is characterized by feelings of self-doubt, followed by negative self-talk, having anxiety-related symptoms, and having a feeling of accomplishment and relief that does not last after completing a task.
One proposal for diagnosis is experiencing any two of the following:
◼️ The impostor cycle
◼️ Perfectionism
◼️ Characteristics of superman/superwoman
◼️ Fear of failure
◼️ Denial of ability and discounting praise
◼️ Feeling fear or guilt about success
Treatment
There's no obvious magic potion for imposter syndrome. Quoting a survey article of 62 studies with 14,161 participants (referenced below):
"None of the included articles presented an evaluation of a specific treatment (e.g., cognitive behavioral therapy) for managing impostor symptoms. A 1985 paper by Matthews and Clance qualitatively described their experiences in private practice caring for 41 people with impostor feelings. They recommended validating patients’ doubts and fears, directly addressing fears of failure, and providing group therapy since these patients often feel isolated and that they alone experience impostor feelings; however, no data were presented on treatment intensity, duration, or improvements on any diagnostic tool."
We do have tools available from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT aims to help us recognize, appraise, and modify thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes that have harmful associated behaviors. One method is teaching us how to improve emotional regulation and coping strategies that target causes.
The topic of emotional regulation requires more space than we have here. However, here is a three-step (simplified) process model for how emotional regulation works: (1) we recognize the situation, (2) we appraise the situation, (3) we respond to the situation. Improving emotion regulation involves one or more strategies to modulate that process in our favor.
Here is a starting place with a lot more detail on taking action.
📖 How to overcome imposter syndrome, Monitor on Psychology, June 2021, Vol 52 (4), p44. American Psychological Association.
Outro
Almost everyone understands the emotional experience of imposter syndrome in a personal way. It has been studied for some time and exists on a spectrum.
Imposter syndrome may disproportionately affect the underrepresented demographics of a team and is correlated with a number of negative health outcomes.
There is currently no clinical definition for imposter syndrome but the creation of one is being debated in the medical community. There are no standardized treatment processes, probably because the absence of a clinical definition (an entry in the DSM) makes it difficult to obtain funding. However, cognitive behavioral therapy methods for managing emotion regulation provide a starting point.
However, we can end on a positive note with Adam Grant's take on imposter syndrome from a recent book.
"Impostor syndrome is not a clue that you're unqualified. It's a sign of hidden potential. When you think others are overestimating you, it's more likely that you're underestimating yourself. They have an outside view."
Anyone being held back by imposter syndrome can flip the script and unlock that potential. As a manager, you need to be able to recognize this issue on your team and provide help.
References and Resources
A Freakonomics podcast on the No Stupid Questions show is a great place to start.
📖 Do you have imposter syndrome?, No Stupid Questions podcast, Freakonomics Radio.
Here is the original paper as a PDF copies from an author’s website.
📖 The Imposter Phenomenon in High Achieving Women: Dynamics and Therapeutic Intervention, Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice. 15 (3): 241–247.
Here is a systematic review article that does a lot of the legwork for us. These types of articles provide a broad overview by coalescing and disambiguating findings across a large number of papers, each of which usually has a specific focus. They can be very detail oriented, including discussion of how the review was executed.
📖 Prevalence, Predictors, and Treatment of Impostor Syndrome: a Systematic Review, Journal of General Internal Medicine (2020), Vol 35(4).
Here is a summarized commentary of the above detailed article. I recommend starting here.
📖 Commentary: Prevalence, Predictors, and Treatment of Imposter Syndrome: A Systematic Review, Journal of Mental Health and Clinical Psychology (2020), 4(3).
Here is a clinical overview that includes descriptions of the most common characteristics. Don't mind the medical terminology - you can use an online dictionary if the words are opaque.
📖 Imposter Phenomenon, National Library of Medicine, National Center for Biomedical Information
Here is an article aimed at helping an individual who is helping themselves.
📖 Impostor Syndrome: What It Is and How To Overcome It, Cleveland Clinic, April, 2022.
Here are some studies on imposter syndrome in underrepresented groups.
📖 URiMs and Imposter Syndrome: Symptoms of Inhospitable Work Environments?, Family Medicine (2023), Vol 55:7.
📖 Why is there a higher rate of impostor syndrome among BIPOC?, Across the Spectrum of Socioeconomics (2020), V1(2).
📖 Dr. Pauline Rose Clance - website with link to Imposter Phenomenon test