Imposter Syndrome: What is it and do I have it?

Written by Ron Cacioppe

Impostor syndrome affects all kinds of people from all walks of life. Find out more about it and what you can do to overcome it.

What is impostor syndrome?

Have you ever felt you aren’t good enough for the job you are doing – that your colleagues and clients will discover you’re a fraud, or that you haven’t earned your accomplishments? Do you feel that everyone else knows what they're doing and you don’t? 

Impostor syndrome reflects a belief that you’re inadequate and a failure even when evidence indicates you are skilled and successful. If you have the feeling that people around you will “find you out,” then this article will help you understand this phenomenon better and help you move beyond it.

Impostor syndrome, also called the fraud syndrome, is a term to describe the psychological experience of feeling that you don't deserve your success. It is the idea that you’ve only succeeded due to luck, and not because of your talent or qualifications. It was first identified in 1978 by psychologists Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes.

Impostor syndrome affects all kinds of people from all walks of life: senior executives, women, men, medical students, managers, actors and famous athletes. If you struggle with confidence, especially if you keep up a façade that you are a master of your situation but really feel you aren’t, you are not alone. 

Impostor syndrome is a common experience for almost all of us. 70% of people experience these impostor feelings at some time in their lives. Impostor syndrome tends to be more common in high achievers who can't quite accept their achievements as good enough. 

Your brain, personality, gender or family may have instilled it in you

Studies of the brain show we are quick to see our flaws over our achievements because the brain is hardwired to focus on negative things. The brain doesn't focus on good things because good things can't hurt us. So, it focuses on dangerous threats, including the threat that 'I'll be found out as a fake'.

While this old survival technique is useful when there are snakes in the grass, it can make us miserable in the modern workplace when it worries about a typing mistake in a report to management as a "threat" as scary as a real, live snake.

Some experts believe impostor syndrome occurs with personality traits—like anxiety or neuroticism—while others suggest it comes from family or social factors. Sometimes childhood memories can leave a lasting impact, such as feeling that your grades were never good enough for your parents or that your brother and sister were better than you.  Many people feel that to be loved, they need to achieve.

While everyone can have the experience of feeling like an impostor or fraud, research has found it affects women more than men. Because women tend to be raised to be more aware, and take care of other people's wellbeing, they're more likely to worry about how their actions affect other people. This can lead to more severe impostor syndrome.

People are more likely to have feelings of being an impostor if they're in an area that is outside their comfort zone. For example, impostor syndrome was found to be in girls who were doing high-level mathematics at school.

Psychologists report more women than men approach them for help with impostor syndrome, partly because of the way they've been raised. Men and women are conditioned quite differently. Men are taught to fake it and not admit they aren’t capable.

It can affect all people in all aspects of life, but research into impostor syndrome shows it occurs most frequently at work or when studying for a qualification. People who are caught in the impostor syndrome question their value is as a human being and what they’re capable of. Feeling like a fake can be linked with anxiety and depression.

Common Symptoms of the Impostor Syndrome

 Researchers have found common patterns in people who experience impostor feelings. Review the following symptoms and see if you experience any of them.

Perfectionism — not recognising success because I can only focus on the flaws. This results in extremely high self-expectations. Even if I meet 99% of my goals, I still feel like I failed. Even small mistakes will make me question my competence.

Overworking —This comes with a feeling that I haven’t put in enough effort. Taking time out is considered wasting time so I don’t make time for hobbies or passions that aren’t related to work. I feel I must work harder and longer to prove my self-worth.

Undermining your achievements or discounting praise — I see my mistakes before taking ownership of my success. I acknowledge other’s contributions before my own and assume when I am given praise it is exaggerated or that I’m not worthy of it.

Fear of failure — putting off starting something, avoiding taking on new challenges and reluctance to ask for feedback so I don't have to face failing. This includes avoiding finishing a project so that it can’t be judged as not good enough. I often leave something to the last minute, and then rush to finish it as another way to avoid failure.

Not asking for help – this involves the need to accomplish everything on my own. Asking for help is showing a weakness. I can’t ask for help from others since I want to show I’m the strong one.  If I ask for help, it means I’m not capable. I don’t like delegating since I don’t want to burden others. I’d rather struggle on than ask for help.

Need to know everything - This symptom is the need to know everything and a fear that not knowing means I’m not valuable. I get as many qualifications or accreditations as possible, so I know more than anyone around me and can be the expert. I have to know the answers and prove that I am right. I need to know as much as possible when starting a project since I am afraid of looking stupid.

How can I deal with the impostor syndrome?

There are things you can do to train yourself to focus on the good over the bad.  One of the first steps in overcoming the impostor feeling is to acknowledge these thoughts and put them in perspective. Simply observing that thought as opposed to engaging it, can be helpful. ‘Does this thought help or hinder me?’”

You can also re-frame your thoughts. The only difference between someone who experiences impostor syndrome and someone who doesn’t is how they respond to challenges. People who don’t feel like impostors are no more intelligent or competent than the rest of us. We just have to learn to think like non-impostors. Learning to value constructive criticism, understanding that you’re slowing others down when you don’t ask for help are important realisations.

Another way to combat impostor phenomenon is to gather evidence. For example, "Where is the proof that this promotion was purely due to luck? What are some other reasons that could explain why I got this promotion?"

It can also be helpful to share what you’re feeling with trusted friends or mentors. People who have more experience can reassure you that what you’re feeling is normal and knowing others have been in your position can make it less scary.

Accept that everything doesn’t have to be perfect - 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. Start the project you’ve been planning for months, even if you don’t have everything perfect. There never is the “perfect time” and your work will never be 100% flawless. Accepting this will be better for you and reduce the stress on people around you.

Valuable work, not hours worked – Look at what you accomplish not how many hours you put in. Ease off the gas and gauge how much work is reasonable. Recognise that what you do that is effective is more important than how many hours you spend and how hard you work.

Ask for help – recognise that asking for help isn’t a weakness and there’s no shame in asking for help when you need it. People who help you feel valued. It’s OK to be independent, but not to the extent that you refuse assistance when you really could use it. 

Help others - Mentoring junior colleagues or volunteering where you can contribute your talents is a great way to discover that you have capability and value. When you share what you know it not only benefits others, but also helps you let go of your feelings of being a fraud.

Accept failure sometimes - Everyone fails sometimes. Use failures as an opportunity to learn and grow, not as a reason to beat yourself up and think that you are a failure. 

Overcoming impostor syndrome is an ongoing process that will be different for each person, but is very achievable. It's not something you do once and it's all fixed. It's a skill and you have to practice. Start by accepting and acknowledging your capabilities and accomplishments. Edison used a lot of failures to find out what made a successful light bulb.

It is normal to experience moments of doubt. The important thing is not to let that doubt control you. Work on minimising the impostor feeling now that you know about it and use tools, evidence and insight to convince yourself you are capable and worthwhile. You might have an impostor moment, but not an impostor life.

You can take a test to determine what type imposter type of personality you have here