Impostor Syndrome
What is Imposter Syndrome?
Imposter syndrome is a psychological experience characterized by persistent self-doubt and the inability to believe that one’s success is deserved. Also called fraud syndrome, imposterism, or perceived fraudulence, imposter syndrome can make high-achieving individuals feel like frauds, despite evidence of their competence.
The Basic Idea
Let’s say you’re a manager at a company, and you’ve just brought on a new team member. You’ve gone through the processes of reviewing her application, scheduling interviews, and maybe even having her complete a case study. She comes with strong recommendations from her last role and has a high GPA from her recently earned degree.
After a few weeks, you start to notice she’s become more anxious, and when you commend her on her work, she shakes it off. As you sit down to address your concerns about this behavior, she shares with you that she feels like a fraud and that luck was the main reason why she landed the job. Even though you remind her why you hired her and her colleagues’ positive words about her performance, it doesn’t change her feelings. She confides that she’s afraid everyone else at the company will uncover that she’s a fraud and that she doesn’t belong.
What your employee is experiencing is called imposter syndrome (or imposter phenomenon), a psychological pattern in which someone fails to internalize their skills and accomplishments and instead feels like a fraud. Anyone can experience imposter syndrome—however, it tends to be seen more frequently in women as well as minority groups. Although imposter syndrome is not in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), that isn’t to say it can’t be harmful. Imposter syndrome occurs alongside depression and anxiety; additionally, it can be associated with decreased job performance or burnout.1 It can feel like not being worthy of sharing one’s story or not feeling the emotional safety necessary to contribute new ideas. When one person experiences imposter syndrome, it impacts everyone around them.
Each time I write a book, every time I face that yellow pad, the challenge is so great… Each time I think, ‘Uh oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody and they’re going to find me out.
– Maya Angelou,poet, civil rights activist, Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient.
About the Author
Kira Warje
Kira holds a degree in Psychology with an extended minor in Anthropology. Fascinated by all things human, she has written extensively on cognition and mental health, often leveraging insights about the human mind to craft actionable marketing content for brands. She loves talking about human quirks and motivations, driven by the belief that behavioural science can help us all lead healthier, happier, and more sustainable lives. Occasionally, Kira dabbles in web development and enjoys learning about the synergy between psychology and UX design.
