THE IMPOSTOR SYNDROME: BEHAVIORS ASSOCIATED – (CHAPTER 01)

What Is Imposter Syndrome?

Impostor syndrome (also known as impostor phenomenon, impostor-ism, fraud syndrome or the impostor experience) is a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their skills, talents, or accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a “fraud”. Impostor syndrome refers to an internal experience of believing that we are not as competent as others perceive us to be. While this definition is usually narrowly applied to intelligence and achievement, it has links to perfectionism and the social context.

To put it simply, imposter syndrome is the experience of feeling like a phony—we feel as though at any moment we are going to be found out as a fraud—like we do not belong where we are, and we only got there through dumb luck. It can affect anyone no matter their social status, work background, skill level, or degree of expertise.

Impostor syndrome is different from the standard “fake it until you make it” in that impostor syndrome impacts people who have already made it in a big way. People like Neil Armstrong, Michelle Obama, and Tom Hanks have all had bouts with impostor syndrome. If people who’ve achieved that level of success feel impostor syndrome, it’s a pretty normal feeling for any of us to feel the same.

Imposter syndrome takes up a lot of emotional energy and physical time, both of which we could be investing in our business, relationships, or personal life. It can also drive hesitation and prevent us from taking on opportunities that can propel our success. Imposter syndrome also occurs in normal human-to-human relationships. Based on this syndrome, continuing doubts about people and individual defense mechanisms are considered difficult to achieve healthy relationships.

Despite external evidence of their competence, those experiencing this phenomenon remain convinced that they are frauds and do not deserve all they have achieved. Individuals with impostorism incorrectly attribute their success to luck, or interpret it as a result of deceiving others into thinking they are more intelligent than they perceive themselves to be.

Common Characteristics of Imposter Syndrome

Causes of Imposter Syndrome

While for some people, impostor syndrome can fuel thoughts of motivation to achieve, this usually comes at a cost in the form of constant anxiety. We might over-prepare or work much harder than necessary to “make sure” that nobody finds out we are a fraud. This sets up a vicious cycle, in which we think that the only reason we survived that class presentation was that we stayed up all night rehearsing. The problem with impostor syndrome is that the experience of doing well at something does nothing to change our beliefs. It’s as though we cannot internalize our experiences of success.

This makes sense in terms of social anxiety if we received early feedback that we were not good at social or performance situations. Our core beliefs about ourselves are so strong, that they do not change, even when there is evidence to the contrary. The thought process is: If we do well, it must be the result of luck because a socially incompetent person just doesn’t belong.

Impostor Syndrome and Social Anxiety

Eventually, these feelings worsen anxiety and may lead to depression. People who experience impostor syndrome also tend not to talk about how they are feeling with anyone and struggle in silence, just as do those with social anxiety disorder.

Impostor syndrome and social anxiety may overlap. We might be in a conversation with someone and feel as though they are going to discover our social incompetence. We might be delivering a presentation and feel as though we just need to get through it before anyone realizes we really don’t belong there. While the symptoms of social anxiety can fuel feelings of impostor syndrome, this does not mean that everyone with impostor syndrome has social anxiety or vice versa. People without social anxiety can also feel a lack of confidence and competence. Impostor syndrome often causes normally non-anxious people to experience a sense of anxiety when they are in situations where they feel inadequate.

Identifying Impostor Syndrome

Self reflective inquiry can help in the identification Some of these stimulus may be:

The negative thinking, self-doubt, and self-sabotage that often characterize imposter syndrome can have an effect on many areas of our life.

Impostor syndrome Appearance

Impostor syndrome can appear in a number of different ways:

Impostor Syndrome and Procrastination

Impostor syndrome can send us into some very interesting cycles of procrastination and over preparation.

1. Impostor syndrome drives us to over-prepare or procrastinate achievement-related tasks
2. The results of our over preparation and procrastination feed more impostor syndrome. 

It’s a cycle called the Impostor Cycle. Here’s how it works. Think about having done something in the past – any achievement-related task like taking a test, giving a presentation at work, playing an open-mic night, or even writing an article.  Here is how it flows:

The Procrastination Path

If we procrastinate on that task, then we will rush at the end of our procrastination habit to cram in the work we have to do. In this situation, no one knows that we procrastinated except for us. When the task goes well, a normal feedback-loop would boost our confidence. But in the Impostor Cycle loop, we discount the positive feedback that we receive because we know that we procrastinated. We start to feel like we have fooled people yet again and did not earn that positive feedback. 

The next time we receive a task, we know that this could be the time that we fail and people figure out that we have been a fraud the entire time. So our ego kicks and it avoids the task and procrastinates again. This creates a see-saw battle between procrastination and impostor syndrome that is challenging to interrupt.

Over Preparation Path

Over preparation has two potential impostor cycles.

***To be continued in Chapter 02 (Root causes, measuring Imposter Syndrome, Ways to identify and cope) – Link to Chapter -02:

THE IMPOSTOR SYNDROME: BEHAVIORS ASSOCIATED – (CHAPTER 02)

Content Curated By: Dr Shoury Kuttappa.

THE IMPOSTOR SYNDROME: BEHAVIORS ASSOCIATED – (CHAPTER 02)

***Continued from Chapter 01 (Covered previously: Meaning, Characterestics, Apparance and Manifestation)

Link to Chapter 01:

THE IMPOSTOR SYNDROME: BEHAVIORS ASSOCIATED – (CHAPTER 01)

Root Causes — And Potential Solutions 

Regardless of how or why people may feel like an impostor occasionally, this syndrome is all about the stories that we tell ourselves. We step out with an idea, then when someone says “no,” we retreat and the cycle repeats. The stories may not be true anymore, but they become a habit.  It may happen in school and then in meetings at work. Our ideas get shut down as someone says, “I’ve been here 11 years and that won’t work.” We develop complex coping mechanisms around these stories and deepen the groove in our brain of the thoughts and behaviours, making it very difficult to break the mental connections we’ve made – or to step into our brilliance, whatever it may be.

Measuring Impostor Syndrome

The first scale designated to measure characteristics of impostor syndrome phenomenon came in 1985, called the Clance impostor phenomenon scale (CIP). The scale can be used to determine if characteristics of fear are present, and to what extent. The aspects of fear include the fear of evaluation, fear of not continuing success and fear of not being as capable as others.  The Impostor phenomenon can be distinguished by the following six dimensions:

By this model, for an individual to be considered to experience impostorism, at least two of these aspects have to be present.

Coping with Impostor syndrome

To begin to get past this, we need to engage in deep self reflection. Some questions that may help are:

Perfectionism plays a significant role in impostor syndrome. We might think that there is some perfect “script” for conversations and that we cannot say the wrong thing. We probably have trouble asking for help from others and may procrastinate due to our own high standards. To move past these feelings, we need to become comfortable confronting some of those deeply ingrained beliefs we hold about ourselves. This can be hard because we might not even realize that we hold them, but here are some techniques we can use:

Rewire Your Brain 

Small changes are great, but it’s the deeper changes that have lasting impact. The biggest step toward gradually breaking through impostor syndrome is to change the way our brain chemically responds to negative messages. Self-imposed limitations are the greatest barrier to change. Few ways in which we can begin to turn potential self-limiting challenges into strengths – and train our brain to make new, more productive connections may be:

A) Learning how to sit in inquiry: . . . . . . . . . . . .  Turning questions into curiosity: Instead of just asking “Why did that happen?” ask, “How could it be different next time?” Use of solution-focused thinking such as, “What stopped me from making this mistake this time, and how can I practice more of that skill?”, etc.  Identify our stronger skills so that we can build on them rather than repeat mistakes.

B) Practicing periods of useful reflection: . .. . . . Ruminating on issues does not solve anything, or everything would be fixed. Worries are just made-up stories. Attaching facts to worries in order to gain insight and a fresh perspective helps. When we feel a judgment popping up (which will often be subjective), ask ourselves, “What are the facts?”

C) Use of “and” instead of “but” to weigh things more evenly: . . . . . . It’s all about the words we use. Most of the time, replacing “but” with “and” will lend a fresh perspective. Practice of not speaking in absolutes. Turn “I always…” into “I sometimes…” and we will literally change our brainwaves.

D) Post reminders of past successes: . . . . . . .  Hang our degrees, accolades and thank-you cards where we can see them, so that we are constantly reminded of the times we performed well in the past. We all need signposts to remind ourselves as we get caught up in our daily work. Let them become our pep talk and reminders of our brilliance, especially before important meetings or conversations.

Practicing a more mindful, inquisitive approach to impostor syndrome can go a long way toward alleviating its power over us in the workplace. True change begins on a personal level, but its effects need to be taken seriously at an organizational level as well.

Content Curated By: Dr Shoury Kuttappa.