In June of 2018, a zine titled The Imposter appeared on my desk at Facebook HQ. It had been created by Facebook designers and distributed internally to the few hundred members of the design team. With a mild sense of dread, I opened the cover and read the note from the editors on the first page. Their note concluded with the following statement:
And remember — we’re all Imposters here.
What. The. Hell, Becky!? All members of the design team had just been involuntarily conscripted into a deeply insecure group of individuals brimming with self doubt. I was offended and shocked that this team of editors couldn’t imagine that a single employee was capable of feeling assured in their abilities and success.
Let me be clear; The experience of Imposter Syndrome is characterized by feelings of isolation, fear, low self-esteem, and an inability to recognize ones own accomplishments. Those are bad feelings to have, and an organization should not be encouraging its employees to feel bad.
And yet at present, there are Meetups and Eventbrite events all over the world with Imposter Syndrome as a headline topic. Why has this phenomenon become so popular?
The experience of Imposter Syndrome is definitely real for some people, but it makes no sense to spread it like an infectious disease when we could instead build cultures that foster self-confidence and resilience. I suggest that Imposter Syndrome is caused in part by a failure of the company to create such an environment.
What is Imposter Phenomenon?
Imposter Syndrome, as it’s commonly known, was first coined by Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes in 1978. Since that time, Clance has expressed that she prefers to call it Imposter Phenomenon or Imposter Experience.
Imposter Phenomenon — An experience in which an individual believes themselves to be a fraud despite overwhelming evidence that they are not
What is IP Not?
It’s important to highlight that the vast majority of people who experience Imposter Phenomenon are not imposters because they do not intend to deceive anyone. What they fear is that they might be exposed and perceived as not belonging to the group. In contrast, those who intentionally deceive others are known as con men or con women. A con man intentionally uses his elevated confidence to earn the trust of other people in order to reach his objective.
Imposter Phenomenon is also not someone openly admitting to a colleague that they are “Faking it ’Til They Make It.” Someone who truly feels like an imposter believes that being uncovered as a fraud would have disastrous consequences.
Contributing Factors
IP is driven by two core fears that all humans share. The first is a fear that one is not “good enough.” Humans are quite prone to worrying about what could go wrong. Out of the box, we humans come with an ongoing concern that we might not be good enough compared to some benchmark — usually other people in our circle. This sensation provides the motivation to monitor social behavior and attempt to earn success in the tribe. We would not be motivated to guard or improve our position — and lives — without feeling some mild inadequacy.
The second fear is that of being abandoned by the tribe. All people have a drive, formed by evolutionary forces, to move toward the center of the tribe. Having success — status, approval, connection — in the tribe is fundamental to how we survive. Humans experience a universal fear that they could be pushed out of the tribe. If this happens, they will be ostracized to the empty corners of the forest, where they would quickly perish alone, cold and abandoned.
1) Fear of not being good enough
2) Fear of being abandoned by the tribe
Aside from the two core fears, there are additional factors at play.
Working slower — While you may be able to achieve similar work outcomes and quality, it may take you longer to achieve work due to your personal style or work process. This could create an imposter experience when you compare yourself to peers.
Low self-esteem —Having low self-esteem, which is associated with anxiety and depression, will increase the chances that you feel you don’t deserve the recognition or rewards that come your way.
A high need for achievement — The drive to achieve, as well as chronic perfectionism, can lead to unrealistic expectations of yourself. It seems like nothing is ever good enough.
Internalizing uncertainty — Any business faces uncertainty. Discomfort with not having enough predictability or knowledge around the future or your organization can be encountered as imposter experience.
As a result, people may experience the following characteristics of Imposter Phenomenon:
- Feeling isolated
- Fear of being found out
- Feeling that you might be less intelligent or capable than those around you
- Feeling that status or accomplishments are not deserved or truly earned
- Unable to enjoy success or feel confident and at ease
- Unable to internalize accomplishments
None of these feelings are useful to have. Therefore Imposter Experience is something that we should want to eliminate entirely.
What Can You Do If You Experience IP?
Look for Contrary Evidence
You made it through the the interview process. It’s unlikely that you tricked multiple people. Accept that you met the qualifications.
If you were truly an imposter, that would mean you substantially deceived the company. Any true imposter would likely fail the interview process or be terminated quickly as the truth became clear.
Recognize Your Achievements
Reflect on the accomplishments of all your hard work and dealing with uncertainty that brought you to where you are now. All of those actions required you to get out of bed each day and show up to work toward your goals.
Understand the Nature of Problem Solving
In many cases, IP may arise simply because the solution to the problem that you are working on is not yet known. When you are working on a hard problem and don’t have an idea of what the solution might be, the situation may feel daunting and you might fear that you will be unable to solve the problem. However, this is a completely normal phase of the problem solving process.
Acknowledge that uncertainty is normal in the course of any human endeavor and it should not be seen as a personal failure when you can’t create more certainty in an uncertain world. Plans are meant to fail. We attempt to plot the courses of our projects, but real life almost always changes things. Projects change direction; deadlines are missed. This is normal and our job is to make adjustments along the way.
Ask Questions About Expectations
Ask someone you trust to provide clear expectations for your role. What does success look like? How will your impact be measured when it comes time for reviews? If your organization can provide reasonable goals for you, then you can use those as a roadmap.
If your organization can’t provide clear expectations, then you may have a different problem on your hands.
What Can the Organization Do?
People feel isolated in their imposter experience, and yet it appears to be very common. Because IP is experienced by the individual employee, the burden to resolve the experience is often placed on the employee rather than the organization. However, a toxic or ineffective work culture can be a large driver in creating the Imposter Phenomenon in its employees.
There is another way to define IP, aside from how we first described it above:
Imposter Phenomenon (v2) — A reflection of toxic environments in which honesty and vulnerability is discouraged and individuals are implicitly instructed to internalize any doubt or lack of knowledge and experience as a personal failing rather than recognizing the very common experience of learning while doing.
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This perspective illuminates a player that tends to go unmentioned in the copious articles about IP — the organization which created the cultural environment surrounding the employee. A person suffering may think that if only they work a bit harder, learn a bit more, accrue enough time in the job, then they will then feel less self-doubt and more confidence over time.
However, the solution to IP is not for individuals to strive for success in spite of it. Rather, a complete solution to IP involves making the environment accountable for reducing the conditions that lead up to imposter experiences. Steps the organization can take include:
- Support diversity and inclusion
- Clearly communicate culture, strategies, and process
- Encourage employees to ask questions
- Value the input of everyone in the room
- Create a truth-seeking culture that values honesty
- Demonstrate vulnerability
Vulnerability is a beneficial leadership trait. Leaders who admit their weaknesses or gaps in knowledge achieve two things:
- Vulnerability allows people to see that everyone is flawed and this builds trust because it’s relatable. When people see that everyone — including senior leadership — has weaknesses, they are more likely to feel safe and included in the work culture.
- Identifying gaps — When a leader admits a gap, this creates an opening for other members to step in and solve problems. This helps an organization make progress on work and avoid risk associated with blind spots.
In an environment where honesty and vulnerability are discouraged for fear of being seen as a weak or unqualified team member, employees will hold uncertainties close to their chests rather than verbalizing them. Without conferring with coworkers, an individual may think that they are the only person who feels uncertain about the path forward.
What is your experience with Imposter Phenomenon? Please leave your feedback in the comments!
