Have you ever felt like a fraud; that you don’t deserve your success? You’re not alone.

Jane is a 34-year-old lead engineer. She has successfully managed several projects for her firm, her bosses shower praise on her, and her team looks up to her for guidance. Yet despite these successes, she can’t shake off the feeling that she doesn’t deserve her position. “I got lucky on that last project; I made a wild call and it happened to work out. Next time, I’ll make the wrong decision, the project will fail, and I’ll be fired for being a fraud.”

Ben is a 25-year-old graduate student at Winterfell University. He’s writing a thesis on the subject of seasonal weather patterns. Even as he writes through the wee hours night after night, he can’t help but think, “This paper is never going to amount to anything. Everyone in my field is intelligent and experienced; they’ll laugh at my amateur work. Winter is coming, but I’ll end up as a teaching assistant forever.”

Do any of these fictitious stories sound familiar to you? Have you, at any point, also felt undeserving of your position and achievements? If you have not, then cheers to you! If you have, then join the club.

I’m an impostor. A traitor. One day they’ll come for me with an electric baton.

The Problem

“Impostor Syndrome,” coined in 1978 by psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes, describes a successful individual’s inability to acknowledge and internalize their achievements, often experiencing feelings of self-doubt. Clance and Imes had noticed many accomplished women at their college who felt that they didn’t deserve their success, and a subsequent study of women from various colleges across the country found this ‘syndrome’ prevalent. While they “are highly motivated to achieve,” the respondents also “live in fear of being ‘found out’ or exposed as frauds.” ¹ However, note that it is not classified as a psychological disorder by the American Psychiatrists Association (APA).

Subsequent research² has shown no discernible difference in the prevalence of the impostor phenomenon among male or female subjects. Some men believe they only got far due to projecting confidence; some women believe their looks or charm got them the position instead of their abilities; members of minorities believe they only received recognition due to affirmative action or diversity programs. Interestingly, researchers from the University of Texas at Austin found in 2013 that “Asian Americans reported higher impostor feelings” compared to African Americans and Latino Americans.³

I have written 11 books, but 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

I, too, have suffered from the Impostor Syndrome in the past and present. In every leadership position I’ve held, from my presidency at the Malaysian Students Association to my current stint as CTO of our little family at Multiply, I’ve always had a little voice that said, “What do you think you’re doing? You’re just a troubled kid from a little corner of Malaysia; you got lucky. You’ll never measure up, you’re a fraud.”

Even as I type this, it goes, “You’re not a writer, Ashwin! Your readers are not going to enjoy this; they’ll find something wrong and call you out. Just run away from SASEPrints while you still can!”

Well, I’ve kept the readers fooled this far, haven’t I? I’ll keep going, thank you very much.

It’s almost like the better I do, the more my feeling of inadequacy actually increases, because I’m just going, “Any moment, someone’s going to find out I’m a total fraud, and that I don’t deserve any of what I’ve achieved.” — Emma Watson

Why do we have these feelings? Perhaps it’s the natural result of humility in our accomplishments, or a lack of confidence in our abilities. Regardless, letting impostor feelings take over your way of thinking can negatively impact your performance. A study found that “employees with stronger impostor tendencies indicate lower levels of job satisfaction and OCB [organizational citizenship behavior].” ⁴

The Remedy

Well, since we now know how to identify the impostor phenomenon and its implications, how do we deal with it? The same study reports that “workplace social support buffered the negative effects of impostor tendencies on job satisfaction and OCB”.

Feel like an impostor? Talk to someone about it, whether they’re a colleague, counselor, or mentor. Remember, no one is perfect, but to have gotten this far you must have some expertise and ability that you may not recognize yourself. People see your abilities, and they believe in you; believe in yourself, too.

I resolved my own discomfort by reminding myself that no, I did not get to where I am due to luck or trickery; people placed their faith and their trust in my abilities, and I will do my best to meet those expectations. Another huge help were my mentors, who took the time to explain strengths of mine that I hadn’t noticed or valued.

A thumbs up between colleagues or bros can go a long way.

Similarly, as an individual, you have the ability to prevent or alleviate someone else’s impostor syndrome by continuously motivating your colleagues and teammates. Compliment them on a job well done. Remind them why they’re great at what they do. Tell them how their traits help them succeed. If everyone supports each other, no one’s an impostor.

Rey: Nice shooting.
Finn: Now that was some flying!
Rey: Thanks!
Finn: How did you do that?
Rey: I don’t know.
Finn: No one trained you? No one??
Rey: I’ve flown some ships but I’ve never left the planet!
Finn: That was amazing.
Rey: Your last shot was dead-on.
Finn: You, you set me up for it.
Rey: You got him with one blast!
Finn: That was pretty good.
Rey: It was perfect.
BB-8: Boop?

Go out there and show them your swag, trooper.

Sources

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Originally published at saseconnect.org.

Have you ever felt like a fraud; that you don’t deserve your success? You’re not alone.

The Problem

The Remedy

Sources

Written by Ashwin Malik