Imposter Syndrome: Challenging the common wisdom
Much has been written about Imposter Syndrome. It is so common in the modern lexicon, that many of my clients, both male and female, speak about it. They say it detracts from their experience of ease and joy when they are promoted and instead, they feel the need to prove their worth while doubting their competence leaving them exhausted and unhappy. At its worst it can lead to failure and the confirmation of our worst fears. Clients also report that it impacts on their confidence leading them to curtail the range of options they “go after” in their careers. In fact, it is so common that there is even an Imposter Syndrome Institute to help people reframe their thinking and get on top of its debilitating impacts.
Imposter Syndrome, simply put, is that feeling that we are a fraud or a fake about be discovered. Despite success and accomplishments, persistent feelings of self-doubt prevail accompanied by unsettling fears that we will be found out as lacking and that our successes are a stroke of luck rather than due to our competence. It has been linked with perfectionism and with growing up in families that overemphasised achievements at the expense of all else. Many of us experience feelings of self-doubt, question whether we are good enough and doubt why anybody should listen to us. So the topic is relevant for us all.
This topic has been on my writing calendar for more than a year and although I’ve researched the article, it has not been written till now. I guess it is an uncomfortable topic for me too. I decided to approach the article with a simple definition and explanation of the term, its history in literature and the research from which it emerged, and then offer some tips and strategies that may help you feel better, more courageous, and confident to go after what you want. I also found a very neat typology which breaks imposters into different types and thought this might be a nice way to enhance self-awareness
The more I stepped into the topic and reread and reread, the more uneasy I became about offering you easy solutions. In my experience, as humans, when it comes to messy human experiences, we want simple easy solutions to complex things. Whilst there is some benefit to making sense and simplifying things, the notion can leave us overlooking the complexity that sits beneath and give us the illusion of control. This is especially so with strong emotions which are an associated feature of Imposter Syndrome. My uneasiness stems from my in-principle-resistance to popularised terms that have found their way from solid research into the mainstream. These terms then become labels used to simplify and make sense of our common human experiences, without critical and curious questioning of the impacts these kinds of ideas have on us and our culture and our identity.
For those of you who are interested in top tips and strategies for dealing with the experience, there are several great articles that I reference below. This article is extremely comprehensive offering two different Imposter Syndrome Self-Assessment tools, worksheets to help your thinking, tips as well as podcasts dealing with the topic. There is also a podcast targeted at women who experience Imposter Syndrome Reboot Podcast
However today, I have chosen to tackle the topic from a different perspective with a view to challenging the “common wisdom” that is popularised in most articles on the topic. I invite you to challenge your own thinking and language about imposter syndrome in the hope that this may offer you a different and more freeing perspective.
As a psychologist and a coach that works narrative approaches to coaching, I have a great deal of resistance towards the language, the label and usefulness of imposter syndrome as a description. The power of language, what we tell ourselves and what others tell about us shapes our sense of self and how we show up in the world.
The term “imposter syndrome” is suggestive of a medical diagnosis or psychological condition that needs fixing. Whilst it may be true to say many people experience distinctly unpleasant and undesirable emotions linked to the self-doubt about their competence, the label focuses our attention on the unit of analysis that needs fixing, and that unit is you and me. What it many times ignores is the context and culture which has given rise to the concept and supports its continued existence. The HBR article I reference below is an interesting read. Notice the title: Stop telling women they have imposter syndrome.
So, what is that culture that makes this phenomenon so prevalent? It is a culture that values and privileges success metrics in relation to performance, intelligence, promotion progression, financial accomplishment. When a common term has such familiarity and currency in our culture, it carries with it some inbuilt assumptions. These assumptions often leave us unquestioning of the context and system within which this so-called syndrome exists and is perpetuated. This has us focusing, perhaps inadvertently, most of our efforts on fixing at an individual level rather than exploring beyond to the system, culture, and context within which it is spawned and perpetuated.
An alternative to this essentialist and diagnostic approach which emphasis the problem as within the person, is an approach that locates the person in relation to the issue. It invites a stepping back and being curious about the story of Imposter Syndrome in the person’s life. When and how it came into being and what supports its presence. The client is invited to pay particular attention to the context within which the narrative of the imposter has evolved; to explore how the media and broader culture feed and sustain its existence. Larger narratives in our society shape how we think, behave, and engage with others and if left unquestioned can exert an unhelpful and constraining influence on our sense of self and how we act in the world.
By paying attention to the language clients use to share their unique experiences of Imposter Syndrome, rather than buying into labels and generic descriptors, clients can deconstruct its meaning and power and see it as problem that has its roots in a culture and in a context that is separate from them. This enables them to have some agency to reframe and reposition themselves in relation to it. At the same time exploring clients stories where imposter syndrome was not present and what was different, what enabled this and the impacts are a useful way of expanding perspective and awareness and reducing the power of the descriptor.
If you have described yourself as suffering from imposter syndrome in the past, I hope that this article invites you to challenge how and where you look for solutions to imposter syndrome, and become curious about its roots and question your use of language to label your experiences. I hope that this perspective enables you to let go of the notion that something is “wrong with you” and rather become curious about the conditions and systems that support your experience of the self-doubt and haunting fear that is associated with a desire to succeed and do well. Perhaps you might imagine you are a photographer taking a series of shots that start close in and zoom out till you have a panoramic perspective of the landscape that enables you to see imposter syndrome within its boarder context, and in so doing diminish its power over you.
If this is a topic that resonates and you would like to explore further in coaching please contact me or book a free discovery session and let’s explore how we can work together to overcome what is getting in the way of you and your aspirations and the experience of ease and wellbeing.
Sources:
Book: Cuddy, Amy (2016) Presence: Bringing your boldest self to your biggest challenges. Orion Publishing London
Articles:
https://positivepsychology.com/imposter-syndrome/
https://www.themuse.com/advice/5-different-types-of-imposter-syndrome-and-5-ways-to-battle-each-one
https://qz.com/606727/is-imposter-syndrome-a-sign-of-greatness/
https://hbr.org/2021/02/stop-telling-women-they-have-imposter-syndrome
Podcast: