This term was first coined by Psychologists Suzanne Imes & Pauline Rose Clance in the 1970s. They describe it as high achievers who are unable to internalise and accept their success. They often attribute their success to lucky breaks or a fluke rather than their own competence and ability.
The impact of this can be perfectionism, self-doubt, procrastination and over preparing. This can then be an unhelpful cycle.
Dr Valerie young is an expert in this area and says the common source of impostor feelings is a “persistent pattern of holding ourselves to unrealistic, unsustainable standards of competence” – https://impostorsyndrome.com/. She describes 5 types to look out for;
- Perfectionist – they see less than 100% as failure
- Expert – they need to read the whole book before they start
- Soloist – they need to do it all on their own for success to count
- Superwoman/man – they need to be perfect in every area of their lives
- Natural genius – if they don’t find it easy the first time they see it as failure
What causes impostor Syndrome according to Neuroscience & Psychology?
A really interesting take on this, is in a paper by Chrousos et al 2020, they focus on the Neuro-Psycho-Biological and Evolutionary Underpinnings of the Impostor Syndrome. So when someone doubts themselves, messages get sent to the primal part of the brain, the limbic system. The message could be we anticipate danger, so our Fight or freeze response is activated or Evolutionary, it’s links to survival of the fittest.
Strategies to deal with Imposter Syndrome
Awareness – Help notice thinking and triggers.
Notice and accept feelings – It’s ok to feel nervous. There is not a lion in the room (fight or flight) it’s just nerves. Fear is a normal response.
Stop thinking like an impostor – Dr Valerie young says to start thinking like a non-imposter. For example non-impostors see feedback as a gift, know it’s ok to make mistakes and actively seek out feedback. They know they are a working progress.
Reframing – see it through a different lens – “It shouldn’t be this hard,” vs “I think there must be something important for me to learn here”.
Remember the wins – Think of a success and note down how your actions and traits made it happen. I was able to do X because I am/did Y. So I was able to do the presentation really well because I prepared, I persevered, I asked for help, I am brave.
“Because everyone loses when bright people play small” – Valerie Young
How will you show up?
