Ventura Kireki 🖋
- Nov 11, 2020
- 5 min read

IMPOSTER SYNDROME

Picture this. A lady called Lilly has just been promoted to a managerial position at the hospital. It is all that she has ever wanted. A dream come true really. She cannot wait to start. Day one on the job, she starts feeling less unsure and less confident in her ability to match up to the role. As she walks past her colleagues, she hears them giggling. Others are laughing out loud on the other end.

"They are making fun of me", she thinks.

She assumes that everyone knows that she is a fake. She surely cannot handle this job. She has been found out. She is undeserving of the new position. What does she even know about being in a managerial position ?

She is an IMPOSTER !

So what is Imposter Syndrome ?

Imposter Syndrome is basically a condition where one is unable to internalize their success. It looks like : someone always attributing their successes to external factors. For example saying : 'it's just sheer luck', 'it was just a coincidence', 'so and so helped out a lot really', 'it was just good timing'. It is never your merit, efforts, skills or abilities. In some instances, some individuals will go as far as bringing up past failures to just try and prove how undeserving they are and to show their incompetence. There is a fear that if you admit that you are good at something, someone will call you out as an imposter; as a fraud. So to avoid that, you lead with the external factors as justifications for your successes. Then you feel safe.

Other terms that refer to Imposter Syndrome include : Imposter phenomenon, fraud syndrome, perceived fraudulence and imposter experience. Although not recognized by the World Health Organization as a disorder, it is estimated that 70% of people will experience at least one episode of Imposter Syndrome in their life.

Lilly's illustration on how people were probably making fun of her and uncovered her as an imposter is misplaced. This is because, in reality we actually overestimate the amount of time people spend thinking about us and our behaviours. Get this, most people are actually self-absorbed. Lilly's colleagues were probably just minding their own business and having some good banter.

Imposter Syndrome is likely to be experienced by :

People whose success has come 'quickly'
1st generation professionals
People with high-achieving parents
Members of minority groups
Students

How does Imposter Syndrome present itself ?

The following are the 6 potential characteristics considered as markers for Imposter Syndrome :

Imposter cycle - This is usually evidenced in 2 different extremes ; Over preparation and Procrastination. Over preparation happens where one exerts more effort and time than necessary to accomplish a particular task. This is usually in a bid to cover all their bases; so that they are not found out as an imposter. In the end, when the individual is found to be successful in their task, they will owe it to all the hard work they put (again an external factor) rather than their true or real ability to have done the task successfully. The downside of this is that it leads to burnout. Procrastination on the other hand, involves one putting the tasks they are meant to do until the very last minute. Resultantly, the task ends up being done in a panic frenzy. In the end when the individual is found to have succeeded, they will not own. Rather they will again call upon external factors such as luck. It's called the imposter cycle because this patterns recurs each time a task is assigned.
The need to be the best - There are secretive feelings that 'imposters' harbour. Often they are feelings of needing to be the very best compared with their peers. A certain doctor; Clance, observed that imposters have often been in the top of the class throughout their school years. However, when they were in a larger setting, such as in a university, they would realize that there are many exceptional people and their own talents and abilities are not atypical. Due to this, individuals would thus dismiss all their past successes and conclude that they are in fact 'stupid' and in fact are not the best there is.
Superhero aspects & perfectionism - This relates with the previous point on needing to be te very best. It just focuses more on perfectionistic tendencies. Individuals in this case want to do everything flawlessly. The standards that they set for themselves are however almost impossible and unreasonable. When they have not met these standards, they often feel overwhelmed, disappointed, and overgeneralise themselves as failures.
Fear of failure - An achievement related task is not just an ordinary thing to someone experiencing imposter syndrome. It brings about feelings of anxiety because of possible failure. Moreover, filing is considered humiliating and shameful and will put one at risk of being exposed. Therefore, you will find that such individuals would tend to always overwork. In fact, Clance and O‟Toole (1988) asserted that fear of failure is an underlying motive of most 'imposters'.
Denial of competence & discounting praise - This is the outright inability to internalize success. Just as earlier mentioned, one will bring up past errors as proof of their incompetence. You find it difficult to accept that if there is any success that was achieved, it was on you and your competencies and abilities.
Fear and guilt characteristics - Consider this example. So you get a promotion. You then start to feel like your peers have started viewing you in a different light. They are now scrutinizing your every move and therefore you must be extra careful around them. You fear that one day, you will do something that will make them unamask you and show you out as the imposter you are. The feeling of guilt on the other hand comes into play where you feel undeserving of a role for one reason or another and perhaps among your peer group there is one you feel would have been more derving. You feel like you took that opportunity away from them and you carry that guilt around.

For one to be presumed as experiencing Imposter Syndrome, a minimum of 2 out of the 6 characteristics listed above need to be present.

Tips to overcome Imposter Syndrome

If you depend on internal validation, you can be in control of how you feel about yourself instead of letting other people's opinion dictate how you view yourself and your abilities - Ervin, 2018

Seeking internal validation - This is truly a game changer. Being able to affirm yourself and believe in your capabilities will take you such a long way. It's not easy but it can be practised to a point that it becomes something you are able to do naturally. Being your own cheerleader is so cool.
Be aware of your successes / List them - This helps you internalize your successes. Have a reference point for those days when you feel the doubt creeping in. As opposed to having the first thing on your mind pop up being your failures, you will now instead remember your successes. Therefore, ensure you remind yourself as often as possible about how great you are. Also believe those people who congratulate you for your good work.
A mentor - This comes in handy especially when it comes to career growth and development. A mentor will give you an honest and objective opinion when you require it. They will paint for you a realistic picture of what it looks like to make progress and succeed so that you are not burdening yourself with impossible expectations yet you are on the right track.
Watching the thoughts you feed your mind - You are what you think. The mind is such a powerful tool don't allow negative thoughts to linger there.