Who Has Imposter Syndrome?
Most people feel like an imposter at some time in their life. But, the person who suffers from imposter syndrome (IS) compulsively
strives to meet unrealistic standards of perfection and continuously devalues their work and themselves. Generally, these people work hard and perform well. But, they also struggle and can fall short of their potential. This post is about how to empower your staff members with imposter syndrome and help them both fulfill their potential and improve their well-being.
What Is Imposter Syndrome
Imposter syndrome can be ascribed to staff who work hard and typically perform well; yet, they doubt their abilities, attribute success to luck, and feel like frauds. In some instances, their beliefs and insecurities lead to behaviors that impinge on others and the workplace environment in general. (For more details on these effects, see my post The Downside of Imposter Syndrome at Work).
Addressing IS is a strategic and lucrative move because as studies have determined, 70 to 80 percent of the entire US workforce experience IS at some point in their careers (NIH and Forbes). At the top levels of management, it afflicts 75 percent of female executives in the US (KPMG LLP). Specific figures on male imposters are hard to come by, but Langford and Clance argue that studies have failed to substantiate any gender difference.
How To Help and Empower Your Staff Members With Imposter Syndrome
What A Supervisor Can Do
Because imposters tend to be highly skilled and good performers, it’s hard for supervisors to imagine something’s wrong. It may not be apparent to you that your staff is suffering from a lack of self-confidence, self-doubt, and/or shame.
The concern isn’t about them performing well. But rather about them not doing their best and not being able to fully and authentically collaborate with others and clients. In addition, if they aren’t content, are they fully committed to their job and employer? (See signs of how to recognize IS in my blog post Empower Your Staff: Address Imposter Syndrome.)
6 Actions You Can Take to Support Your Staff Members
- Be informed – Learn about imposter syndrome, the underlying causes, behavioral signs, typical workplace complaints associated with it, and what you can do to address it.
- Destigmatize the Syndrome – Share research findings on the prevalence of IS in the workplace. Provide staff with information about IS and what can be done about it. Illustrate how the information can help those with temporary feelings of being phonies and inadequate as well. Encourage staff to talk about it with you their peers, other supervisors, and/or the human resource department.
- Offer resources – Identify resources such as coaches and therapists who can assist staff with IS or those who need temporary support.
- Help your staff to develop a remediation or wellness plan – Offer to assist your staff in the identification of options that appeal to them. Work with them to identify ways to track and measure their progress.
- Follow your staff member’s lead – Make sure that the staff member remains in the driver’s seat throughout the remediation process.
- Request that the human resources department (HR) provide services – Orient HR to include services unique to imposter syndrome within the staff development and staff wellness services and benefits plan.
What Additional Assistance Your Staff Might Need
The following interventions and assistance are best provided by external service providers. However, HR can offer staff development workshops to educate staff on imposter syndrome and teach simple methods to address it.
7 Methods to Address Imposter Syndrome
- Step back from the behavior – One of the simplest practices is learning to stop and create a gap before responding or passing judgment on themselves. This space provides an opportunity to reflect and choose a different option. Repetition of the process helps to shift the mindset. There are many ways to execute this simple practice.
- Shift limiting beliefs – Staff can learn a straightforward practice to identify limiting beliefs, challenge them, create new equally or more truthful beliefs, and begin to shift their thinking.
- Rewrite their story – This is another common simple tool. A person writes out the original story stressing their insufficiencies and then rewrites it such that it supports a different more positive conclusion, highlighting strengths.
- Encourage personal reflection – What a person thinks is not necessarily what they embody. Turning inward and tapping into an embodied sense of a situation will most often give the person a truer version of the events and their feelings. This is easy with practice.
- Strengthen emotional intelligence – Staff with IS often need to learn that emotions aren’t necessarily the same as reality because the judgments and other self-deprecating thoughts they harbor cloud their perception. In addition, they may not be aware of their emotions. Fortunately, they can learn to reflect and access themselves from a more centered, compassionate, and truthful vantage point. This can help them see themselves in the world in a new, more accurate, supportive, and confident way.
- Build collaboration skills – Imposters have difficulty actualizing three important collaboration skills. First, the delegation of tasks to subordinates. Second, time and deadline management. And, third, simply working in teams. HR can offer in-house training and support in these areas.
- Recognize progress – Supervisors and HR staff who encourage staff with imposter syndrome to reinforce progress. Once a remediation and wellness plan is created. The best approach is to acknowledge staff progress in an honest and measured way. Too much praise can actually backfire.
For More Information on How to Empower Your Staff Members Who Have Imposter Syndrome, See:
My Staff Development Workshops, in particular:
My Coaching in the Workplace Services, or
