You find yourself harboring feelings of insecurity and self-doubt, feeling like you’ve deceived people into letting you take on this position, and feeling shame in telling people about what you’re experiencing. You spin in a cycle of inadequacy, guilt, and worry. Impostor syndrome, also known as “the impostor phenomenon,” was first introduced in 1978 by psychologists Pauline Rose Clance, Ph.D., ABPP, and Suzanne Imes, Ph.D. Their research1 found a prevalent pattern among accomplished, professional, high-achieving women of dismissing their achievements, over-attributing their successes to luck, and devaluing their own skills and intelligence while simultaneously believing that others were overestimating their talents. Impostor syndrome is essentially a subconscious way of saying to yourself and others that “I am not enough” or “I am unworthy,” and that you’re somehow undeserving of the awards, accolades, and recognition you’ve received. Even worse than the feeling of unworthiness is the guilt you carry about deceiving others into thinking you’re smarter and more competent than you believe yourself to be and fear that someone will find out and expose you and your “lies.” Some common indicators include: Once the task is completed, as a procrastinator with impostor syndrome, you’ll likely feel that any positive feedback given was due to luck. If you’re someone with a tendency to over-prepare, you’ll attribute positive feedback to the extra effort you put in. With either response, you don’t accept personal success for completing the task and dismiss the positive feedback. The validation of doing well doesn’t change your internal beliefs about your ability and competence in making the task a success. Repetition of doing well and getting more positive feedback doesn’t make you feel more confident, but rather it perpetuates the feeling of perceived incompetence, keeping the cycle spinning. This compounding self-doubt, fear, and guilt can also lead to more intense mental health concerns. So how do you know if you’re experiencing impostor syndrome? Ask yourself the following questions: Some experts believe that it’s external factors such as early family dynamics or social-cultural norms. Others believe it’s more internally derived, such as personality traits and existing mental health conditions. Here are a few of the main contributing factors: Some other examples of ways your parents and caretakers may have affected you and continue to affect you may include: In such an environment, it’s easy to judge yourself when you seemingly can’t keep up or don’t seem as good as what we see on TV or social media. These facts suggest that what’s often deemed impostor syndrome may in many cases simply be a person experiencing the very real adverse effects of lack of representation, stereotypes, and systems of oppression. Here’s how these experiences can affect a person in ways that look like impostor syndrome: It’s one thing to doubt your own abilities; it’s another to have others victim-blame or gaslight you and be conditioned by society’s messages that your identity is the reason for your unworthiness and for you to question the merit of your accomplishments. It’s also important to note it’s not your sole responsibility to “fix” impostor syndrome given the role of cultural expectations and systemic societal norms on the phenomenon. It’s important for workplaces and communities to collectively work to create environments that are inclusive so people are truly seen, heard, and valued. Organizations can do their part in addressing impostor syndrome by actively promoting inclusivity and belonging, sustaining equitable and diverse teams, and developing anti-racist cultures. Individually, you may want to specifically seek a culturally sensitive and trauma-informed therapist or coach for support. In the meantime, though, here are questions you can ask yourself and practical actions you can take to get good at moving through feelings of self-doubt and not being good enough so you can overcome your own impostorism: If you are recognizing that you’re in an impostor cycle, procrastinating or over-preparing for a project, ask yourself: Why? Is this a pattern? When have I experienced this before? What am I afraid of? What am I avoiding? What about this project or situation feels overwhelming? What do I want to feel instead? Ask yourself: Where do my feelings of inadequacy or fear of failure come from? My parents? Conditioning from societal expectations? What experiences and stories am I holding on to about this belief? Are they mine, or did I take them on from someone else? In retrospect, what lessons did you learn from your past experiences? What were your wins? What can you do better next time? Did the outcome turn out as bad as you thought it would? How can you apply what you learned about a past situation to a current one? Is it possible that you are projecting unnecessary worry, and will this experience actually be not so bad or, dare I say, even good? How can you stop the negative thoughts in their tracks? Are your beliefs about being a failure and a fraud true? Make a list of actual evidence you have that proves that this is true. When you’re done, write a list that counters the previous one with evidence that proves this is not true. You can also keep a list of your wins and past success as well as a list of positive things people have said about you. People who don’t feel like impostors are no more intelligent or capable than you or anyone else. They just are better at thinking different thoughts, which you can learn to do too. Don’t feel like you can trust anyone? Ask yourself: Why? What is the worst that could happen? You get exposed for being human? When you share openly with others and lead with vulnerability, it gives permission for others to do the same and can help others also open up about themselves. More often than not, people experience the same things you do, they’re just as afraid to admit it as you are, or they were just as unaware of what is happening as you were. It’s comforting to know you are not alone. With shared experiences, you can share strategies of how you may be able to deal with impostor syndrome. Create a shortlist of these trusted friends so you have them as your go-to for the next time impostor syndrome shows up. Ask them if they would want to engage as mutual accountability buddies. They might be able to recognize and call out when you are showing signs of impostor syndrome when you can’t recognize them yourself. Encourage each other to grow. Self-doubt can be persistent, and becoming each other’s go-to may help you to get out of the cycle of impostor syndrome faster the next time it shows up. You already may know a lot, but see what happens when you approach things with a growth mindset and the understanding that even the experts always have something to learn or a new perspective to see. What do you want to grow in? Who can you learn from, and what can you give in return? Remember, you have personal agency and a choice in how you see yourself and how you allow others to see you. Embrace your intelligence and accomplishments, get comfortable with your emotions, share your stories, stay confident in your knowledge and values, and know that the reason you got that promotion, that award, that acknowledgment is for no other reason than because you deserve it. Carissa, aka the Dream Doula, serves as a startup and small business consultant as well as executive coach, helping BIPOC entrepreneurs and leaders bring their wildest, most audacious dreams to life and design a life they are proud of. She is the former head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) of Zappos and has over 15 years of experience working on both the operations and the human side of business at some of the country’s largest retailers including Macy’s, Saks 5th Avenue, and Ross Stores. Carissa holds a coaching certification in Emotional Intelligence with sixseconds.org, and her work sits at the intersection of DEI and Emotional Intelligence (EQ) supporting leaders and organizations in developing and operationalizing their equity strategy at a personal, interpersonal, and systemic level with a foundation of EQ. Her work has been featured in TIME magazine, and she has been invited to speak at organizations including KPMG, Publicis Groupe, Kapor Capital, Pearson, and the YMCA. As a serial entrepreneur, Carissa is also the COO of Some Neat Place, a perfectly imperfect kindness company, is the co-founder of Green Mango International, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization supporting educational opportunities for underserved school children in the Philippines, as well as the co-founder of AARISE - Asian American Racialized Identity and Social Empowerment for AAPIs, a program and community focused on justice and liberation for all centering Asian American activist history, AAPI experiences, emotional processing and somatic healing.
