Have you ever come across people in your teams who feel that their accomplishments are because of luck and not because of their competencies and strategic moves? They may find it difficult to own their success and would rather attribute to luck, than ‘accepting’ the win and feeling confident about their abilities. They are also the people who might think if they ask anybody for help, then it means they have failed (or incapable of finishing the task independently) and they start questioning their own competencies. They are also the folks who might think that just ‘talking about one’s wins’ is perceived as ‘gloating’ or might just feel guilty when they accomplish something.
Why do some people think like that? There is a term that describes this phenomena and that is called ‘Imposter Syndrome.’
Implications
The problems at workplace due to imposter syndrome stems from lower self confidence in individuals. The worst impact of this syndrome can turn a perfectly normal individual into a ‘limited-low-performing’ one. How are their performance impacted because of this syndrome?
- Individuals are hesitant to ask for help and end up doing all the work by themselves leading to stress.
- If a not-so-positive feedback is given to them regarding their deliverable, they feel their entire competency is being judged based on that single contribution. This develops a tendency where they feel the need to prove themselves to the feedback-giver all the time.
- Individuals are afraid to ask questions amidst a group, due to fear of being judged and perceived as ‘dumb.’
- Individuals with these syndrome are afraid to initiate conversation to their bosses about performance, opportunities and appraisals.
- Sometimes, they are not sure how to work as a team and have a hard time working in a fluid structure because of no concrete segregation of responsibilities.
Why do people experience this syndrome in the first place?
Individuals may experience the imposter syndrome because of —
- certain standards they set for themselves (“I need to be the best”, fear of failing something).
- self-limiting beliefs (asking for help is a sign of weakness).
- stereotypes (people who can confidently talk about their accomplishments are ‘show-offs’).
- environment (individuals who grew up around over achieving people develop a mindset that what they do is ‘inadequate’).
- personality traits like perfectionism which forces one to feel what they are doing is not enough.
If one were to analyse the factors — wanting to be perfect, wanting to accomplish without anyone’s help are attributed to high achieving individual traits. This does not simply mean that an individual should not strive to be perfect or aim higher in order to avoid experiencing imposter syndrome. The main differentiator is the tendency to compare oneself with others as it results in self-destructive emotions.
Does the imposter syndrome ‘pop up’ when individuals are unhappy at their current job?
Not necessarily. Just like how some people can’t feel happy about their competence, there are people who are also unaware of their incompetence — and that’s the ‘Dunning-Kruger’ effect. According to this effect, those who are incompetent tend to overestimate their abilities while those who are competent, tend to underestimate them.
But the imposter syndrome and Dunning Kruger effect are not exactly opposites. The vicious cycle of imposter syndrome at workplace probably even begins at the beginning of the interview process for some people. When these select individuals ‘overestimate’ themselves, they write prosperous things in their resume and put on a really good show at the interview. However, as reality hits them when they start their new job- they can’t keep up the ‘facade.’
They end up where they ‘have’ to step up their game that makes some people exhaust themselves; making them hesitant to ask for help; so they end up doing all the work themselves. And because, they made up a lot of things about themselves, they feel guilty about gloating and don’t feel deserving of their success. But that’s just one scenario in the ocean of million other reasons!
So if you genuinely think you don’t deserve that praise, ask yourself why. And if the reasons does not include the ones highlighted in this article — research and seek the truth. But if it does — give yourself the permission to feel confident about yourself and own up that success… because you sure as hell, deserve it.
To people who find themselves relating to the first scenario, I share with you what I learnt from Bruce Lee’s philosophy: Quest for truth is only useful if you’re prepared to take action.
