Do you think your work must be 100% perfect, 100% of the time? Or that you haven’t truly earned your position? Does your confidence take a plunge when you suffer a setback? You are not alone. 70% of the U.S. population has experienced this feeling, known as impostor syndrome. Instead of hiding behind the fears of failure, we all need to face them, overcome them, and learn from them. The best way to defeat imposter syndrome is to change the workplace environment.

1. Imposter Syndrome
Blog, Imposter syndrome
Do you think that your work must be 100% perfect, 100% of the time? Or that you haven’t
truly earned your position? Does your confidence take a plunge when you suffer a setback?
You are not alone. 70% of the U.S. population has experienced this feeling, which is known
as impostor syndrome.
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, impostor syndrome is commonly understood
as a false and sometimes crippling belief that one’s successes are the product of luck or
fraud, rather than skill.
Now that we understand what imposter syndrome is, let’s review the five types of imposter
syndrome:
1. The Perfectionist: The perfectionists set exceedingly high goals for themselves.
When they fail to accomplish that goal, they experience self-doubt and worry about
measuring up. Success for them is rarely satisfying because they think could’ve done
even better.
One way to manage the Perfectionists is to remind them that mistakes are a part of
the process and progress is more important than perfection.
2. The Superwoman/Man: The Superwomen/men are addicted to the accolades and
validation of working, rather than the actual work itself. This constant workload
potentially harms their mental health, as well as their working relationships.
One approach to managing Superwomen/men is to help them find their own internal
validation and reframe failures as learning opportunities.
3. The Natural Genius: Natural Geniuses judge their competence based on the ease and
speed of doing a task, rather than the efforts involved. They feel ashamed if they take
a long time to master something because they believe they should get things right the
first time.
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The Natural Genius needs help seeing that success is made of many small steps over
time. Remind them to celebrate the small accomplishments which are a part of the
bigger goal.
4. The Soloist: Soloists feel that asking for help reveals their faults so prove their worth
by refusing assistance.
One antidote is asking Soloists to work in team environments, showing them that
each team member has a unique set of skills to learn from.
5. The Expert: The Experts measure their competence on the basis of “what” and “how
much” they know or can do. They believe they will never have enough knowledge and
will eventually be exposed as inexperienced and lacking skills.
The Experts benefit from realizing that no one knows every answer and there is
always more to learn.
Organizational Role in Imposter Syndrome
We’ve discussed the individual aspects of imposter syndrome. How does organizational
culture contribute to imposter syndrome?
Organizational norms and behaviors can add to imposter syndrome. Some examples include
working environments where praise is never given and leaders expect perfection, so
employees feel that they constantly need to prove themselves. Another example is employee
favoritism.
Here are a few tips to handle imposter syndrome in your organization:
Keep reminding team members that they are competent enough for the roles
assigned to them.
Avoid comparisons between team members and focus on the values each team
member brings to the team.
Shift the focus from performing to learning and reframe failure as a learning
opportunity.
Instead of hiding behind the fears of failure, we all need to face them, overcome them, and
learn from them. The best way to defeat the imposter syndrome is to change the workplace
environment.
How often have you encountered imposter syndrome? How were you able to move forward?
Share your thoughts and leave your comments below, send us an email, or find us on Twitter.
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