A presentation of impostor syndrome, what are the types, causes, and how to deal with it. Impostor syndrome affects everyone and is not a disease.

1. IMPOSTOR SYNDROME
BY AMARA METU

2. Agenda:
 Welcome message
 Introduction: What is imposter syndrome? Who else has it? Why does
it matter?
 What circumstances trigger your ‘imposter syndrome’? Do you think
anything you do ever triggers ‘imposter syndrome’ in others?
 What tactics do you use, or can you think of, to stop ‘imposter syndrome’
causing you problems? How to use it to your own adavantage?
Close

3. What is Impostor Syndrome?
• Impostor Syndrome is a pervasive feeling of self-doubt, insecurity, or
fraudulence despite often overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Or
Impostor syndrome refers to an internal experience of believing that you
are not as competent as others perceive you to be.
• Imposter syndrome, or doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud at
work, is a diagnosis often given to women.
• Impostor syndrome may sound as a very big word but everyone
experiences it, ranging from all works of life.

4. A SNEAK PEAK
The Science Behind It
• “Most people who experience the Impostor Phenomenon (IP) would not say, "I feel like
an impostor.” Yet, when they read or hear about the experience, they say, “How did you
know exactly how I feel?” And how do they feel? Even though they are often very
successful by external standards, they feel their success has been due to some
mysterious fluke or luck or great effort; they are afraid their achievements are due to
“breaks” and not the result of their own ability and competence.” – Dr. Pauline R. Clance

5. Imposter syndrome and you
1. Do you experience imposter syndrome?
1. Yes
2. Sometimes
3. No
4. Don’t know enough about imposter syndrome to say
5. Other
2. Does it affect your professional life?
1. A lot
2. A bit
3. No
4. Don’t know

6. A QUICK PICTORIAL EXPLANATION

7. “I’m a fraud”
The exaggerated esteem in
which my lifework is held
makes me very ill at ease. I
feel compelled to think of
myself as an involuntary
swindler.
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
‘Sometimes I wake up in
the morning before going
off to a shoot, and I think, I
can’t do this. I’m a fraud.’
Kate Winslet

8. “They’re going to find me out”
I have written 11 books but
each time I think ‘Uh-oh,
they’re going to find out now.
I’ve run a game on
everybody, and they’re going
to find me out.’
Maya Angelou

9. “I’m about to embarrass myself”
Every time I was called on in class, I was
sure that I was about to embarrass myself.
Every time I took a test, I was sure that it
had gone badly. And every time I didn’t
embarrass myself — or even excelled — I
believed that I had fooled everyone yet
again. One day soon, the jig would be up
Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer, Facebook

10. Everybody else knows more than me”
There are an awful lot of
people out there who think I’m
an expert. How do these
people believe all this about
me? I’m so much aware of all
the things I don’t know.
Margaret Chan,
Director-General, World Health Organisation
2006-2017Margaret Chan,
Director-General, World Health Organisation
2006-2017

11. Possible thoughts you could have….

12. Not necessarily the whole time…
The beauty of the impostor
syndrome is you vacillate
between extreme egomania
and a complete feeling of:
“I’m a fraud! Oh God, they’re
on to me! I’m a fraud!”
Tina Fey

13. Who has it?
A study conducted showed that people have to learn new concepts,
break a bias suffer from this. While for some people, impostor syndrome
can fuel feelings of motivation to achieve, this usually comes at a cost in the
form of constant anxiety. You might over-prepare or work much harder than
necessary to "make sure" that nobody finds out you are a fraud.
The problem with impostor syndrome is that the experience of doing well at
something does nothing to change your beliefs. Even though you might sail
through a performance or have lunch with co-workers, the thought still nags
in your head, "What gives me the right to be here?" The more you
accomplish, the more you just feel like a fraud. It's as though you
can't internalize your experiences of success.

14. What Impostor Syndrome does to you?
Makes you miserable
Inhibits your aspirations
Makes you under-sell yourself
 Reduces others’ view of your capabilities
Reduces your willingness to speak up in meetings and on paper
Reduces your influence on outcomes
Reduces your opportunities to find things out
You have fewer opportunities for career advancement, new experiences

15. Why does it matter? – to the community
Lose the benefit of the input of some of our best
people
Do not hear women’s voices as much as men’s
Leave the field open to Dunning-Kruger people
Image from Julie Pagano‘s It’s Dangerous to Go Alone:
Battling the Invisible Monsters in Tech

16. Types of impostor syndrome
The five types
Leading imposter syndrome researcher Dr. Valerie Young describes five main
types of imposters in her 2011 book “The Secret Thoughts of Successful
Women: Why Capable People Suffer from the Impostor Syndrome and How
to Thrive in Spite of It.”
These competence types, as she calls them, reflect your internal beliefs
around what competency means to you.
Here’s a closer look at each type and how they manifest.

17. The perfectionist
You focus primarily on how you do things, often to the point where you
demand perfection of yourself in every aspect of life.
Yet, since perfection isn’t always a realistic goal, you can’t meet these
standards. Instead of acknowledging the hard work you’ve put in after
completing a task, you might criticize yourself for small mistakes and feel
ashamed of your “failure.”
You might even avoid trying new things if you believe you can’t do them
perfectly the first time.

18. The natural genius
You’ve spent your life picking up new skills with little effort and believe you
should understand new material and processes right away.
Your belief that competent people can handle anything with little difficulty
leads you to feel like a fraud when you have a hard time.
If something doesn’t come easily to you, or you fail to succeed on your first
try, you might feel ashamed and embarrassed.

19. The rugged individualist (or soloist)
You believe you should be able to handle everything solo. If you can’t
achieve success independently, you consider yourself unworthy.
Asking someone for help, or accepting support when it’s offered, doesn’t
just mean failing your own high standards. It also means admitting your
inadequacies and showing yourself as a failure.

20. The Expert
Before you can consider your work a success, you want to learn everything
there is to know on the topic. You might spend so much time pursuing your
quest for more information that you end up having to devote more time to
your main task.
Since you believe you should have all the answers, you might consider
yourself a fraud or failure when you can’t answer a question or encounter
some knowledge you previously missed.

21. The superhero
You link competence to your ability to succeed in every role you hold:
student, friend, employee, or parent. Failing to successfully navigate the
demands of these roles simply proves, in your opinion, your inadequacy.
To succeed, then, you push yourself to the limit, expending as much energy
as possible in every role.
Still, even this maximum effort may not resolve your imposter feelings. You
might think, “I should be able to do more,” or “This should be easier.”

22. Characteristics of Imposter Syndrome
• Some of the common signs of imposter syndrome include:
• An inability to realistically assess your competence and skills
• Attributing your success to external factors
• Berating your performance
• Fear that you won't live up to expectations
• Overachieving
• Sabotaging your own success
• Self-doubt
• Setting very challenging goals and feeling disappointed when you fall short

23. Triggers of the impostor…
• Parenting and childhood environment
• You might develop imposter feelings if your parents:
• pressured you to do well in school
• compared you to your sibling(s)
• were controlling or overprotective
• emphasized your natural intelligence
• sharply criticized mistakes

24. Triggers of the impostor…
Personality traits
Experts have linked specific personality traits to imposter feelings.
These include:
• perfectionistic tendencies
• low self-efficacy, or confidence in your ability to manage your
behavior and successfully handle your responsibilities
• higher scores on measures of neuroticism, a big five personality trait
• lower scores on measures of conscientiousness, another big five trait

25. Triggers of the impostor…
• Existing mental health symptoms
• New responsibilities
• The role of bias: Along with the above factors, gender bias and
institutionalized racism can also play a significant part in imposter feelings.
ResearchTrusted Source consistently suggests that while, yes, anyone can
experience these feelings, they tend to show up more often in women and
people of color. In other words: people who generally have less
representation in professional environments.

26. How to deal with?
Working harder? Nope, it won’t solve the problem. We would be looking at
strategies that can help you resolve impostor productively
 Acknowledge your feelings.
Build connections.
Challenge your doubts.
Avoid comparing yourself to others.
Learn to appreciate and celebrate your little wins.
Stop talking down on compliments, absorb them and hype
yourself a little.

27. How to deal with?
• Be gritty: Grit is having passion and perseverance for achieving long term
goals. Grit is sticking, staying with your future day in and out, living life
like a marathon and not a sprint.
• Have a growth mindset : A growth mindset is the belief that the ability to
learn is not fixed and it can change with your effort. Learning that the
brain changes with new information. Always know your abilities are
capable of growth. The staying power in consistency can not be over-
emphasized.
• Power of Yet: Always know that you can’t know everything and for
whatever you decide to learn and build will take time. Having the yet
mindset rather calling yourself a failure will be of help.

28. The bottom line
Success doesn’t require perfection. True perfection is practically
impossible, so failing to achieve it doesn’t make you a fraud.
Offering yourself kindness and compassion instead of judgment
and self-doubt can help you maintain a realistic perspective and
motivate you to pursue healthy self-growth.

29. THANK YOU!
Thanks for listening
Thanks!
Thanks!