“The world may observe academic success of a high degree, and may find it hard to believe in the very real distress of the individual concerned, who feels phony the more he or she is successful.”
D.W. Winnicott, 'Ego Distortion in Terms of True and False Self' (1960)
D.W. Winnicott, 'Ego Distortion in Terms of True and False Self' (1960)
The Impostor Syndrome
The term Impostor Syndrome (IS) describes the feeling of being less capable and intelligent than other people assume we are. People with IS feel at risk of imminent exposure as a fraud, despite objective external evidence of their success. Three defining IS features have been identified and measured: the sense of having fooled others, the tendency to attribute success to factors other than one’s own ability, and the fear of being exposed as a fraud (Clance & Imes, 1978). It's a well known feeling, and one which most of us have some empathy with. Some people seem unable to experience an internal sense of capability and success, even when they are doing really well. When something happens to trigger a series of IS responses, those people can start to suffer more serious health consequences, and their organisations will frequently start to suffer too. Often when managers with latent impostor syndrome feelings are promoted to senior and leadership positions, they can experience this strong anxious fear, which drives certain behaviours that are detrimental to themselves, colleagues and the company. Research links IS to depression and anxiety (Kolligian and Sternberg, 1991). Kets de Vries found serious organisational issues including perfectionism, procrastination and stress. Fearful, overly cautious leadership infects organisations and suppresses entrepreneurship (Kets de Vries, 2005). I have carried out research with other coaches, and have worked extensively with clients who experience the debilitating and life reducing effects of the Impostor Syndrome. My dissertation for the Masters programme in Coaching Psychology received a distinction and an award from the British Psychological Society's Special Group in Coaching Psychology. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss anything related to the syndrome. |
"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 Return to
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