REWARD
Don’t let your imposter monster drag you down
Do you shy away from promotion for fear of not being capable? This could be a sign you’re suffering from imposter syndrome. Jenny Devonshire, founder of Pause2Perform talks through imposter syndrome and advises how we can beat it
I mposter syndrome, imposter phenomenon, perceived fraudulence and ‘imposterism’ are all terms to describe the same concept. Imposter syndrome can be defined as: “A collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success”. ‘Imposters’ suffer from chronic self-doubt and feeling of fraudulence that override any feelings of success or external proof of their competence. And it may surprise you to know that seven out of ten people will suffer from imposter syndrome at some point in their lives. The term ‘imposter phenomenon’ was first coined by clinical psychologists, Dr. Pauline Rose Clance and Dr. Suzanne Imes in 1978. Originally believed to be a condition that only afflicted women, we now know it’s prevalent across genders, cultures and domains. So, what is it? People suffering from imposter syndrome often experience self-doubt, even when they’ve been successful in the past, and this is largely due to the ‘imposter cycle’. When faced with the need to perform, such as before a job interview or starting a new role, individuals will experience anxiety and / or fear about this event. They’ll either over-prepare or procrastinate (a form of self-handicapping). The event will probably go well, given they’re not the imposter they believe themselves
to be. However, the relief they feel will be short-lived because they will then attribute their success to either luck if they procrastinated, or to their hard work if they’ve over-prepared, meaning they believe they’ll always have to put in extreme amounts of effort in future to continue being successful. These attributions for their success will result in increased feelings of being an imposter and the fear that they won’t be successful in the future, and thus the cycle “Imposter syndrome can be defined as: a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success” is repeated. In the case of starting a new role, those with imposter syndrome are likely to suffer from anxiety surrounding their abilities to do a good job; they might mistakenly believe that they don’t deserve such a promotion and fear they will be ‘found out’ as being less capable than others believed.
You may have heard the term ‘imposter syndrome’ mentioned a lot in 2022, as people became more open about sharing the sometimes-crippling self-doubt they experience with regards to their capabilities at work. Imposter syndrome is sometimes confused with the natural self-doubt many people have when doing something new or out of their comfort zone. The difference is that those with imposter syndrome feel like imposters despite success, rather than it being limited to doing something new. This is because they attribute their success to luck rather than their own abilities, and it subsequently persists long beyond the transition period into a new role. ‘Imposters’, mid-level managers and promotion A meta-analysis by Bravata et al (2020) found that when employees are faced with more responsibility and less supervision (such as mid-level managers), their symptoms of self-doubt and fears of being ‘found out’ as a fraud increase. After promotion, feelings of imposter syndrome might become heightened as individuals worry they’re undeserving of their new role and believe it’s only a matter of time before their bosses or colleagues realise this. Despite those who promoted them realising their talents and ability to take on this new role, the individual does not,
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | October 2023 | Issue 94 30
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