Downgrade Impostor ‘Syndrome’ back to the ‘Phenomenon’ it should be!

When did impostor phenomenon become impostor syndrome? According to the internet, the term impostor phenomenon was introduced in an article published in 1978, titled "The Impostor Phenomenon in High Achieving Women: Dynamics and Therapeutic Intervention" by Pauline R. Clance and Suzanne A. Imes. Several articles following this one continued to refer to impostor phenomenon. But it seems though that the concept really took the world by storm only once it became a “syndrome”. We can all probably count on one hand the number of people who have NOT heard of impostor syndrome. It is everywhere and everyone talks about having experienced it; a google search for impostor syndrome pulled up about 38,00,000 results in 0.32 seconds! 

The dictionary defines a phenomenon as “a fact or situation that is observed to exist or happen, especially one whose cause or explanation is in question”. It is something that just IS – without any judgment attached to it. A syndrome on the other hand is defined as “a disease or disorder that involves a particular group of signs and symptoms”. There is definitely more than a tinge of judgment in that statement, don’t you think? When our non-judgmental, neutral “phenomenon” morphs into a hypercritical, faultfinding, demanding, not-so-nice “syndrome” is the point when it also seriously impacts our ability to forge ahead! What is even more sad is that research has shown that women are more discouraged and debilitated by impostor thoughts, but men are more likely to be motivated by them.

Impostor syndrome has certainly provided me with a neat little excuse for why I stay stuck where I am, why none of my big ideas ever see the light of day, why I scroll through Instagram for four hours a day instead of working on my business or my passion projects. What does it take to change things though? Here are five strategies that have worked for me when I feel impostor syndrome taking a hold of me – 

1. Building mastery: Often, my imposter syndrome starts working overtime when I feel under-confident in my knowledge, skill or abilities. In these cases, what works best is to go back to school in a sense and become a student. This can take the form of more formal learning (do research, take a course, read books on the subject) or informal learning (talk to an expert, observe how it’s done, find a mentor, try things out in a safe setting if you are able to). The double benefit of increasing your confidence and building up more expertise is worth the effort.

2. Feel your feelings: When I start to question my own competence or whether I deserve to be where I am, anxiety seems to be the most prominent emotion that emerges. And anxiety can often stop us in our tracks. This is the perfect time to take a pause, maybe even a step back and pay close attention to what your body is telling you. Where are you feeling the anxiety (or other emotion)? Is it concentrated in a single place like the stomach for example? Or is it in multiple places? What is the physical sensation you associate with this feeling? Pain, numbness, tingling, tightness, something else? The effect of turning our attention on the physical manifestation of our emotional state is that it lowers the intensity of the emotions in that moment. It can act as a brake to stop the spiral of negative emotions and bring clarity and calm.

3. Lean on your cheer squad: Building and then actually using a support network has been one of the best things I have ever done for my growth. But how I managed to do this as someone who hates “networking” (along with “sales”) is to be explored another time. These days, I reach out without hesitation to a diverse group of women & men when I am feeling stuck, when I need to discuss an issue, when I need a sounding board or when I am just feeling not quite good enough … and my cheer squad always comes through for me! We probably have more of a support system than we are aware of. Learning how to be comfortable reaching out and asking for help can be a very useful skill in beating impostor syndrome.

4. Pay attention to your self-talk: As human beings we have this amazing capacity to watch ourselves watching ourselves. Listening to how your inner voice sounds and what it is telling you is another great strategy to deploy when caught up in impostor syndrome moments. I find that my mean-girl inner voice becomes slightly embarrassed when I catch it saying especially nasty things. Like a bully that backs off when confronted, the inner mean voice retreats and, surprisingly, emerges in a much kinder avatar. Of course, this takes practice and the ability to separate judgmental chatter from facts, but with time & patience, this inner voice can become the strongest member of your cheer squad – one that is always on your side, and best of all, always available.

5.  Become curious: My firm belief is that becoming curious is the antidote to many of the pitfalls of being biased and flawed humans. Curiosity can counter hubris, indifference, fear, and so many other negative emotions that short-circuit our abilities to think clearly. Becoming curious can be as simple as asking questions with the intent of actually listening to the answer. You don’t have to like the answer or agree with it or even do anything about it. But, more often than not, asking a question – or ten – can give us insights that we didn’t have before and perhaps lead to a change of perspective. That change of perspective can knock us out of self-doubt and into analytical mode, which can allow us to use our current expertise or to get into learning mode. 

A bonus umbrella strategy that goes along with any of the above five is the classic “Fake it till you make it!”. But I find that this bonus strategy only works in certain circumstances where pretending can the potential to become reality. It does not and cannot substitute for true expertise. But in certain moments, we can trick our brains into giving us the inner confidence requires to believe that we are where we deserve to be.

Do you want to take a deeper dive into or a get a different perceptive on impostor phenomenon/syndrome? Here are a few resources to get you started down the rabbit hole:

• Link to the original article: https://www.paulineroseclance.com/pdf/ip_high_achieving_women.pdf

• Basima Tewfik’s HBR article (https://hbr.org/2022/05/impostor-syndrome-has-its-advantages)

• Adam Grant’s book Think Again, specifically, Chapter 2: The armchair quarterback and the impostor

• Maya Shankar’s podcast interview with Adam Grant

• Ruchika Tulshyan and Jodi-Ann Burey’s HBR article on systemic bias and its effect on impostor syndrome (www.hbr.org/2021/02/stop-telling-women-they-have-imposter-syndrome