Everyone here is so much smarter than me. I got here by luck.

Have you ever felt that you do not belong where you are? Have you worried that your colleagues might find you out and expose you? Do you feel that you were simply lucky to find your job, or that someone will discover you do not deserve it and ask you to leave? Do you feel that you do not deserve your job, education, accomplishments, or achievements?

Well, my friend, join the 70% of the world’s population who feel the same. These feelings are a natural phenomenon known as impostor syndrome.

When the identity that one is “projecting” to others is at odds with how they see themselves privately, there’s a sense of “faking it” ... it’s an awareness of a dissociation between public and private self-concepts.

Les Matheson, technical trainer at Bloomberg (source)

This is not a mental illness that requires hospital care. It is an emotional roadblock created by a range of factors.

I am writing this as a note to myself. It took me more than 30 years to realise that I am not alone in this. I hope it helps you identify impostor syndrome and begin making small, practical changes that can lessen its hold.

Impostor syndrome (the idea that you have succeeded only because of luck, rather than talent or qualifications) was first identified in 1978 by psychologists Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes (Paper 1, Paper 2).

Below is a short video about how to identify impostor syndrome and its main causes.

It is well documented that many high achievers, billionaires, and film stars feel like complete frauds, believing that their accomplishments are the result of pure luck.

The video below shows Australian tech billionaire and Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes describing his experience with impostor syndrome.

What causes impostor syndrome?

Scientists and researchers argue that two major factors can contribute to impostor syndrome: nurture and nature.

• Nurture: Childhood memories and experiences. For example, your grades may never have been good enough for your parents, or your siblings may have outshone you in certain areas. Repeated criticism and comments such as “You can do better, I know you can” or “You are worse than your brother, friend, or sister” can also shape how you see yourself.
• Nature: Emotional reactivity, self-focus, feelings of inadequacy, and other individual factors.

In brief, your idea of what it means to be competent has a powerful impact on how competent you feel. It is also at the core of impostor feelings. Everyone has unconscious rules about what it means to be competent.

These rules often begin with “should”, “always”, or “never” (source):

If I were really intelligent, capable, competent…

• I should know everything in my field.
• I should get it right the first time.
• I should excel in everything I do.
• I would always know the answer.
• I would always understand what I am reading.
• I would always feel confident.
• I would never make a mistake.
• I would never be confused.
• I would never need help.

Five types of impostor

Subject-matter expert Dr Valerie Young categorises impostor syndrome into five subgroups. The descriptions below are also based on the article “5 Different Types of Impostor Syndrome” by Melody J. Wilding.

1. The perfectionist

Perfectionism and impostor syndrome often go hand in hand. Perfectionists set excessively high goals for themselves. When they fail to reach a goal, they experience self-doubt and worry about measuring up. Whether they realise it or not, they may also become overly controlling, feeling that if they want something done correctly, they must do it themselves.

Not sure if this applies to you? Ask yourself:

• Have you ever been accused of being a micromanager?
• Do you have great difficulty delegating? Even when you are able to do so, do you feel frustrated and disappointed in the results?
• When you miss an extremely high mark, do you accuse yourself of “not being cut out” for your job and dwell on it for days?
• Do you feel that your work must be 100% perfect, 100% of the time?

For this type, success is rarely satisfying because they believe they could have done even better. That is neither productive nor healthy. Owning and celebrating achievements is essential if you want to avoid burnout, find contentment, and cultivate self-confidence.

A practical response

Learn to take your mistakes in your stride and view them as a natural part of the process. Push yourself to act before you feel ready.

Force yourself to start the project you have been planning for months. The truth is that there will never be a “perfect time”, and your work will never be 100% flawless. The sooner you accept that, the better off you will be.

2. The superwoman or superman

People who experience this form of impostor syndrome are convinced that they are phonies among genuine colleagues, so they often push themselves to work harder and harder to measure up. This is a false cover for their insecurities, and the resulting workload can harm both their mental health and their relationships.

Not sure if this applies to you? Ask yourself:

• Do you stay later at the office than the rest of your team, even after you have completed the day’s necessary work?
• Do you get stressed when you are not working and find downtime completely wasteful?
• Have you allowed your hobbies and passions to fall by the wayside because of work?
• Do you feel that you have not truly earned your title, despite numerous degrees and achievements, and therefore feel pressured to work harder and longer than those around you to prove your worth?

Impostor workaholics may become attached to the validation that comes from working, rather than to the work itself. Start moving away from external validation. No one should have more power to make you feel good about yourself than you, not even your manager when they approve your project. At the same time, learn to take constructive criticism seriously, not personally.

A practical response

As you become more attuned to internal validation and nurture the confidence that you are competent and skilled, you can ease off the accelerator and judge how much work is reasonable.

3. The natural genius

Young says people in this group believe they need to be natural “geniuses”. They judge their competence by ease and speed rather than effort. If they take a long time to master something, they feel shame.

Like perfectionists, natural geniuses set their internal bar impossibly high. They also judge themselves by whether they get things right on the first try. When they cannot do something quickly or fluently, their alarm sounds.

Not sure if this applies to you? Ask yourself:

• Are you used to excelling without much effort?
• Do you have a track record of getting “straight As” or “gold stars” in everything you do?
• Were you frequently told as a child that you were the “smart one” in your family or peer group?
• Do you dislike the idea of having a mentor because you believe you can handle things on your own?
• When you face a setback, does your confidence tumble because not performing well provokes a feeling of shame?
• Do you often avoid challenges because it is uncomfortable to try something you are not good at?

A practical response

Try seeing yourself as a work in progress. Accomplishing great things involves lifelong learning and skill-building for everyone, including the most confident people. Rather than beating yourself up when you do not reach your impossibly high standards, identify specific, changeable behaviours that you can improve over time.

For example, if you want to have more impact at work, it is more productive to improve your presentation skills than to avoid speaking up in meetings because you believe you are “just not good at it”.

4. The soloist

People who feel that asking for help would reveal their phoniness are what Young calls soloists. It is fine to be independent, but not to the point where you refuse assistance simply to prove your worth.

Not sure if this applies to you? Ask yourself:

• Do you strongly feel that you need to accomplish things on your own?
• Does “I don’t need anyone’s help” sound like you?
• Do you frame requests in terms of the requirements of the project, rather than your needs as a person?

5. The expert

Experts measure their competence by what they know and how much they can do. Believing they will never know enough, they fear being exposed as inexperienced or unknowledgeable.

Not sure if this applies to you? Ask yourself:

• Do you shy away from applying for jobs unless you meet every educational requirement?
• Are you constantly seeking training or certifications because you think you need to improve your skills in order to succeed?
• Even if you have been in your role for some time, can you relate to feeling that you still do not know “enough”?
• Do you shudder when someone says you are an expert?

A practical response

It is true that there is always more to learn. Building your skill set can help you make professional progress and remain competitive in the job market. Taken too far, however, the tendency to seek information endlessly can become a form of procrastination.

Start practising just-in-time learning. This means acquiring a skill when you need it (for example, when your responsibilities change) rather than hoarding knowledge for false comfort.

Realise that there is no shame in asking for help. If you do not know how to do something, ask a colleague. If you cannot solve a problem, seek advice from a supportive supervisor or career coach. Mentoring junior colleagues or volunteering can also help you recognise your expertise. When you share what you know, it benefits others and helps you see the knowledge you already have.

How to move beyond impostor syndrome

Below is a video from subject-matter expert Dr Valerie Young explaining how to move beyond impostor syndrome.

The following is a summary of the video and its suggested steps (source: Dr Valerie Young):

• Break the silence. Shame stops many people from admitting that they feel fraudulent. Knowing that these feelings have a name, and that you are not alone, can be freeing.
• Separate feelings from facts. There are times when you will feel stupid; it happens to everyone. Feeling stupid does not mean that you are stupid.
• Recognise when you might feel fraudulent. If you are one of the first or one of the few women or minority people in your field or workplace, it is natural to sometimes feel that you do not fit in. Your self-doubt may be a response to being an outsider, rather than evidence of ineptness.
• Accentuate the positive. Perfectionism can indicate a healthy drive to excel. The trick is not to obsess over everything being perfect. Do a great job when it matters most, avoid overworking routine tasks, and forgive yourself when mistakes happen.
• Develop a new response to failure and mistakes. Henry Ford once said, “Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.” Instead of punishing yourself for being human or for getting a project wrong, learn what you can from the mistake and move on.
• Rewrite the rules. If you have been operating under rules such as “I should always know the answer” or “I should never ask for help”, remind yourself that you have the same right as anyone else to be wrong, have a difficult day, or ask for assistance.
• Develop a new script. Your script is the automatic mental tape that starts playing in situations that trigger impostor feelings. When you start a new job or project, replace “Wait until they find out I have no idea what I’m doing” with “Everyone who starts something new feels uncertain at first. I may not know all the answers, but I am capable of finding them.”
• Visualise success. Spend time picturing yourself making a successful presentation or calmly asking your question. This is more useful than picturing impending disaster and can reduce performance-related stress.
• Reward yourself. Break the cycle of seeking validation outside yourself and then dismissing it by learning to recognise your own progress.
• Fake it ‘til you make it. Sometimes we all have to fly by the seat of our pants. Instead of treating “winging it” as proof of ineptness, view it as a skill. Do not wait until you feel confident to put yourself forward. Courage comes from taking risks; change your behaviour first and allow confidence to build.

There is always a light at the end of a dark tunnel, or a silver lining.

The majority of people who experience impostor syndrome are already successful, which is a good thing in the first place. It is a sign that you have achieved a great deal. You may simply be assessing your abilities incorrectly in comparison with others. People with impostor syndrome experience self-doubt, but that self-doubt can also push them to work harder and second-guess nearly everything they do (source: Liz Verano).

Sources and further reading

• https://time.com/5312483/how-to-deal-with-impostor-syndrome/
• https://www.themuse.com/advice/5-different-types-of-imposter-syndrome-and-5-ways-to-battle-each-one
• https://www.quora.com/What-causes-someone-to-develop-Impostor-Syndrome
• https://impostorsyndrome.com/10-steps-overcome-impostor/
• https://www.chanty.com/blog/stop-feeling-like-imposter-work/
• https://www.recurse.com/manual#sub-sec-social-rules