The Imposter Syndrome, CEW Spring News 09

The Imposter Syndrome: What every woman needs to know about competence, the imposter syndrome and the art of winging it.

Have you,” asks Dr. Valerie Young, “ever caught yourself having one or more of these kValerie Young thoughts about yourself and your performance?”

"If I were really smart, I wouldn't have to work so hard."

“I should know this without having to study.”

“I can do this by myself. If someone helps me, it means I’ve failed.”

If so, you may be one of many high achieving women who suffer from the “impostor syndrome.” Speaking to a packed crowd of University of Michigan women faculty members and graduate students, Young described the characteristics, possible causes, and coping strategies of the impostor syndrome at her January 27 workshop, cosponsored by CEW’s Women of Color in the Academy Project and the Junior Women Faculty Network.

Young defined the impostor phenomenon this way: Capable people–women more often than men–sometimes experience an inner sense of intellectual phoniness, believing that they have fooled others into thinking them to be competent and fearing that they are likely to be “discovered” at any moment.

According to Dr. Young, women–especially academics, who are particularly susceptible to the impostor syndrome–may credit their successes not to their talents but to good luck, good timing, the generosity and support or the mistakes of others.

They may adopt a number of strategies to mask their sense of incompetence:

Working extremely hard in order to make up for “ineptitude,”

Keeping a low profile by not expressing their ideas, opinions, questions

Qualifying their comments with such statements as “This may be a dumb question…” or “You’ve probably already thought of this…”

Procrastinating or not finishing tasks

Using humor and charm to deflect their perceived weaknesses

Where do such feelings of incompetence come from? There are obviously several possible causes, says Young, but at this event she focused primarily on the messages children learn from their families. That is, some families set unreasonably high expectations for their children. And some families establish roles for siblings (“the smart one,” “the quiet one,” “the troubled one”) that children then spend their lives trying to merit or discredit.

Young offered a number of practical strategies that women can use to counteract bouts of self-doubt, including the following:

Break the silence; name the feeling and talk about it with fellow “impostors.”

Contextualize feelings of incompetence; normalize it by analyz- ing where they’re coming from (“Of course, this is happening to me right now because….”)

Tell, tell, tell. Learn how to self-promote without being a braggart.

Ask, ask, ask. If you are attempting a new task, remind your self that it is OK to ask for help or to ask questions.

Find the humor in impostor situations.

Act “as if” you are intelligent and talented when you’re feeling otherwise.

Master the art of “winging it.” Find your comfort zone for improvising in situations.

Review (“How will I act the next time?”) and reward your successes

Dr. Young, a nationally recognized consultant and writer who specializes in the Impostor Syndrome, recommended these books for more information on the topic:

Jeffers, Susan. Feel the Fear…And Do It Anyway. Ballantine Books, 1987.
Dweck, Carol. Mindset: The New Psychology Success. Random House, 2006.
Klaus, Peggy. Brag!: The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It. Warner Books, 2003.

You can also read much more about her work and about the suggestions mentioned in this article by visiting Valerie Young’s website www.ImpostorSyndrome.com