Self-doubt and impostor syndrome

Explore what impostor syndrome is, what triggers it and how to address self-doubt.

Share on

Why this matters

Many of us feel we aren’t as competent or intelligent as others think we are. We may feel we don’t deserve the praise we get, especially when we try something new. 

Impostor syndrome can be connected to perfectionism – we may feel we must know everything to be credited with knowing something.

This feeling of being an impostor can be persistent, despite our skills and accomplishments. The syndrome can:

  • Lead to increased levels of stress and burnout
  • Prevent us from trying new things
  • Impact self-esteem
  • Affect personal and professional relationships
  • Put our mental health at risk

Explore and reflect

Impostor syndrome (also referred to in research as “impostor phenomenon”) describes the experience of feeling you don’t deserve accolades or the esteem of others. You may also feel you’re a “fraud” or you’ll be exposed as not deserving the recognition, praise or position you hold.

Impostor syndrome can occur at work, in academic settings and in your personal and social life. 

About 70% of professionals will experience signs or symptoms of impostor syndrome at least once in their lives, and it affects men and women equally.

Though self-doubt or impostor syndrome isn’t a mental illness, it can impact a person’s psychological well-being.

You may be experiencing impostor syndrome if you:

  • Worry you’ll be judged if you make even small mistakes in your work 
  • Give credit to other people or situations when it was your work
  • Have trouble accepting criticism, even when it’s constructive 
  • Feel everyone will eventually figure out you’re a “phony”
  • Downplay your own success, intelligence or expertise, even in areas where you know you’re highly skilled 

Different ways to experience impostor syndrome

Dr. Valerie Young  (2024) of the Impostor Syndrome Institute named 5 types of impostor syndrome:

  • The perfectionist focuses on how something is done and even a single minor flaw is considered a failure.
  • The expert focuses on how much they know and it’s never enough.
  • The soloist focuses on who completes the task and believes they should be able to do it all on their own.
  • The natural genius focuses on how quickly and naturally they master a new skill, and it’s rarely fast enough.
  • The superhuman focuses on how many roles they can excel at, at one time, and feels they should be able to handle all of them perfectly.

In each of these types, failing to reach their own unreasonable standards evokes shame. 

People with high levels of self-doubt or who experience impostor syndrome often:

  • Are high-achievers
  • Don’t feel as capable as others
  • Struggle with work/life balance
  • Struggle with perfectionism
  • Have performance anxiety or don’t feel adequately prepared
  • Find feedback difficult to hear
  • Aggressively pursue achievements, but don’t accept recognition of success
  • Fear failure, mistakes or not continuing success (and sometimes success itself)

Impostor syndrome or self-doubt can be triggered by:

  • Repetitive negative self-talk
  • Overly harsh criticism
  • Unknown or new environments
  • Promotions or new roles where there is a learning curve
  • Increased responsibility with less direct support
  • Highly competitive environments
  • Workplaces where mistakes aren’t normalized

Impostor syndrome may relate to, or be self-perpetuated by:

  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Low self-esteem
  • A challenging upbringing

The antidote to impostor syndrome is self-acceptance. When we can authentically and objectively acknowledge our strengths and weaknesses, we no longer feel the need to appear perfect.

Take action

If you recognize the signs of self-doubt or impostor syndrome, address the underlying issues to improve your psychological well-being.  

On a personal level you can:

All of us can help reduce impostor syndrome when we:

  • Appreciate efforts over results
  • Talk openly about your own fears or setbacks
  • Normalize mistakes by talking about them as learning opportunities, not failures
  • Take a strengths-based approach to performance feedback
  • Check in with others to ask what you can to do help them be successful

Employers can:  

  • Provide increased training and/or self-directed learning opportunities
  • Make therapy, coaching or resilience training available to all staff
  • Make mentoring opportunities available to employees at all levels

Share this with anyone who struggles with self-doubt. 

Additional resources

  • Impostor Syndrome Institute. The institute is the official provider of information, insight and tools to organizations and individuals. It was co-founded in 1982 by Dr. Valerie Young, widely recognized as the foremost expert on impostor syndrome, and Carolyn Herfurth.
  • Prevent burnout. Use these strategies to help identify risks and prevent burnout for yourself.
  • Resilience. Try this tool to help you bounce back after a health, personal or work crisis. This resource helps you develop healthy coping strategies to deal with life's challenges.
  • Work-life balance tips. Balancing your work and personal life can be challenging and stressful at times. These tips and strategies can help.

References

  1. Young, V. (2024). An evolving analysis of impostor syndrome from 1983 to the present: Implications for clinicians and researchers. In The impostor phenomenon: Psychological research, theory, and interventions. (pp. 285-307). American Psychological Association.

Contributors include:Alex Kollo Coaching and ToolsMary Ann Baynton

Related articles

Article tags

Choose an option to filter and display a list of corresponding articles in a new page.

Comments

To add a comment, please: