The Imposter Syndrome

Many people, at some time or another, have felt that they just aren't as expertly qualified in a certain area as they'd like to be in order to do a particular job. Somehow they find themselves doing it hoping no one finds out how little actual experience they have with the task at hand. Eventually, they learn as they go along. Psychologists say these feelings are normal and usually temporary. They are common in situations such as starting a new job where there's a learning curve involved. However, it's when these "imposter" feelings crowd out all others, particularly in women who have achieved credible successes that action should be taken to reverse the phenomenon.

In her book, If I'm So Successful, Why Do I Feel Like a Fake? Psychologist Joan Harvey says women plagued by the Imposter Syndrome cannot achieve enough success or recognition to ease the psychological pain and release them from the fear of being exposed as a fake.

"Victims of the Imposter Phenomenon are caught up in a cycle of emotions, thoughts, and actions that can virtually control their lives," Dr. Harvey says.

Gail Evans, an executive vice president at CNN, has written a book, Play Like a Man, Win Like a Woman, and devotes a chapter to the Imposter Syndrome. "The Imposter Syndrome causes us to live in constant fear that we will be discovered, that our inadequacies will be exposed, and that we will be humiliated, demoted and dismissed," Evans says.

She points out that women frequently spend as much energy trying to survive the impending "unmasking" of their inadequacies than they spend working at their jobs. "They also become very good at convincing themselves not to take risks because moving into new territory makes them even more vulnerable to exposure," Evans says.

How do you know if you exhibit signs of the Imposter Syndrome? Dr. Harvey points to three scenarios:

The sense of having fooled other people into overestimating your ability. There is a discrepancy between the way you see yourself and the way others see you.

Attributing your success to some factor other than intelligence or ability in your role.

The fear of being exposed as a fraud and suffering from anxiety.
Dr. Harvey believes these "imposter" feelings may originally come from family dynamics and labels attributed to children early on -- i.e. the smart one, the responsible one, etc. In order to fight these feelings, experts agree that women should be honest with themselves. Women should admit what they don't know and realize that no one knows everything about every subject. Instead, women should focus on learning more as they go and revise the standard by which they measure themselves. Dr. Harvey advises women to teach themselves to accept compliments, anticipate situations that bring on "imposter" feelings, and break the worry ritual.

Valerie Young, a self-described overcoming imposter, is a workshop leader and public speaker who tries to help women reach their full potential. She earned her doctoral degree in education from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, and now helps other women eliminate psychological barriers.

In her seminars, Young instructs women to become more aware of imposter thinking by looking for stereotyping and self-defeating attitudes. She says that women often preface sentences with disclaimers such as, "this may not be right, but..." and they discount accomplishments with "anyone could have done it" or "it wasn't much."

Gail Evans says that confidence is half the game and advises replacing the imposter scenario with a self-confident one.

"Whenever you can convince yourself you'll score, your chances improve. When you convince yourself you'll fail, your chances diminish."