The impostor syndrome is surprisingly common across a smorgasbord of professional contexts, with a new study from Brigham Young University not only revealing the commonness of impostor syndrome, but how we might be able to cope when we feel this way.

The authors reveal that around 20% of their sample suffered from some form of impostor syndrome, and a common remedy for it emerged from their conversations: seeking support from people outside of their direct line of work.

“Those outside the social group seem to be able to help participants see the big picture and recalibrate their reference groups,” the researchers explain. “After reaching outside their social group for support, participants are able to understand themselves more holistically rather than being so focused on what they felt they lacked in just one area.”

The wrong approach

While social support outside of the direct line of work seemed effective, much less effective was attempting to find escape via things such as video games.  People also revealed they attempt to hide their feelings from peers and give off a visage of confidence that never really existed.

The research also found that our perceptions of impostorism often lack a real relationship with the performance we’re concerned about.  This means that people are still able to function and perform their work to a good level, even when they don’t believe in their abilities.  What’s more, impostor syndrome is often brought on by social-related factors rather than our actual competence level.

“The root of impostorism is thinking that people don’t see you as you really are,” the researchers explain. “We think people like us for something that isn’t real and that they won’t like us if they find out who we really are.”

It’s important therefore, to create a culture where people feel able to freely talk about mistakes and failures in the workplace.  By doing this, the researchers believe that this culture will help those liable to suffer from impostor syndrome get the help they need inside the organization without having to resort to outside assistance.