Imposter syndrome was first identified in 1978 and is something that is usually viewed in wholly negative terms, as it undermines our confidence. Indeed, it is estimated that 70% of us have experienced imposter syndrome at some point in our lives, and research from the University of Salzburg highlights how harmful this can be for our careers.
The study found that when we believe ourselves to be imposters, we suffer from a range of negative thoughts and emotions. We’re also more likely to suffer from depression. What’s more, even if we manage to find success, we are still worried about failing in the future and having our unworthiness uncovered.
Striving for the best
It’s not all bad, however, as the researchers also found that our general fear of being exposed as a fraud can encourage us to work extra hard. Research from MIT comes to a similar conclusion, and shows that when we have imposter syndrome, we tend to compensate for any perceived shortcomings we may have, whether by trying hard or becoming exceptional team players.
“People who have workplace impostor thoughts become more other-oriented as a result of having these thoughts,” the researcher says. “As they become more other-oriented, they’re going to be evaluated as being more interpersonally effective.”
They believe that we should rethink our assumptions around imposter syndrome, and especially the notion that it is inherently negative and harmful.
Unequal risk
When the phenomenon was first proposed in 1978, it initially focused on women in high-achieving careers. This line of focus still has a lot of relevance, as recent research from Youngstown State University found that women are more likely to suffer from it than men. They also respond very differently when they feel like imposters.
For instance, if men see themselves as imposters and receive negative feedback, they tend to react very negatively to that feedback. By contrast, women didn’t appear to show any such deterioration in performance and instead tended to redouble their efforts.
Most studies into imposter syndrome recognize the often high social skills sufferers have, which is something the MIT team delved into in more depth. The analysis found that people who suffered more from imposter syndrome were consistently viewed by their peers as more efficient and effective.
“I did find this positive relationship,” the author explains. “For those having impostor thoughts at [the beginning of the time period], two months later their supervisors rated them as more interpersonally effective.”
Better employees
This was evident during a training program for physicians where the researcher surveyed participants as they progressed through the course. The survey revealed that those who felt a sense of imposter syndrome tended to be the people who connected most effectively with patients.
“What I found is again this positive relationship, those physicians [with impostor concerns] were rated by their patients as more interpersonally effective, they were more empathetic, they listened better, and they elicited information well,” they explain.
Each aspect of the training program was recorded so the study was able to hone in on precisely how those physicians with imposter syndrome were able to connect with people. It emerged that these physicians would often maintain eye contact for longer, use more open hand gestures, and nod more frequently, which helps to explain why patients gave them higher ratings.
Chain of causality
This helps to create what appears to be a clear chain of causality whereby we tend to deploy a range of compensatory mechanisms in order to thrive despite the intense self-doubts we’re having.
“Because you’re having imposter thoughts, you’re adopting an other-focused orientation, which is leading to more interpersonal effectiveness,” the author explains.
It’s perhaps also important to note that imposter syndrome doesn’t appear to be a permanent feature of our mindset, with people seemingly able to rid themselves of such concerns as they mature into their role and become more established.
Suffice to say, the author is at pains to point out that these findings are not intended to dismiss the importance of imposter syndrome or suggest that it doesn’t bring difficulties for people. This can be especially so when we work in nongroup settings as we may lack the ways to compensate through interpersonal connections, although previous studies do suggest that people can attempt to do by working harder.
“We found a positive net outcome, but there might be scenarios where you don’t find that,” the author explains. “If you’re working somewhere where you don’t have interpersonal interaction, it might be pretty bad if you have impostor thoughts.”
What is perhaps the key takeaway, however, is that we should perhaps rethink our perceptions around imposter syndrome, and especially its likelihood of being purely negative, as the ways that we attempt to compensate for it may actually be positive in their own way.
