I have been studying Impostor Syndrome for years now and have worked extensively with my coaches to recognize and deal with mine and my clients' Impostor Syndrome.

Today, I am sharing some research, myths, misinformation, and facts about Impostor syndrome. I'm passionate about educating on this topic because it's one of the most misunderstood topic.

Did you know that up to 82% of people experience impostor feelings?

A study done by KPMG in 2020 shared that 75% of executive women say they’ve experienced imposter syndrome.

Another study shared that 80% of CEOs feel out of their depth in their role.

Every single client I’ve worked with so far has one or another form of impostor syndrome.

It is actually not a Syndrome but a phenomenon.

This psychological phenomenon can significantly hinder one’s career progression and mental well-being.

Dr. Valerie Young shared in her extensive research of four decades on this topic that those experiencing Imposter Syndrome often:

1. Hesitate to share their valuable ideas causing lost opportunities and reduced talent pool.
2. Avoid stepping into roles or projects that push their boundaries.
3. Miss out on promotions due to their low visibility and self-doubt.
4. Interpret constructive feedback as personal criticism.
5. Delay important tasks, affecting project timelines, teams and personal credibility.
6. Frequently switch jobs, seeking validation or escape, thus inadvertently hampering their career trajectory and resulting in costly hiring searches.
7. Commit to overworking and exhaustive preparation, leading to wasted time and productivity and to burnout.

Recognizing these patterns is important for these individuals and at workplace - for the teams and leaders aiming to create a supportive and inclusive environment.

To do that:

• These professionals need more than a pep talk.
• Externalizing their success doesn’t help.
• Digging into their past doesn’t help either.
• This is not a self help topic.

That’s tens of millions of dollars year after year.

There's a lot of ineffective advice floating around on social media when it comes to recognizing the unconscious behaviors of Impostor syndrome.

So much that my clients unlearn a lot of information about it before being aware, learning, and understanding it better.

The other day I read a detailed post on Impostor syndrome on Twitter/X and the guy had listing your accomplishments on a paper from age 0-current age in 5 year batches as a fix to Impostor Syndrome.!!! Could not believe my eyes.

That may be a great way to remind yourself of your accomplishments but it won't help in Impostor syndrome. In fact, it can increase impostor feelings.

Other things that are ineffective are naming or calling your inner critic a friend, calling it your superpower or trying to talk it away.

If you see ANY of these behavior below in you, understand that you are unconsciously managing the anxiety of waiting to be found out and to avoid being found out:

1. Holding yourself back
2. Over preparing
3. Relying on charm
4. Procrastination
5. Starting but never finishing
6. Keeping a low or changing profile
7. Self-sabotaging

Then, you'd be right recognizing this as Impostor syndrome which by the way has nothing to do with having low self esteem. People with normal self esteem also have impostor syndrome.

Different people will have different types of Impostor syndrome out of the seven I described above and many times people have multiple types.

Feel free to book a call with me if any of these behaviors are holding you back from your success and living a free life.

I’ll work with you to map out a personalized strategy to overcome those barriers and elevate your career & life both.

Don’t wait for confidence to find you; let’s create it together. Click here to schedule your session and propel your career & life forward.

Stay Curious,

Meenu

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