The Imposter Syndrome for WIT session at KSCOPE 2013

1. The
Imposter
Syndrome
When Successful
Women Feel Like
Frauds

2. Definition
 The psychological experience of believing
that one’s accomplishments came about
not through genuine ability, but as a result
of having been lucky, having worked
harder than others, or having
manipulated other people’s impressions,
has been labeled the impostor
phenomenon

3. “I’m a fraud, they’re onto me!” -Tina
Fey, popular actress and awards host
“They must be speaking directly to me…” -
Sherly Sandberg, Facebook COO and
author of “Lean in” while attending Harvard
speech on “Feeling Like a Fraud”
“I’m always looking over my
shoulder, wondering if I measure up.” –
Sonia Sotmayor while attending Princeton

4. The Imposter Syndrome
 Term was keyed in 1978 by psychologist
Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes .
 Valerie Young, Ed.D, author of “The Secret
Thoughts of Successful Women” says little
has changed in three decades since.
 Even more susceptible now that ever.

5. Symptoms
 Faking it
 Imposter
 Was just lucky
 Can’t internalize successes
 High levels of self-doubt
 Deep level of inauthenticity
 Just fooling everyone
 Fear of exposure

6. Keep in Mind-
 It is not perceived to be a psychological
disorder among people, but it has been
the topic of research for many
psychologists.
 Evidence gathered from research does
not support the idea that this syndrome is
a distinct personality trait, but certain
people are more prone to impostor
feelings.

7. Gender Differences
 Boys are taught to bluff and exaggerate
 Girls are taught to not trust their opinions
and stifle their voices.
 How does this impact the growth patter of
self-esteem?

8. Susan Pinker
 Author of “The Sexual Paradox, the Real
Gender Gap” Discusses the fraud
syndrome:
“…it is purely limited to successful women;
successful men apparently never feel like
they are frauds.

9. Costs to Companies
"The cost to their companies in terms of
unrealized human potential can be
enormous. … When qualified workers fear
risks, get caught in the 'expert trap' and are
prone to perfectionism and procrastination,
there's a leak in the corporation's human
resources pool.

10. Career Choice Impacts
 In male-dominated fields women are
more vulnerable to feeling like frauds.
 Often women in technical fields specialize
later-on in their lives in their field of choice.
 Work allowed to spill less into personal life.
 May be only woman on team.
“I must have fooled them..”

11. The Gender Gap
 Males are more likely to blame outside
influences where women are more likely
to blame themselves.
 Women, when surveyed, believed that
their performance directly reflects on their
female peers.
 Women believed their were being
watched more closely on performance
than men did.

12. Biggest Impact
 Its not discrimination, but…
Stereotyping, which is evident
from both genders and not just from older
age groups.

13. Cumulative Effect
 Holding Back
 Over working
 Giving up
 Procrastinating
 Taking criticism too personally
 Qualifying contributions

14. Perfect Matches?
 The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive
bias in which unskilled individuals suffer
from illusory superiority, mistakenly rating
their ability much higher than average.
This bias is attributed to a metacognitive
inability of the unskilled to recognize their
mistakes.

15. Theories
 Special Minority Programs may add to
feelings of inadequacy- “I was only hired
because I was black/female/etc.”
instead of recognizing that the person
was hired for their skills.

16. Never Let Them See You
Sweat
 Or make a mistake.
 Or be less than in your best condition.
 Or perform less than perfect.
 Or take the best path in life.
 Or accomplish twice as much as anyone
else in ½ the time….

17. Small Talk
 "This may not be right, but…"
 “I don’t know if I should add this, but”
 "Anyone could have done it"
 “I didn’t provide much.“
 “I’m sure you can find someone more
qualified than me.”

18. Worry, Worry and Worry
 dismissive attitude when praised .
 feeling that peers with the same
responsibilities are more capable.
 reluctance to accept new responsibilities
or challenges for fear of failure .
 difficult reaction to constructive criticism.
 worrying that others will begin to realize
their shortcomings.

19. Recognition
 Your contributions matter.
 Your skills are important.
 It’s alright to make mistakes- the
importance is to learn from them.
 Surround yourself with supportive
individuals.
 Stop asking for permission.

20. Ways of Addressing
 Taking risks or completing tasks that are
undesirable can help address fear of
failure.
 Ask oneself directly what in the past or
childhood may make one feel
inadequate.
 Its not a mistake the first time, it’s
experience.

21. When it happens…
 When having a direct comparison, look
honestly at your accomplishments and
establish if you aren’t acknowledging your
own.
 Actively recognize and avoid negative or
destructive thoughts, (imposter syndrome).
 Recognize negativity in others that may
impact your ability to see your contributions.

22. How to Stop it…
 Chalk it up to a lessons learned, (not a
mistake..)
 Be kinder to yourself. We are our worst
critics.
 Seek Support from mentors and others
that can offer you an honest view.
 Visualize your success!

23. Final Thought…
 “ A successful man is one who can lay a
firm foundation with the bricks that others
throw at him. ”
— Sidney Greenberg
Women need to recognize this more… 

24. References
 http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennagoudr
eau/2011/10/19/women-feel-like-frauds-
failures-tina-fey-sheryl-sandberg/
 http://www.forbes.com/2010/02/22/impos
ter-syndrome-professional-fraud-forbes-
woman-leadership-psychology.html
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syn
drome