Impostor Syndrome
Discussion
Impostor syndrome (also known as impostor phenomenon, impostorism, fraud syndrome or the impostor experience) is a psychological pattern in which one doubts one's accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a "fraud".
Has anyone heard of this before ? Or even suffer from this? I feel like I have felt like this before.
Has anyone heard of this before ? Or even suffer from this? I feel like I have felt like this before.
I’ve heard of it and been affected by it.
A few years back I took a huge step up in size and gravitas of organisation I was working for. Whilst I knew I could do the job the added pressure and different environment mean’t that for the first 18 months to 2 years I was questioning myself every day and thinking I’ll get sacked soon because I’m not good enough.
A couple of years in I got a senior promotion completely out of cycle (it was a rigid performance management with annual promotions type place) and it wasn’t until that point I started to really believe that I could do the job.
Funny thing was when I got the promotion I was then able to see that the vast majority of people suffered from the same self doubt that I had previously, coming to me for advice/ guidance because in their eyes I was actually able to do the job.
A few years back I took a huge step up in size and gravitas of organisation I was working for. Whilst I knew I could do the job the added pressure and different environment mean’t that for the first 18 months to 2 years I was questioning myself every day and thinking I’ll get sacked soon because I’m not good enough.
A couple of years in I got a senior promotion completely out of cycle (it was a rigid performance management with annual promotions type place) and it wasn’t until that point I started to really believe that I could do the job.
Funny thing was when I got the promotion I was then able to see that the vast majority of people suffered from the same self doubt that I had previously, coming to me for advice/ guidance because in their eyes I was actually able to do the job.
Yes, its a pain, but not hugely uncommon from what I've heard.
Every time something used to go wrong at work, I'd freak out and plan my exit, going as far as to send a CV off to to other companies and apply for other jobs. I knew I'd be throwing away a great career, but I was scared. This wasn't helped by my decent, but somewhat overbearing manager. Whenever things got tough I figured "it was good while it lasted but now they know I'm faking it". At one point when a few other things in my life got hard, I entered a depression and went down to about 8 stone, 3 stone lighter than usual.
I got on top of it when I started drawing up my own personal strength vs weakness tables, recommended by pages on the internet, and assessing the jobs I'd done in the company. It painted a picture much more positive than the one in my head. I also spoke to a professional about not allowing myself to get so down when things go bad.
I do still experience it, but its manageable.
I'd wish anyone experiencing it good luck, and ask them to get help if they feel they are struggling.
Every time something used to go wrong at work, I'd freak out and plan my exit, going as far as to send a CV off to to other companies and apply for other jobs. I knew I'd be throwing away a great career, but I was scared. This wasn't helped by my decent, but somewhat overbearing manager. Whenever things got tough I figured "it was good while it lasted but now they know I'm faking it". At one point when a few other things in my life got hard, I entered a depression and went down to about 8 stone, 3 stone lighter than usual.
I got on top of it when I started drawing up my own personal strength vs weakness tables, recommended by pages on the internet, and assessing the jobs I'd done in the company. It painted a picture much more positive than the one in my head. I also spoke to a professional about not allowing myself to get so down when things go bad.
I do still experience it, but its manageable.
I'd wish anyone experiencing it good luck, and ask them to get help if they feel they are struggling.
Had it my whole 28 year career.
Everyone I have worked with says I'm great at what I do...………every single place I've worked at I've dreaded the day I get "found out".
It has held me back career wise (accountancy) but I moved to contracting 6 years ago and it works better for me, I'm usually not around long enough for it to be an issue.
I think most people have it to some extent.
Everyone I have worked with says I'm great at what I do...………every single place I've worked at I've dreaded the day I get "found out".
It has held me back career wise (accountancy) but I moved to contracting 6 years ago and it works better for me, I'm usually not around long enough for it to be an issue.
I think most people have it to some extent.
MOBB said:
Had it my whole 28 year career.
Everyone I have worked with says I'm great at what I do...………every single place I've worked at I've dreaded the day I get "found out".
This is pretty much what I was going to say, 30+ years in networking and I've always felt like I'm not quite up-to-speed but everyone tells me otherwise.Everyone I have worked with says I'm great at what I do...………every single place I've worked at I've dreaded the day I get "found out".
It can be a force for good by keeping you on your toes and always pushing to be better, it only becomes a problem if it morphs into paranoia and it becomes an paralyzing obsession that stops progress.
Eric Mc said:
Who is 100% sure of their capabilities 100% of the time?
I would suggest that anybody who has that level of confidence is a narcissist and totally non-self aware.
Donald Trump?I would suggest that anybody who has that level of confidence is a narcissist and totally non-self aware.
It is more common than you think (especially in IT, Engineering, Tech etc). I suffer from it, but think I hide it well, but the strain of doing so can't be doing me much good in the long term.
We have quarterly performance reviews at work, and it usually takes my boss telling me that I'm doing a good job to snap me out of it for a bit.
But then it slowly creeps back. Guess it's a form of low level anxiety
Thumbs up for anyone battling this sort of thing - you are not alone.
ReallyReallyGood said:
I’d imagine it’s very common, moreso in highly intelligent people who are more aware of the situation they are in
Absolutely this. In my experience, self doubt is common in highly intelligent people. To the extent that it holds them back. Super self-confidence is normally the reserve of less intelligent people who, as a result, seem to progress more quickly in large organisations. This is because ambition usually trumps talent. And is why so many large business are in the s
t. “I always invest in companies an idiot could run, because one day one will”
— Warren Buffett
OddCat said:
ReallyReallyGood said:
I’d imagine it’s very common, moreso in highly intelligent people who are more aware of the situation they are in
Absolutely this. In my experience, self doubt is common in highly intelligent people. To the extent that it holds them back. Super self-confidence is normally the reserve of less intelligent people who, as a result, seem to progress more quickly in large organisations. This is because ambition usually trumps talent. And is why so many large business are in the s
t. “I always invest in companies an idiot could run, because one day one will”
— Warren Buffett
Trump is the ultimate example of this, helped a lot by having money in the first place.
Sounds familiar - I've openly discussed with my management (who I trust) that I feel a fraud as what I do in my job is something literally anyone can do, with no experience or qualifications, it's just a mentality/mindset.
Then you start reading up on things and realise, whilst everyone 'could' do this job, not everyone has the application/tenacity/etc.
Minor on my part, but have certainly felt the fraud in the past
Then you start reading up on things and realise, whilst everyone 'could' do this job, not everyone has the application/tenacity/etc.
Minor on my part, but have certainly felt the fraud in the past
littleowl said:
Donald Trump?
It is more common than you think (especially in IT, Engineering, Tech etc). I suffer from it, but think I hide it well, but the strain of doing so can't be doing me much good in the long term.
We have quarterly performance reviews at work, and it usually takes my boss telling me that I'm doing a good job to snap me out of it for a bit.
But then it slowly creeps back. Guess it's a form of low level anxiety
Thumbs up for anyone battling this sort of thing - you are not alone.
It's a positive thing, not a negative thing.It is more common than you think (especially in IT, Engineering, Tech etc). I suffer from it, but think I hide it well, but the strain of doing so can't be doing me much good in the long term.
We have quarterly performance reviews at work, and it usually takes my boss telling me that I'm doing a good job to snap me out of it for a bit.
But then it slowly creeps back. Guess it's a form of low level anxiety
Thumbs up for anyone battling this sort of thing - you are not alone.
No need to fight it.
I think it's particularly common in industries with quite rapid evolution - technology and IT, science, engineering etc, you're always behind the curve as there's new research and methods coming from around the world.
No-one can be on top of it all, so you have to acknowledge that you're not at the bleeding edge. Sometimes that's easy, sometimes it's difficult to accept.
No-one can be on top of it all, so you have to acknowledge that you're not at the bleeding edge. Sometimes that's easy, sometimes it's difficult to accept.
There's a really good anecdote in this link that demonstrates that anyone can feel this.
http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2017/05/the-neil-sto...
http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2017/05/the-neil-sto...
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