Do Your Employees Have Imposter Syndrome? Here’s How to Recognize It — and Help Them Overcome It

In this post, we explain what imposter syndrome is, where it comes from, and how to recognize it in your employees. We also share five steps you can take to support those who struggle with imposter syndrome. 

Recent research suggests that almost two-thirds (62%) of knowledge workers experience imposter syndrome. And while there’s plenty of advice out there for individuals who suffer with intense self-doubt, there’s not so much emphasis on workplace support. 

Imposter syndrome may be an internalized, personal struggle — but it isn’t something that employees should deal with alone. As an employer, it’s in your best interest to nurture your employees’ well-being — and that includes being able to recognize the (extremely common) beast that is imposter syndrome and providing adequate support. 

To help you, we’ve put together this guide for employers. In it, you’ll find everything you need to understand what imposter syndrome is, how it might present in the workplace, and strategies you can implement to support your employees. 

• What is imposter syndrome? A definition
• The 5 different types of imposter syndrome
• What causes imposter syndrome?
• The impact of imposter syndrome (and why employers need to be able to recognize it)
• 5 signs your employees may have imposter syndrome
• How to help your employees overcome imposter syndrome: 5 steps

First, let’s establish a clear definition of imposter syndrome in the next section. 

What is imposter syndrome? A definition

Imposter syndrome can be described as a strong, persistent sense of self-doubt. No matter how skilled or successful others perceive you to be — or what you accomplish in life — imposter syndrome will make you feel like a fraud. 

Those with imposter syndrome can’t quite accept or believe that they deserve their success. Instead, they attribute it to luck or having ‘fooled’ others into thinking they’re capable. 

Imposter syndrome sounds like an internal voice telling you “I’m not good enough to be here,” “I shouldn’t have got this promotion,” or “Soon they’re going to realize I’m not really an expert.” 

What are the different types of imposter syndrome?

According to Dr. Valerie Young, co-founder of the Impostor Syndrome Institute, there are five different types of imposter syndrome (or imposter personalities): 

1. The Perfectionist: The Perfectionist believes that anything short of 100% is a failure. They could give an outstanding presentation or score 99 out of 100 on a test, but they will focus on that slight stumble at the beginning of their speech or that one missing point as evidence that their performance wasn’t good enough.
2. The Expert: People with this type of imposter syndrome feel that, to be truly deserving of the ‘expert’ title, they must know every single thing there is to know about a particular topic. Any lack of knowledge in their area, however small, will have them feeling like a fraud and a failure.
3. The Soloist: The Soloist believes that they are only deserving of their success if they achieve it alone. If they have to ask for any kind of help along the way, they can’t truly take credit for their accomplishments.
4. The Natural Genius: For the Natural Genius, success is about getting the hang of things quickly and easily. If they don’t succeed on the first try, or if it takes them time to master a skill, they feel like an imposter.
5. The Superhuman: People with this type of imposter syndrome believe that they must excel in every single role they hold. It’s not okay to have an ‘off’ day at work because they were up all night parenting; they have to reach 100% in every role at all times. Anything less is a failure. 

Now that we know about the different forms imposter syndrome can take, let’s consider what causes it. 

What causes imposter syndrome?

It’s important to note that anybody can suffer from imposter syndrome. While earlier research typically associated imposter syndrome with high-achieving women, subsequent studies have shown that it can affect people of all genders, ages, and backgrounds.

Potential contributors include:

• Childhood experiences, upbringing, and family dynamics. For some people, imposter syndrome in adult life may be the result of certain experiences they had as a child. For example, a study titled The Links Between Parenting Styles and Imposter Phenomenon found that both a lack of parental care in childhood and parental overprotection were linked to higher imposter syndrome scores. Another study found that growing up in a ‘conflictual and non-supportive family background’ was also associated with feelings of imposter syndrome. 
• Big life changes or stepping outside of your comfort zone. Sometimes, the onset of imposter syndrome is triggered by big life changes. Perhaps it’s taking a step up in your career and suddenly feeling like you don’t have the qualifications for the role, or pursuing further education and doubting you have the abilities to succeed. If you’re trying something new and feeling out of your depth, you may start to believe that you’re a fraud who landed there by mistake.
• Personality traits. Research has also focused on understanding whether or not certain personality traits can make someone more likely to experience imposter syndrome. Some studies have found a correlation between imposter syndrome and high neuroticism scores (with neuroticism typically defined as a tendency toward negative emotions such as anxiety, guilt, shame, and self-doubt). At the same time, people who score low on extraversion (defined as a general tendency to experience positive emotions) may be more likely to suffer with imposter syndrome.
  

These are just some of the potential causes of imposter syndrome. Of course, it’s entirely possible to experience imposter syndrome even if none of the above apply. 

Equally, being brought up in a particular way or scoring higher on certain personality traits doesn’t automatically mean that a person will suffer from imposter syndrome. Ultimately, imposter syndrome can affect anyone at any time in their life. 

The impact of imposter syndrome (and why employers need to be able to recognize it)

Imposter syndrome may not be a recognized mental health condition, but it can have a serious impact on a person’s well-being. If your employees suffer from imposter syndrome, it can have implications for your company, too. 

Research shows that imposter syndrome is often accompanied by anxiety and depression — two mental health conditions which can significantly affect concentration, sleep, and physical health. At the same time, employees with imposter syndrome may grow dissatisfied in their role if they constantly feel like they’re underperforming (even if that’s not the reality). There’s also the danger that they will overwork in an attempt to “cover up” their perceived shortcomings — a fast track to burnout. 

Last but not least, imposter syndrome can undermine a person’s confidence and hinder them from reaching their full potential at work. If they don’t believe they are worthy of promotion or praise, they may pass up opportunities to progress in their career — which means you miss out on their talent. 

It’s no secret that happy, healthy employees tend to be more productive, produce higher quality work, and are less prone to absenteeism. But, if your employees are suffering from imposter syndrome, there’s a chance that their general well-being is suffering, too. 

Ultimately, it’s in your best interest to support employee mental health in the workplace and help your people reach their full potential. That includes recognizing and supporting employees who may be battling with intense self-doubt. 

Do your employees have imposter syndrome? 5 signs to look out for

In order to support your employees who are struggling with imposter syndrome, you first need to be able to recognize it. Here are some possible signs and symptoms of imposter syndrome to look out for:

1. Overworking. If you get the impression that an employee is overworking and over-preparing (and not because of an inherently unmanageable workload), they may be acting out of a belief that, if they don’t give 110% at all times, they’ll not be good enough or will be ‘exposed’ as incompetent.
2. Not taking credit for their success. How do your employees respond when you give them praise or positive feedback? Are they able to accept it, or do they have a tendency to respond by saying it was “just luck” or that they “thought the presentation could have gone better”? This can be a strong indicator of imposter syndrome.
3. Downplaying their expertise. While there’s nothing wrong with being humble, look out for employees who constantly minimize their own ideas or expertise. They might have a habit of ending their sentences with “But I could be wrong,” or prefacing their ideas with “I’m not sure if this could work, but…”
4. Perfectionism. Employees who hold themselves to impossibly high standards, are overly self-critical, and strive for absolute flawlessness in everything they do are likely exhibiting signs of perfectionism — which could be rooted in imposter syndrome.
5. Fear of failure. Nobody likes the idea of failing, and we all find it scary to take on new challenges or venture outside our comfort zone. However, if you sense that an employee’s fear of failure is so extreme that it cripples their ability to try new things or take on opportunities to grow and progress, this could be their imposter syndrome holding them back. 

How to help your employees overcome imposter syndrome: 5 useful steps

If you suspect your employees may be dealing with imposter syndrome, there are several steps you can take to help them overcome it. 

1. Identify their ‘imposter persona’

Earlier in this post, we outlined the five different types of imposter syndrome. If you think you can see signs of imposter syndrome in your employees, try to identify their imposter persona. 

Are they a perfectionist who constantly strives for 100%? Or a soloist who feels like a failure if they need help?

Understanding a person’s particular type of imposter syndrome can help you to provide the right kind of support and reassurance. For example, you might remind a perfectionist that 80% is an above-average and highly commendable score, or confide in a natural genius that it took you years to become a truly confident public speaker. 

2. Take the fear out of failure

One of the main characteristics of imposter syndrome is intense self-criticism. Those who suffer from it are rarely able to cut themselves any slack, and will take any kind of failure particularly hard. 

As a manager, you can’t take away someone’s imposter syndrome altogether — but you can create an environment where it’s not able to thrive. A great step towards this is to lessen the fear of failure and build a culture of psychological safety. 

First, define a clear and measurable definition of what success and failure mean for each project or goal. Second, have a conversation about what happens if the initiative fails. This should focus on proactive steps and backup plans (not on personal consequences). 

With a clear understanding of what success means — and safe in the knowledge that ‘failure’ isn’t the end of the world — employees with imposter syndrome will have an objective benchmark to work with. This will make it harder for them to impose their own overly critical definitions of what success and failure look like. 

3. Provide frequent micro-feedback

Imposter syndrome is usually accompanied by a hypercritical internal narrative. In the absence of feedback, employees with imposter syndrome will fill in the blanks themselves — and they’ll likely err on the side of finding fault. 

You can help to steer this narrative in a more positive direction by providing regular micro-feedback. This could be a simple “Great job!” message over Slack after an employee has given a presentation, or a brief video call to discuss pain-points and next steps after the delivery of a project.

With micro-feedback, you’re providing real-time insights into how things are going. Whether it’s positive reinforcement or constructive feedback, your employees aren’t left to second-guess their own performance. This will not only boost performance and improve communication — it also makes it harder for a false and overly critical self-evaluation to take hold. 

4. Base your feedback on facts

In addition to providing micro-feedback, it can be useful to steep your feedback in facts. Employees with imposter syndrome will attribute their success to luck or external factors, or find it hard to believe that they’ve really succeeded at all. By providing fact-based feedback, you can give them concrete, indisputable evidence that they have done well. 

For example, rather than simply commenting that “the website relaunch was a great success!” you might add: “The work you did on redesigning the sign-up page has given us a 15% increase in new users already.” 

And what if it’s not possible to quantify success? You can still fortify your feedback with your own observations. For example: “That was a great workshop! It looked like everybody really enjoyed themselves and we got lots of good ideas out of it.” 

5. Acknowledge imposter syndrome

Imposter syndrome convinces people that they’re tricking those around them — that they’re a fraud who has somehow fooled others into thinking they’re more capable than they are. They live in fear of being ‘found out’, and this experience can be incredibly lonely. 

But, as the statistics will tell you, those with imposter syndrome are rarely alone. Research has shown that around 70% of people will experience imposter syndrome at some point in their lives. 

In helping your employees to tackle imposter syndrome, it’s important to remove the stigma and loneliness surrounding it. Maybe this means talking about your own experiences with imposter syndrome or addressing imposter syndrome as part of your employee well-being and personal development initiatives. 

Be it in a formal or informal capacity, acknowledging imposter syndrome and letting your employees know that they’re not alone can help to ease the weight of the ‘terrible’ secret they may feel like they’re carrying. 

Tackling imposter syndrome at work: the takeaway

It’s important to understand that imposter syndrome cannot simply be squashed through praise and positive feedback. Those with imposter syndrome have an internalized belief that they’re a fraud, often in spite of their very real success and achievements. As an employer, you can’t completely change a person’s internal narrative. But, with the steps we’ve outlined in this post, you can support your employees with empathy, understanding, and psychological safety.