To be a supportive leader or team player, you must encourage, appreciate, and challenge your coworkers. But sometimes, these talented professionals might seem intimidated by their goals or brush off your words of praise. Maybe they work extended hours, shirk challenging opportunities, or often apologize for minor mistakes.
This behavior is typical of imposter syndrome, and it's something even the best employees experience from time to time. Learn how to help someone with imposter syndrome so you can tackle it together.
What’s imposter syndrome?
First defined in 1978 by Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes, imposter syndrome is when you experience a nagging sense of insecurity, self-doubt, and inadequacy that prevents you from appreciating your achievements. You feel like an imposter — like you don’t actually deserve your position, salary, or praise.
These feelings can become so intense you worry that at any moment your coworkers, friends, or family members will discover you’re a fraud and don’t belong.
Imposter syndrome is pervasive in the workplace. Studies show that at least 70% of workers have coped with it at least once in their careers. And a recent survey reported its prevalence could be as high as 96%, making it likely at least one of your direct reports or teammates is coping with the effects.
If a coworker suffers from imposter syndrome, they might:
Experiencing these symptoms could impair performance and lead to decreased job satisfaction and a heightened risk of burnout, so it’s worth trying to understand your coworker’s feelings so you can help them.
What causes imposter syndrome?
There are two sources of imposter syndrome: internal and external. Upbringing is the predominant contributing internal source when children receive no praise or too much praise. If you received no praise, you might feel undeserving as an adult.
And if your parents congratulated you for everything you did, even when you noticed you were underperforming compared to other kids, you might feel people are lying when they congratulate or compliment you.
The second cause (one you can mitigate as a leader) is feelings of inadequacy that develop as a response to office dynamics. These factors include:
-
Confidence gaps: Everyone’s confidence levels differ depending on societal factors and lived experiences. For example, some people are more confident in embracing their achievements than others, and others can be overconfident in their abilities.
-
Inclusion: An office culture that lacks diverse voices — gender, race, age — can make you feel like you don’t belong. You might constantly push yourself because you think that’s what it will take for coworkers to include you.
-
Industry: People who work in high-pressure, competitive fields experience significant pressure to perform and keep up with industry advances.
Factors like these might make you perceive others as having more power and influence than you. You won’t notice your colleague’s mistakes and struggles, instead forming an idealized perception that amplifies your feelings of inadequacy, which can lead to imposter syndrome.
Spotting imposter syndrome in the workplace: 5 types
According to Dr. Valerie Young, an imposter syndrome expert, this phenomenon typically manifests in five ways:
-
The Perfectionist: Imposter syndrome causes the sufferer to focus on performing a task perfectly. Any mistake, even a minor one, can lead to intense self-criticism.
-
The Expert: Instead of focusing on what they can do, the expert focuses on proving how much they know. They believe they should be an expert in every subject. And if they don’t know even the most obscure fact, they’re a failure.
-
The Soloist: Imposter phenomenon drives the soloist to do everything independently, and they consider needing support or coaching shameful.
-
The Natural Genius: These sufferers set incredibly high standards for themselves, believing they should be successful at everything on the first try. Accomplishing a task without aid is a sign of competence, and struggling to improve their skills undermines their self-worth.
-
The Superhuman: This person believes they should be everything to everybody. They try to fulfill every role and are deeply ashamed and disappointed when they don’t please everyone.
Each of these personas shares a sense of self-doubt about one’s performance. A certain amount of self-doubt can be a good thing. When harnessed correctly, imposter syndrome drives you to improve your skills and achieve more. But if a coworker’s experiencing imposter syndrome, this lack of confidence can impact their well-being, so helping them combat it is paramount.
Helping someone with imposter syndrome: 7 steps
It's tricky knowing what to say to someone with imposter syndrome because you don’t want to upset them further.
But you can try helping a coworker combat imposter syndrome and turn their self-doubt into a force for professional development by talking them through the following 7 steps.
1. Learn what’s controllable
Every action carries a certain amount of uncertainty. Internalizing that truth will help your coworker establish which parameters are under their control and which aren’t.
Maybe you could walk them through a journaling exercise where they note what they can accomplish in a day without feeling burned out, for example, to showcase how exhausting themselves is counterproductive to their goals.
2. Recognize the limits of their knowledge
No one knows everything — and that’s wonderful. Life is less boring when you welcome the fact that there’s always more to learn. And acknowledging knowledge gaps allows people with imposter syndrome to develop a growth mindset instead of feeling frustrated when they don’t know the answer to something.
3. Keep a list of achievements
Ask this coworker to write a list of things they’re proud of and refer to it whenever they’re experiencing symptoms of imposter syndrome, like low confidence or a sense that they don’t belong.
4. Step back
Remind your coworker that taking timeout is OK when they feel overwhelmed by negative thoughts. Suggest they find a quiet corner to take deep breaths until they’re ready to reframe their thinking.
5. Refresh their perspective
Trying something new can be nerve-wracking — but nerves and excitement feel similarly in the body.
When they’re nervous about an upcoming challenge, maybe feeling like they don’t have what it takes to succeed, suggest that they reframe their relationship with nervousness, considering it excitement about doing something new. This is a great way to diminish imposter syndrome symptoms.
6. Collaborate
No one has all the answers or can do everything themselves. It’s great to work with others — and ensuring they understand the importance of teamwork will help them develop professionally and feel better supported.
7. Practice confidence
Help your coworker feel they’re worthy of their achievements by instilling confidence in them.
Have them start every one-on-one meeting by vocalizing one thing they did that week that they’re proud of. And discuss other confidence-boosting habits like adopting a power pose or practicing positive affirmations.
Tame imposter syndrome in the workplace
One-on-one support is helpful for individual employees, but to truly curb imposter syndrome, you need to tackle it at an organizational level.
You can uplift every team member and benefit the rest of the business with the following strategies:
-
Normalize the conversation: Educate your team about the causes and perils of imposter syndrome and teach them methods to overcome their feelings of self-doubt.
-
Focus on the individual: Avoid comparing employees, instead appreciating each worker for their unique skills and talents.
-
Establish an open-door policy: Invite teammates to discuss concerns and struggles with you in a non-judgemental environment.
-
Take a fail-forward approach: Don’t treat mistakes as singular events. Instead, reframe errors as opportunities to move the needle forward regarding the team’s knowledge and experience levels.
-
Offer regular performance check-ins: Provide regular work assessments that include constructive and positive feedback.
-
Demonstrate confidence: Show confidence in your team by appreciating successes and pushing their capabilities with stretch goals.
-
Be transparent: Establish clear criteria for all business decisions and give each team member equal access to the resources and support they need to thrive.
-
Encourage diverse voices: People who feel out of place or insecure rarely participate in discussions or problem-solving exercises. Create meetings with a collaborative atmosphere where everyone can speak by preventing interruptions, offering equal time to share ideas, and openly discussing mistakes.
-
Champion inclusion: By encouraging diverse and inclusionary hiring practices, you can reduce imposter syndrome among existing minority staff members.
They have so much to offer
Self-doubt happens to the best of employees. In fact, it’s often these over-achievers and perfectionists who feel most unaccomplished and out of place. But your coworker is more than their achievements — they make an invaluable contribution to your team by just being themselves.
Now that you know how to help them with imposter syndrome, they might understand this and feel like they belong because they’re imperfect, like everyone else.
-1.png)
