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What is «imposter syndrome» and how to identify it at work
Psychology
People with this disorder are unable to take ownership of their own professional and personal achievements.
Do you think you have <strong>success</strong>? Let’s clarify the question… What does it really mean to be successful in your profession? And in life? Some people live in a state of permanent requirement which takes them to one perfectionism excessive and exhausting. The social pressure on what we should or should not become and the different scales or measures on what is or is not to be successful They can lead these people to, despite being in many cases overqualified, come to think that they do things worse than the rest of the people around them.
Although the “Imposter syndrome” It is not included in the «Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders» as a specific pathology, as specified by Verónica Rodríguez Orellana, psychotherapist and director of the Coaching Club, it is a set of symptoms linked to inability It may feel like a person to take ownership of their own achievements in the work or personal sphere.
Another aspect that characterizes people who manifest this psychological phenomenon is, according to Mónica García, leadership coach and director of the El Factor Humano center, that they suffer from “a persistent fear of being discovered as a fraud.”
Some of the signs that indicate that a person could be experiencing the «impostor syndrome» are, according to Mónica García, that they manifest a certain insecurity at work (fear of doing it wrong, making the wrong decisions or disappointing), that they think they are not “good enough” for that profession or to be part of that group and that if they compare continuously with the people in their work or in their environment who they consider to be excellent at what they do. “What surprises the rest of the people who live or work with them is that the results seen from the outside are very good, although false imposters do not see it that way,” adds the expert.
As for the cases that respond to this profile, they could be, as Verónica Rodríguez believes, that of a person who has received a ascent in their work but who does not have a record fully aware that said achievement is deserved, the result of their efforts or their actions to get a better opportunity. Or it can even occur in some students who receive an excellent grade in a exam or get a scholarship and believe that it is something the result of luck and not your hope. “In both cases they are distressed thinking that they have been able to deceive their environment and believe that they do not know how to assume the new responsibilities,” he clarifies.
For her part, Mónica García alerts that recently there are cases among the entrepreneurs, especially in those in which before starting they had reached a certain level of recognition in their professions. “They felt competent and capable in their previous job and, when starting a new activity, they compare the level of excellence, experience and reputation that they had previously achieved with the experience of beginners in the current situation,” he clarifies.
In what types of people is it most common?
According to Rodríguez-Orellana, people who suffer from this «syndrome» tend to be people who have been overly demanding in their childhood, besides having been very criticized for their attachment figures, such as parents and teachers.
It is also usually frequent in professionals who, although they are good, have a way of seeing the world polarized: they think that there is a way of doing things that is right and the rest is wrong. “They do not see the grays, they only accept what is correct and what is well done,” says the expert from El Factor Humano.
Some of their feelings that usually occur in this type of people are: thinking that being successful makes them be exposed and they see it as a peligro; think that if they recognize what they do well or their achievements they may seem arrogant or not very humble; give great importance to what others think of them and try not to disappoint.
Symptoms of “imposter syndrome”
Anguish, emotional instability and the feeling that they are deceiving the people around them are destructive experiences that are frequent in many of these cases. “When it comes to taking on new challenges, they suffer real crises that can paralyze and interfere with the management and quality of their daily life,” says the Coaching Club expert.
In addition, they are usually on constant alert, as in a continuous evaluation. Hence, as Mónica García points out, they suffer from higher stress levels than normal and often have problems resting or sleeping.
How to help and help yourself (if you suffer)
La Professional Help, in group or individual sessions can contribute to the identification of an emotional and behavioral pattern that helps to redefine the problem. As Rodríguez-Orellana details, in these sessions he focuses on working with the cognitive distortion that affects the person through playful exercises. “With the appropriate feedback from your group mates or from the professional, it has a good chance of being solved properly”, he comments.
One of the keys with which one works in a therapeutic process is to help them identify which indicators of reality are supporting the arguments they present.
Other techniques defended by the coach of El Factor Humano are, on the one hand, to help these people focus on “contributing” and “serving”, not on doing it well. «Assess the utility Instead of thinking if they have done it well or badly, it will be easier for them ”, explains Mónica García.
It is also necessary to work with the idea that these people should give themselves the “Permission to be themselves” and drop the idea of the “perfect professional” that they are supposed to be and that they are not. «You have not come to be them, you have come to be you. You can have models to look at, but you don’t have to be them, ”he explains.
Another useful formula is to help the person stand up to emotionally integrate your success and feel the achievements. Usually we recognize successes on a rational or mental level, but we do not “feel” them. That is why Mónica García trusts in the effectiveness of strengthening the vision that you have about yourself and your achievements “by going back to that situation, analyzing what our contribution to it has been and letting us feel the result.”
With this type of people there is often the risk of trying to help them by recognizing their merits or telling them everything they do well and what they have achieved. However, as Mónica García explains, that only strengthens their need for external assessment and it does not silence that little voice that reminds them that they are not as good as they seem. It is better, he explains, that we remind them how important it is to give the best of oneself and that people are loved for who they are and not for their achievements or because they are good at what they do.