Impostor syndrome at work: understanding and overcoming it

Faced with novelty, many of us experience “impostor syndrome”. This leads us to doubt our professional qualities and skills. Where does it come from exactly? How do you overcome it and get rid of it?

‍“I don't feel legitimate for this position.” At the age of 36, Claire has just been appointed Director General of Human Resources in a Swiss bank. A position that she had been aiming for for several years and for which she had all the required skills, both professional and personal: solid experiences in the field of human resources and the banking world, and an ability to listen and communicate, which was welcomed by her former collaborators. From the point of view of her recruiter, Claire had the perfect profile. But as soon as she took office, the young HR Director quickly experienced a certain discomfort. “I feel like I'm not up to it. I don't feel legitimate for this position,” she explains.

Claire's situation is not unique. Surely each of us has experienced - or is experiencing it - this feeling that is called the”impostor syndrome, also called “imposture complex”. Highlighted in 1978 by two American psychologists, Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Ament Imes, impostor syndrome is defined as “the unpleasant sensation of constantly doubting one's abilities, of not feeling legitimate in one's current status, and of not succeeding in taking ownership of one's successes”. In short, we don't feel up to it.

‍Impostor syndrome in the face of a new environment‍

This emotion is completely normal; faced with a new environment, we are bound to ask ourselves questions. Even in our love life, when we meet someone, “Am I dressed well enough?” , “He's not responding to my message. Did I do something wrong?” Etc. But what is less so is when this emotion lasts over time and it negatively impacts our energy and our confidence in realizing ourselves and developing ourselves.

Some take refuge in a bubble by constantly devaluing themselves, others plunge into hard work to prove the merit of their new position or their new promotion. This is the case of Claire who is overcommitted and who, unconsciously or not, wants to show her recruiter that she is the right person for this position. “The Right Person in the Right Place” as the Anglo-Saxons say.

So how do you overcome this impostor “syndrome”? This is not just a question of self-confidence because even the most confident people with more than 40 years of professional experience can feel this emotion.

‍Impostor syndrome: distinguishing real expectations from those we imagine

When we join a company or when we get a promotion, we face a certain number of expectations. These, listed on the job description or generally expressed during the interview, frame our responsibilities, missions and objectives. We know we have something to achieve.

But where the problem lies is when we act as if all of our tasks and goals should be achieved from the very first days. Like Claire, we want to quickly prove that we are the right piece of the puzzle. This could be the case in the 1920s in companies like Henry Ford where each employee had a very specific function. This is not the case today, except for a few companies that still confuse employees and machines... First we need to connect with our new environment. This myth of 100 days, during which we have to prove ourselves and change everything, is outdated. Except in the context of crisis management; a person specially hired to save the ship must obviously act and obtain results quickly.

Faced with the expectations of the company and those falsely imagined, we put ourselves in this way under pressure. And this demand that we have of ourselves is also and often exacerbated by the fact that we idealize our job, we see it as a culmination, as THE work of our life. However, we do not know what will happen tomorrow. Our world is complex and uncertain. This position in which we are committed can only be a stage in life or a springboard to another. During a romantic encounter, if we ask ourselves the question from the first date “Is he the man or the woman of my life?” , we would have gotten off to a bad start. For our work, it's the same thing.

‍Understand your environment and understand yourself

For Getting rid of impostor syndrome, the key will be to Take a step back, to move forward step by step, and above all to understand your environment: to sense it, to identify it and then to make the link between your skills and the environment. This involves a so-called “reactive” phase (I understand my environment) and a so-called “proactive” phase (I have felt my environment, so I will be able to start acting).

Understanding each other will also be essential in this process (and many others). The challenge is not to ask “What role should I take to satisfy?” but rather “What role do I have the desire and the ability to take on in order to contribute something and to evolve?” If we really understand ourselves and accept ourselves as we are, we will thus be able to overcome this syndrome that affects us so much. It is necessary here Work on your self-leadership For so become aware of your role, its skills and its values.

And if this feeling persists despite everything, you will have to ask yourself the question: “Am I in the right environment?” , “Am I in the environment that's really right for me?”.

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