Imposter Syndrome Study Search
“I have written eleven books, but each time I think, ‘Uh oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody, and they’re going to find me out.’” Maya Angelou, publisher of seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years.
Early on in my coaching career, I had the opportunity to work with some extremely talented and accomplished women. Their backgrounds included political campaigning, sport and music with goals ranging from ultra-marathon running to marketing campaigns. However, one thing which they had in common was that no matter what their previous experience or success, and contrary to all evidence presented to them, none of them thought that they were particularly gifted in their field.
When describing themselves, every strength would come with a caveat. “I do run marathons, but I’m not particularly fast”. “I do play for a philharmonic orchestra but that doesn’t make me particularly good. Loads of people can do that”. It appeared that they were purposefully holding themselves back, believing that their successes were simply good fortune and that, at any time they would be outed and perhaps replaced by someone more worthy. For them it was a massive psychological barrier; as a coach, it was heartbreaking to watch such talent being suppressed for no tangible reason and with no benefit to the client or their organisations. Realising this trend could not simply apply to my client base, I set about learning about Impostor Syndrome.
Impostor Syndrome or Impostorism is a widely accepted yet under-diagnosed, and therefore under-treated, phenomenon which causes distress and maladaptive behaviour and can affect the happiness, performance and health of otherwise capable people. It is estimated that 70% of any population will suffer from at least one episode of impostorism in their lives, with the majority and most acute cases being found in women. The effect on team dynamics can be toxic, holding an organisation back from high performance and can lead to poor self-care and overindulgence in quick fix substances such as sugar, caffeine, alcohol and drugs.
Whilst there are a plethora of self-help books devoted to the subject, the use of one-to-one coaching interventions appears to be overlooked as a solution to this debilitating condition. This seems to be a poor oversight, given that coaching is widely considered to be more effective than traditional methods of training and self-study in changing the behaviour and improving the performance of senior executives and leaders. If coaching can be shown to improve self confidence and lower the neuroticism of those who suffer from impostorism, it may lead to a better understanding and wider recognition of the phenomenon, leading to managers and leaders being able to identify it more easily and therefore be able to advise their personnel on a strategy for improvement. Ultimately, this could result in managers and leaders
I am currently looking for subjects for a study which seeks to identify interventions which will aid women who suffer from impostorism. This will be free to all participants, and the data collected will be confidential and used anonymously. The study will take place over a 3 month period from May to July 2019 and will require an hour of each participants time, once every fortnight for around six weeks. If you feel that you or someone you know suffer from impostor syndrome and could benefit from taking part in the study please get in touch at the email below and be part of the solution. This is a chance to do something really positive and promote inclusivity in organisations globally.
I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.
Glen