What is impostor syndrome at work?
Impostor syndrome is a psychological phenomenon that causes employees to doubt their accomplishments or experience feelings of inadequacy. For example, employees may attribute their success to luck instead of hard work.
Common signs of impostor syndrome
Before you can address impostor syndrome, consider assessing whether your team displays the following:
- Being perfectionists: Employees with impostor syndrome have high standards, potentially making them well-suited to various tasks. In some cases, those high standards promote perfectionism. An employee with impostor syndrome may revise the same report several times or spend extra time preparing presentation slides. Consider sharing positive feedback with these employees to highlight their progress.
- Comparing themselves to others: Employees with impostor syndrome may compare their success to their colleagues’ accomplishments. It may help to have regularly scheduled one-on-one meetings so they receive regular feedback about their work and performance.
- Having trouble accepting praise: Some employees with impostor syndrome may downplay their accomplishments. Consider delivering positive verbal feedback in a one-on-one setting or written feedback in an employee review, email or a handwritten note to recognize individual achievements.
- Working long hours: Team members may cope with impostor syndrome by working long hours. Encourage these employees to take time off or use your company’s employee assistance program (EAP) resources as needed. If possible, update your paid time off (PTO) policy to give employees more flexibility.
- Turning down growth opportunities: Impostor syndrome may cause an employee to turn down opportunities for advancement despite being suitable for the role. If you offer one of these employees a promotion, you may also remind them of their excellent performance with customer testimonials or previous performance reviews.
- Lacking confidence: If you ask for ideas during a meeting, an employee with impostor syndrome may be hesitant to share their ideas in front of colleagues. Consider creating a suggestion box or encouraging employees to submit their ideas via email.
Reasons to address impostor syndrome in the workplace
Impostor syndrome can change how employees interact with their colleagues and accept feedback from their supervisors.
Here are some reasons to address impostor syndrome in the workplace:
- Increased morale: Addressing potential burnout caused by imposter syndrome can help boost employee morale and retention rates.
- Improved succession planning : Succession planning helps you prepare top performers for future leadership roles. If you include employees with imposter syndrome in succession planning, they may better understand why their skills are important to your organization.
Tips for supporting employees with impostor syndrome
Supporting employees with this behavioral pattern helps show them you care. Providing additional support can also benefit the organization by helping team members with impostor syndrome overcome common challenges.
Provide regular feedback
Although people with impostor syndrome may have difficulty accepting praise, it’s important to give regular feedback. Over time, employees may start to believe their contributions are valuable.
Instead of reserving feedback for quarterly performance reviews, try to provide regular feedback during weekly one-on-ones. When addressing areas for improvement, focus on making feedback constructive.
Create a mentorship program
Mentoring may enhance employees’ sense of belonging, making them feel valued and supported. Mentors help mentees set goals and find ways to achieve them, so starting a mentorship program may help individuals with impostor syndrome set achievable goals.
Refer employees to your EAP
Suggest that employees who feel overwhelmed by impostor syndrome consider exploring the support available through your EAP.
Share personal experiences
Consider sharing your own mistakes with employees and the lessons you learned. Knowing a successful individual has overcome similar challenges may make employees with impostor syndrome feel better about their skills and attributes.
Encourage employees to take risks
If employees feel supported, they may be more likely to take risks and suggest innovative ideas. Creating a psychologically safe environment where vulnerability and learning are encouraged can be crucial.
Promote a growth mindset
To change the thought pattern associated with imposter syndrome, promote a growth mindset within your workplace. For example, when an employee completes a complex project, focus on praising their effort and the skills they developed instead of just the outcome. Ask what they learned and encourage them to take on new challenges. This reinforces that success comes from hard work and growth, not just innate ability.
People with a growth mindset believe they can improve their skills and abilities through hard work, which may help employees feel deserving of their accomplishments.
