Recognizing Imposter Syndrome
We often think about imposter syndrome in terms of our own experiences. After all, a majority of people are said to have personally experienced it at some point in their lives so it stands to reason that our own perspective is what first comes to mind.
This prevalence means that a majority of our teams will also experience this at one point or another. While that experience is normal, prolonged feelings of imposter syndrome lead to anxiety, burnout and even self-sabotaging workplace behaviors.
For these reasons, it's important to understand some of the common signals of imposter syndrome. Even if these behaviors are not being driven by imposter syndrome, they are on their own, still worth exploring in order to better understand the people on our team and the challenges they face.
That last point is an important one. We can never know with 100% certainty what someone is thinking or going through. Instead of trying to 'diagnose" someone with imposter syndrome, we're simply looking for certain behaviors that would prompt further discussion, regardless of whatever the driver of those behaviors might be.
In fact, I would recommend that you never try to label someone as having or not having imposter syndrome. Instead, you use observed behaviors like the ones listed below to prompt conversations. The purpose of those conversations is to understand, from the individual, what is driving those behaviors and what support you can provide to them regarding the same.
With all of that said, below are some of the more common behaviors associated with imposter syndrome. If you are seeing any combination of these over long periods of time, it's worth checking-in with the individual to get a better sense of what's going on.
Unsustainable hours
It's normal for teams to go through busy seasons. But what about the employee who consistently maintains long working hours even when those busy periods have subsided? If they are working long hours when the workload itself doesn't seem to necessitate it, it's worth understanding why.
This type of behavior is frequently overlooked in workplace cultures that celebrate long working hours. That's a whole other topic for another day but the fact that a company may promote such behavior doesn’t make it magically sustainable. The risk of burnout is still there and it's worth understanding what is compelling one to work endless days, nights and weekends beyond normal busy seasons.
Aggravated behavior
Does someone on your team frequently seem aggravated or overly tense? Maybe they don't allow themselves to participate in social activities with their colleagues like lunch gatherings, happy hours or work picnics. Maybe they are increasingly short with colleagues or anxious to leave meetings to get back to work.
Of course, lots of people don't like meetings or prefer not to attend happy hours. That alone doesn't mean something is wrong. But if those behaviors manifest in outward frustration, it becomes something to discuss.
Avoiding support
It's really easy to overlook the individual who never asks clarifying questions or seeks help. As leaders, we're often focused on solving problems. If there is no squeaky wheel, we assume everything is fine. But if someone is feeling the effects of imposter syndrome, their silence may be more a sign of anxiety and embarrassment rather than confidence and mastery.
Pay attention to the moments where that silence persists even when you would expect otherwise. These can be moments such as a new project or stretch assignment. If there are no questions or requests for clarification when you most expect it, a quick conversation serves as a proactive check-in.
Minimizing success
Even in the face of success, those dealing with imposter syndrome are likely to deflect praise or downplay their accomplishment. If one feels like an imposter, they'll see success as luck and will hold on to the fear that they are eventually going to be found out. Minimizing their success helps to manage expectations for what feels like the eventuality that they'll be found out.
In fact, paying attention to how one deals with success is incredibly helpful for understanding imposter syndrome. That leads us to our last two behaviors…
Comparing to others
Do you have a high performer that, regardless of their own achievements, constantly compares themselves to others? This is an obvious concern as there will always be someone who is, in some way, more successful than we are. Or at the very least, they are experiencing a different form of success. A tendency to define one's own success based on the accomplishments of others put that person in a loop of constant chasing.
Moving goal posts
Along the lines of comparing one's self to others, those feeling prolonged imposter syndrome often move the goal post on themselves. After achieving a specific goal they'll immediately redefine success to the next milestone or achievement. This often occurs automatically, without any acknowledgement or celebration of the goal they previously used to define success.
This Week's Action Items:
Make a point to more closely observe employee behavior over the next month.
Make note of individuals consistently displaying any combination of the above behaviors.
During your next one-on-one with them, ask questions to understand what is driving that behavior without making assumptions.
