Four Levels of Imposter Syndrome
Imposter syndrome is that uncomfortable feeling of not belonging in your own dreams. It’s getting the promotion and feeling like you don’t deserve it. It’s getting asked to speak at a conference but feeling like you have nothing worthwhile to say. It’s getting several degrees and certifications but still feeling unqualified. Imposter syndrome is both common and potentially a serious barrier to success.
When I started my first business, I remember trying to pitch my first prospects while being wracked by self-doubt. It was hard enough to make a sale without doubting I had the experience to launch my own business. I’m sure I flubbed a few opportunities I could have seized. I know that my work was much harder than it needed to be until I found a way to believe in myself.
Today when I hear clients talk about imposter syndrome, I try to get a sense of what level they are talking about. What to do about imposter syndrome often depends on what level of symptoms someone is experiencing.
Boost Hunting
These are the people who mention “imposter syndrome,” only to have others rush to tell them how well they are doing because, outwardly, things are going well. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy to believe in their own abilities. I worked with one woman who repeated a positive affirmation more times per day than she could count. Another professional caught himself habitually fishing for praise on the job.
If you notice you are constantly and reflexively seeking boosts to your confidence, it is a good sign that your confidence could use more intentional work. While there is nothing wrong with using a few positive affirmations or enjoying a compliment at work, the fact is that truly confident people do not need them and rarely seek them.
At this level, imposter syndrome isn’t too much of a problem. Often people can boost themselves to get the job done well enough. However, the issue is that nothing replaces real confidence, and, left unaddressed, the symptoms of imposter syndrome may get worse.
Self-Doubt
Unrelenting self-doubt is what happens when the affirmations and hunting for boosts in self-confidence no longer work. At this level, the negative voice of self-doubt makes palms sweat, words awkward, and assertiveness difficult. It’s still possible to push through these deficits, but performing at a high level is harder.
It is in this phase that the mind that had previously been occupied with boosting someone up starts to drag them down. Here the mind can create a vicious spiral. Doubt stops someone from performing, and then a small failure can become the excuse to increase the frequency and severity of negative self-talk. When that vicious spiral repeats enough that’s when imposter syndrome gets serious in the next two levels.
Paralysis
Inaction is subtle. Someone is in a work meeting, and they are closest to the project. A topic comes up and they know they should speak up. They have a lot to offer. But they don’t. They defer and let someone without expertise propose a questionable way forward. Now they really need to speak up, but they don’t.
The paralysis of imposter syndrome often starts with staying quiet. The highly valued ability to be proactive and anticipate needs starts to fall away. When it gets worse, the ability to do any work at all slows way down. People distract themselves with an endless stream of online videos. Writer’s block is a very common example of this stage of imposter syndrome.
The paralysis avoids the discomfort of acting with self-doubt. Do nothing and you can’t make a mistake. But doing nothing leads nowhere.
This level is treading water while in the middle of the lake. You have some time before you sink but you aren’t yet making your way toward shore.
Self-Sabotage
The stage of self-sabotage is where the consequences of imposter syndrome ratchet all the way up. This stage is where some protective part of the subconscious seeks to get you out of the discomfort by wrecking your dreams.
I recently talked to one burgeoning leader who said he arrived late to all the meetings that were important. He lost track of time exactly when it mattered. He later came to realize he was avoiding the very places he most needed to perform. Fortunately, he figured out this pattern before it was too late.
This level is where people destroy things that matter to them. They resign from dream jobs. They wreck their reputations. Irrationally self destructive things make sense when some part of a person wants out of an uncomfortable state of imposter syndrome.