The Advantages of the Impostor Syndrome: How It Can Fuel Personal Growth

impostor syndrome

Have you ever felt like you are not as capable as people think you are? That at any time they will find out they made the wrong decision by promoting or hiring you? And because you are too scared of this possibility you overcompensate by doing more and more and more to the point of exhaustion or burnout?

Yes to all three of them. Been there, done that, have the t-shirt, cap, and mug. These are the signs that we are suffering from impostor syndrome.

The very first time I felt like an impostor was the first time I officially managed people. I was twenty one years old and the youngest of my direct reports was ten years my senior.

To everyone’s credit, including myself, nobody ever said to my face that I was too young to have that job. I do not think I consciously felt the impostor syndrome but looking back I can see some of the signs now. After all, I was twenty one and I am sure that the feelings of being an impostor were counterbalanced with the overconfidence we all have at that age.

Impostor syndrome is a psychological phenomenon in which an individual doubts their achievements, believing them to be the result of luck or chance rather than their own abilities.

Why we suffer from impostor syndrome is not clear. In this article, the authors pose some theories such as preparing the person to fight, flight, or withdraw from a threat.

My theory is that the impostor syndrome, if left to its own devices, could keep us from being the exception. If we are like everyone else, we secure our place in the tribe, so we are safe. Our primal brain equates being tribeless with death. For this reason, we cannot become the exception and risk being expelled from the tribe – a death sentence. The impostor secures our survival by playing it safe and keeping us in the middle of the road.

At this point in my life and career I have come to accept that the impostor will rear its ugly head. The good news is that now I have tools to manage it, decrease or even eliminate its message, and recognize it as soon as I hear the car approaching the driveway.

In his book Think Again, Adam Grant suggests that we use the impostor syndrome as fuel instead of suffering through it. I love this idea. If we are going to endure it anyway, might as well take some advantage. 

Here are the three advantages he proposes of the impostor syndrome.

1) We work harder

Because we are not confident in our own abilities, we overcompensate by working harder than our colleagues. We triple check the report before sending it, we prep for hours for that fifteen-minute presentation to the CEO.

We never wing anything nor do anything in a cursory manner.

In general, this is a good thing. I am a big proponent of doing our absolute best, striving for excellence, and becoming the exception.

Let us be mindful, though, of the dark side that could make us experience burnout because we do not know where or when to stop, and we put our own mental, physical, and emotional health in danger.

2) We work smarter

Since we believe we may not win this match, we have more freedom to rethink our strategy. We have nothing (else) to lose so we can explore other alternatives.

The other side of the coin is because we work harder, we want to maximize our time, so we need to find ways of accommodating more big rocks in our vase.

In that process, we start questioning certain paradigms, frameworks, tasks on our to-do list, etc.

Which activities could we automate, combine, or centralize? 

3) We become better learners

The impostor syndrome directly hits our sense of confidence and that we are experts. It brings us down a peg or two.

Too much expertise and confidence in our own abilities could make us complacent – we stop learning, growing, and relating to others in a collaborative manner.

So, we start learning or re-learning. We reach out to other people for their insights.

It is a win-win all around. We learn, we connect with other people. And because we seek their help and input, we gain their respect and are seen as more confident and having more expertise, which could potentially reduce the effects of the impostor syndrome.

“The impostor syndrome. I know it well. Inside every self-assured professional lives a frightened neurotic who prays that he can somehow succeed before his clients discover the fraud. It’s the guilty secret that drives us all.” Richard North Patterson, American fiction writer, attorney, and political commentator

One more thing before you go

Experiencing impostor syndrome is quite normal. Most people will suffer from it at least once in their lifetime.

We are not bizarre or absurd. Only a human being with potential and desire for self-actualization experiencing a full life.

The good news is that experiencing impostor syndrome can be converted into a gift and opportunity. With practice, we can learn to overcome it and significantly minimize its message and impact.

Next time you feel the impostor syndrome creeping in, let it be and embrace the advantages that it brings with it.

Be on the lookout for symptoms of taking the advantages of the syndrome too far. Health is one of the most important assets we have.

Be mindful of your own emotions, attitudes, and moods. Challenge negative self-talk. Compare yourself with the prior version of yourself only – how you have improved since yesterday, last week, last year. Each person’s journey and circumstances are unique so comparing ourselves to others is a complete waste of time and energy.

Celebrate results regardless of their size or if they were the ones you expected or not. All are welcomed and considered success – they will teach you something you did not know before.

How else can you take advantage of the impostor syndrome? Please, let us know in the comments.

As a leadership coach, I enable talent to achieve bold goals with high standards. My mission is to empower underrepresented women in the financial industry transition from mid to senior level leadership positions using mental fitness to achieve peak performance, peace of mind, and healthier relationships.