Imposter Syndrome is A Verb
58% of tech workers experience imposter syndrome at some point in their careers, including those working at tech giants like Facebook and Microsoft [1].
Imposter syndrome affects a heck of a lot of people (including me when I was earlier in my career) at all levels in tech on a daily basis. The fear of not meeting expectations or being exposed as a fraud leads to self-doubt and perfectionism, resulting in procrastination and decreased productivity[2].
Imposter syndrome is a productivity drain we often frame as an individual’s internal struggle. This internal focus makes it very hard to identify, deal with, or even talk about, which is a huge problem given its prolific nature.
However, over the last 17 years I’ve worked in tech, I’ve come to believe that imposter syndrome is something done to us, not something we are inherently. As a senior technical leader and leadership coach, I’ve seen how several external environmental factors at work are pivotal in causing or remedying imposter syndrome.
This perspective shift can significantly impact how we feel about the lonely experience of imposter syndrome and how we can address the issue in our work environments - both for the person experiencing it and for us as managers addressing it.
The Benefit of Imposter Syndrome
Here’s the thing: when we say someone has Imposter Syndrome, it puts the onus on the individual. It’s their fault and a problem with their internal world and perception of reality.
When we look at how the external environment can cause imposter syndrome to happen to an individual, ownership also suddenly needs to be placed on managers (and peers) to make a change.
This external ownership doesn’t mean we get a license to blame others for how we feel, but we must recognise that feeling like an imposter is often much more than just on us. We can own our part, manage our feelings/get professional help where required, and take action, but there’s much more to the story here that we often miss out on.
Environmental Triggers
Based on my experience running engineering teams and countless coaching sessions, I’ve identified three key environmental factors that lead to imposter syndrome:
- Unclear or Unrealistic Expectations Team members can feel perpetually inadequate without a clear understanding of what success looks like. As managers, we are responsible for defining these expectations clearly so that team members can foster a sense of achievement and worth. We must ensure team members can work sustainably on projects that match their skill level.
- No Culture of Collaboration and Support Knowledge hoarding and a lack of psychological safety [4] can leave team members feeling isolated and hesitant to seek help. As managers, we must cultivate a culture that values collaboration over competition. We want our team to default to kindness and support.
- Lack of Feedback on Performance Without regular feedback, team members can feel unseen and undervalued, exacerbating feelings of being an imposter. As managers, we need to provide regular, specific and impactful feedback in service to the growth of the individual.
These factors often interplay and can be related to the ability and capacity of the manager, creating a compounding effect that can profoundly impact an individual’s self-perception and performance.
A Real Life Example
How could a software engineer with 15 years of experience have imposter syndrome? This scenario is exactly what I discovered when I took over the management of a team member.
Despite their years of experience and demonstrable competence, they often felt like a fraud and “not good enough”. The culture was one of competitiveness and one-upmanship, where the team members used knowledge as gatekeeping and ego-building (no culture of collaboration).
There were many chaotic projects, incidents and things that could be picked up and worked on, but they had no idea where best to add value (unclear expectations). Worse, senior leadership often asked them to work late at short notice on workstreams they had never touched (unrealistic expectations).
They had never had any feedback about what they were working on and whether it was valuable. One-to-ones were sporadic and often just delivery updates (lack of feedback).
I began setting achievable goals and building a team culture where they welcomed questions and collaboration. In parallel, I held regular feedback sessions with the person to help them understand their strengths and areas for growth. We also looked at the workload and maximised the impact of what work they picked up, and I protected them from working late and all the context switching.
Over time, these changes helped them overcome feelings of being an imposter and led to noticeable improvements in their performance and attitude. They became more confident, engaged, and collaborative. It was truly wonderful to see them shine. And it had the added benefit of significantly improving the working environment for everyone.
Questions to Reflect On
Next time you notice you are experiencing the symptoms of imposter syndrome, ask yourself:
- Do I understand what my manager expects of me?
- Are the demands of my role reasonable for my skills and time?
- Can I seek help without fear of judgment?
- Have I received constructive feedback recently?
If your answer to any of these is ‘no,’ it may be time to initiate a conversation with your manager to see what you can do together to move towards a ‘yes’ and get you on the road out of Imposterville.
By bringing concrete observations about what might trigger these feelings and moving the focus away from your inner world, your manager will be better able to help you develop tangible actions to address them.
Similarly, if you are a manager and someone tells you they feel like this, ask yourself these questions about the individual: it’s time to audit the team environment and see what can be changed.
Get Curious
It’s worth noting that Imposter Syndrome often disproportionately affects people from under-represented groups [3]. These are also the people who are most likely to struggle with a sense of belonging in a group, even at the best of times, so it’s even more vital to get curious and look at environmental factors when someone comes to you from one of these groups with imposter syndrome.
If you are a manager, consider the demographics of those who have reported these feelings to you. Can you see a pattern?
Change Is Hard
If you experience chronic imposter syndrome and nothing changes despite owning your part, consider moving on to somewhere with an environment that will allow you to feel seen, respected and valued. The need to move on is especially true if you have a manager you don’t feel like you can talk to, or that is a big part of the problem.
Moving on can be challenging when you feel like an imposter, so it’s important to delineate between something wrong with you and your environment. Because the environment is the bit you can change in the most extreme case.
Conclusion
You are not an imposter; imposter syndrome is most likely being done to you by your environment. By recognising the external factors at play and taking proactive steps as individuals and as managers, we can pave the way out of Imposterville to a place where everyone can feel like the badass queen they were meant to be.
So, if you find yourself with feelings of imposter syndrome, remember and look at your external environment and what you can change about it in collaboration with your manager rather than just thinking it’s the way you are.
And managers be proactive in helping someone with imposter syndrome devise a plan to reshape what’s going on in their environment. Get curious rather than placing the onus on the individual to resolve ‘their problems’.
Productivity and happiness are waiting to be unleashed by your team members suffering from imposter syndrome, which has the happy side effect of levelling up the environment for everyone on the team when you address them.
References
- CNET. “Tech Employees Likely To Suffer From Imposter Syndrome” [Online]. Available: [https://www.cnet.com/science/tech-employees-likely-to-suffer-from-impostor-syndrome/]
- LHD. “Addressing Imposter Syndrome In The Workplace” [Online]. Available: [https://www.lhdbenefits.com/blog/hr-tips/addressing-imposter-syndrome-in-the-workplace]
- University of Calgary. “Imposter Syndrome Study.” [Online]. Available: [https://www.ucalgary.ca/news/impostor-syndrome-diversity-equity-inclusion-issue].
- HBR. “What Is Psychological Safety” [Online]. Available: [https://hbr.org/2023/02/what-is-psychological-safety]
