Is “Imposter Syndrome” impacting the way you lead?
Slate published an article in 2016 by L.V. Anderson on “Impostor Syndrome” that I think you should read. It gives the history of the phenomenon — literally the “Impostor Phenomenon” (IP), the original name of the concept researched by psychologist Pauline Rose Clance starting in the 1970s, that has morphed into our pop culture lexicon as Impostor Syndrome. My two biggest realizations from the article are (1) that Impostor Syndrome isn’t actually a syndrome, and (2) there is a unique scale that was developed to identify IP, to distinguish it from depression, anxiety, and self-esteem.
What I’m most curious about is how feeling like an impostor impacts the way you lead.
So, I’ve been digging a bit deeper and I wanted to really understand what impostorism is, and what it isn’t. In short: it is a negative self-perception that doesn’t match your actual ability, and it creates a general sense of fear that you can’t repeat success and at some point, people will find out who you “really are.” Apparently, impostorism is an equalish opportunity experience, impacting many demographics.
It turns out, that the behavioral manifestations of impostorism have some social capital. A modest response to praise about your ability and achievements is generally considered to be a likable trait. But, this impostorism-driven modesty is fear-based. If you feel like you aren’t actually capable, you don’t deflect ‘kudos’ because you think it’s unnecessary — you’re rejecting praise because you feel like its undue, right?
Even further, a 2017 study revealed that there may be “strategic impostors” folks who exhibit impostorism-like behavior, but are doing it to gain likability. These folks don’t have negative self-perception ratings at the same level of “true impostors”, but they publicly downplay their achievements and abilities, likely in an effort to win the favor of the public. Most importantly, the strategic impostors do not demonstrate the negative working styles that some “true” impostors do.
Ding, ding, ding! We found it. So, on one hand, impostorism might lead to behaviors that make you seem more modest, and subsequently likable, but for some others, it can be connected to these negative working styles.
According to two studies (here and here), negative working styles of people with true impostor self-concept include “self-handicapping” behaviors like perfectionism and procrastination.
So, let’s just say this is you, you realize that you’re experiencing impostorism and it is leading to perfectionism and procrastination. What could it be like to be on your team?
How being a perfectionist can impact your leadership & suggestions to overcome it
In Amy Gallo’s “How to Manage a Perfectionist” she shares that perfectionists have very high standards and solid attention-to-detail, but do not prioritize or delegate well. They can also be incredibly critical of others, damaging valuable relationships.
If you can’t clearly see the tradeoff between scrutinizing every aspect of a large project for perfection vs. prioritizing more important aspects — you might be setting yourself and your team up for failure*. Gallo goes so far as to suggest that perfectionists may not be the best fit for management or leadership roles. So, if you’re married to perfectionism more than your desire to manage and lead — it may be time to find a role that is more aligned with your desires.
Alice Boyes writes, in “How Perfectionists Can Get Out of Their Own Way”, that being a leader operating from a place of perfectionism can also make you indecisive. She offers 5 suggestions to overcome perfectionism as a leader. My favorite is the focus on improvement, over flawlessness. For example, the next time you're given a project, task or initiative, and you’re struggling to determine a course of action, she suggests thinking about how you can improve your behavior by 1%. Instead of overcomplicating a challenge, it creates a clear course of action that can move things forward, instead of dwelling on perfection.
How procrastination can impact your leadership & suggestions to overcome it
Research that I’ve cited earlier in this piece, suggests that procrastination for people experiencing impostorism jumps in when fear of failure arises. You’ve seen, and likely read, articles like this one and this one, about procrastination and how to overcome it. So, I’ve linked them both, to make sure that the subtitle of this section is accurate.
But, what I really like about this article about the science of procrastination, is that it makes it clear that actual procrastination is unhealthy. It isn’t a strategy to leverage intensity and urgency to get things done. In general, it is an unhealthy behavior that leads to lower work quality and increased stress. The article also makes it clear that there are healthy behaviors like pondering and prioritizing that are mislabeled as procrastination, and are not real procrastination. Avoiding what you should do, when you know you should do it is dicey.
And, if you are leading a team, you can lead your team to consistently miss deadlines or present poor quality work. And you know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of procrastinators as leaders — the all too frequent “surprise” intense, time-sensitive projects that were never on your radar, and sometimes a negative unexpected mood because they have too much to handle.
Just don’t be that person.
Leadership is not easy, and leading with impostorism adds another layer of challenges — but with self-awareness and an attitude focused on impacting what you can control, you can make the steps to lead well.