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Imposter Syndrome / Impostor Syndrome

Peripart said:
This silliness actually beings things back on topic: who else remembers the two characters from Reginald Perrin, one of whom only ever said "great", and the other, "super
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I certainly do: it was the best TV comedy show ever, bar none. There was also a character who who suffixed -ville Arizona onto everything he said. `I''m tiredsville Arizona` and so on.

The slightly underrated follow up starring Martin Clunes tried to update it by having someone repeatedly say: `I'm so up for this it hurts`
 
Richie Manic of The Manic Street Preachers ... the ultimate Reggie Perrin fan.
 
MungomanII said:
So, I've learnt that I will be present where I am, and I will accept where I am with gratitude.
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An excellent philosophy, one to which we all should subscribe.

Outwith the comfort and confines of family life (of any variety) all other activities are just affectations, constructs and artifice.

Everybody, in reality, just wings it.

Only the most extreme psychopaths truly manage climb the tightrope to the 'top', and that's because, for them, there is only one unshakable worldview that matters...or exists.

In modern society, the extent to which the mainstream 'We' are conditioned to conform is astounding. Only those who don't play the game, at all, are the winners of it.

And Reginald Perrin will always be one of my meta-heroes...
 
There was one apartment I lived in at Tulsa, Oklahoma, wherein I'd often have the same dream: Basically a Frankenstein-esque mob of angry villagers would mutter outside, then shout, then burst in, saying things like "He doesn't deserve a place to himself!" "He has his own apartment when there are whole villages in Southeast Asia living in a single refrigerator box!" "He has too many books!" "He owns his own car!" And then they would toss me out onto the sidewalk. I suppose they'd caught on to my imposturing.

Funny thing, I've lived in numerous flats and houses, but I had this dream only in this one modest little place off 71st Street and Lewis Avenue in Tulsa, and mostly when I'd sleep with my head at the foot of the bed trying to get comfortable. (When I rolled onto my side there, I'd be looking through the bedroom door out into the den. Bad feng shui, perhaps?)
 
Novena said:
Hello all! I'm off to the above-mentioned conference tomorrow *bites nails*. Wish me luck and good vibes so that I'll feel less like an imposter! :D
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Luck n vibes n :drink:
 
Well, thank you all for the vibes! I survived, and actually enjoyed most of it. There was only one 'imposter' type situation, but I'm confident that it was more down to the prejudices of the person I was speaking to than anything else, so it didn't really bother me. Most people were lovely, and many were in the same, or similar, boat as me! :)
 
Newly published research results have been interpreted to suggest a possible up-side to imposter syndrome. Workers who report dealing with feelings of imposture or undeserved attributions of work competence tend to exhibit better social / interpersonal skills and operate well as team players.
There's a Surprising Upside to Imposter Syndrome, Research Shows
DAVID NIELD 21 APRIL 2022

Many of us are familiar with imposter syndrome: feelings of doubt about our skills and intelligence, and a sense that we're going to get exposed as frauds at any moment. It can be a debilitating mental condition, but new research has found a positive angle.

It turns out that people with imposter syndrome are more likely to be good team players with strong social skills in the workplace, according to an analysis of 3,603 employees across four different studies and experiments.

Those attractive attributes are recognized by bosses too, the research shows. It seems there's something about that feeling of inadequacy that makes people try extra hard with the colleagues and clients they have around them.

"People who have workplace impostor thoughts become more other-oriented as a result of having these thoughts," says behavioral psychologist Basima Tewfik from MIT. ...

Imposter syndrome was first identified in 1978, by the psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes. Right from the start, it was noted that those with this sense of "intellectual phoniness" also exhibited high levels of social skills. ...

"What I don't want people to take away is the idea that because people with impostor thoughts are more interpersonally effective, it's not a problem," says Tewfik.

The research has been published in the Academy of Management Journal.
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FULL STORY: https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-found-there-is-an-upside-to-imposter-syndrome-at-work
 
A recent survey finds impostor syndrome is surprisingly common in the USA.
Over 30% of Americans Suffer From Impostor Syndrome, Study Finds

A recent survey from the firm Moneypenny showed that nearly one-third of Americans say they suffer from impostor syndrome, which the National Institutes of Health defines as “high-achieving individuals who, despite their objective successes, fail to internalize their accomplishments and have persistent self-doubt and fear of being exposed as a fraud or impostor.”

The firm surveyed 2,000 people and found that 18-24-year-olds suffered most from impostor syndrome. Forty-six percent of respondents in that age bracket reported feeling impostor syndrome at work. ...
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FULL STORY: https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/new...r-from-impostor-syndrome-study-finds/3259530/
 
I think the person who has complete confidence in what they are doing in a new job, with new skills and in new territory are the rarity.

To me, this 'imposter syndrome' needs to be renamed as, 'New Fella Syndrome'...unless it's one of those jobs where new operating systems, and new hardware are a constant - then, if that is the case, you should be payed fabulous amounts of money, and the Boss should, in appreciation, take you out for drinks after work every Friday night.
 
EnolaGaia said:
A recent survey finds impostor syndrome is surprisingly common in the USA.

FULL STORY: https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/new...r-from-impostor-syndrome-study-finds/3259530/
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Two interesting things for me: 18-24 yr olds suffered most, and 20% of people in “social care” fields suffer.

I do, surprisingly, know how this feels, but I tend to reassure myself that everyone is just playing at life. There is no specific defining moment that “aha, I know how this should be done”. I wonder if the young adults suffer more simply because of their lack of experience of life, in general. At some moment in time, I realized that no one really knows what they “should “ be doing at life, or a job, or raising kids. This wisdom (yes I think that this is really the correct word) did not come to me until, probably late 30’s - mid life crisis of a couple of years coming to terms with what I thought I’d do in life and what the reality was. And it was a relief to realize that this happens to others.

The “social care“ results were also interesting because I have worked in childrens’ group home, long term care (usually senior and geriatric aged people) homes and group homes for adults. I am guessing that maybe this is what “social care” is referring to.

Some days I can’t believe that I haven’t been caught out as a fraud when working with people. I think that some of this stems from the jobs themselves often have overlapping boundaries that are difficult to define.

I work with people in their homes and assist them with whatever they might need assistance with. I may help someone with very personal physical care, assist them to get medical care when needed, assist with finances, cook meals, go on a trip with them. These are all things that I may have to do in my job. Do I have experience in all of this? Usually not until I am tasked with doing it. And not only do I do day to day tasks that everyone does in their own lives, but then I also have to consider how the person is going to navigate in their world which usually is very different from mine. For example, I work with people who have physical and developmental challenges, so I have to think “how are we getting to a place like a grocery store”, “how do we get access into a building/park or whatever”.

So “flying by the seat of your pants” is a very apt term some days. I wonder if jobs that have a greater aspect of this are the jobs in which there are greater percentages of people who suffer from the impostor syndrome?
 
brownmane said:
Some days I can’t believe that I haven’t been caught out as a fraud when working with people. I think that some of this stems from the jobs themselves often have overlapping boundaries that are difficult to define.
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Mrs Coal works in care and I absolutely am not constitutionally able to do that. I wouldn't last a day. That you can is in itself a skill or talent – I’d say you’re not an imposter at all.
 
Mungoman said:
I think the person who has complete confidence in what they are doing in a new job, with new skills and in new territory are the rarity.

To me, this 'imposter syndrome' needs to be renamed as, 'New Fella Syndrome'...unless it's one of those jobs where new operating systems, and new hardware are a constant - then, if that is the case, you should be payed fabulous amounts of money, and the Boss should, in appreciation, take you out for drinks after work every Friday night.
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I dunno about that. but one of my bosses used to get very liberal with the wine on a Friday afternoon once we'ed moved the desks etc round for the following week. It helped smooth the week out. Money wasn't fabulous though.
 
SFegredo said:
I and many other women in my field experience this a lot, because it's very male dominated. This article explains in more detail:

https://chroniclevitae.com/news/412-faking-it-women-academia-and-impostor-syndrome
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Wow, I always had the opposite problem in a male dominated job. Feeling like no one heard me and I had the answers, knowledge or experience they were looking for. I literally sat in a meeting where the boss said "we have a problem.... and I need you all to come up with a way to resolve it" Several people suggested things but were shot down because it would not resolve the problem. I had an idea and siad it and got ...crickets... (I am not a timid person, I know I was heard) then someone else said something and it went around the table with no viable solution and finally the guy sitting next to me said word for word what I had said and the boss was happy, patted him on the back and everyone left the meeting. So, you women who feel like an imposter, either you really don't know your job or you are letting others put you down when you know better than they do.
 
brownmane said:
Two interesting things for me: 18-24 yr olds suffered most ...
I do, surprisingly, know how this feels, but I tend to reassure myself that everyone is just playing at life. There is no specific defining moment that “aha, I know how this should be done”. I wonder if the young adults suffer more simply because of their lack of experience of life, in general. ...
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The prevalence among younger folks doesn't strike me as surprising, insofar as this is the age range during which most folks are entering a full-time job or vocation for the first time.

My impression (from the last few decades) is that fewer of these young folks enter their first full-time positions with any previous experience at being responsible for performing a role than was the case in my own generation, and even more so with respect to my parents' and grandparents' generations.

This transition into full-blown adult responsibility can be tough. I think it's tougher now than it was in past eras because it more often happens all at once (e.g., upon graduation) and a higher percentage of newcomers hadn't already experienced the level of unavoidable obligations and responsibilities the workaday world demands.

If such inexperienced newbies manage to swim (rather than sink) a feeling of "how am I managing this success?" may simply reflect their relative naivete.

In any case ...

Impostor syndrome isn't specific to being new in a role or job. If you go back and review the sorts of situations originally described as examples, they generally addressed people who were already seen as successful in their jobs.
 
JahaRa said:
Wow, I always had the opposite problem in a male dominated job. Feeling like no one heard me and I had the answers, knowledge or experience they were looking for. I literally sat in a meeting where the boss said "we have a problem.... and I need you all to come up with a way to resolve it" Several people suggested things but were shot down because it would not resolve the problem. I had an idea and siad it and got ...crickets... (I am not a timid person, I know I was heard) then someone else said something and it went around the table with no viable solution and finally the guy sitting next to me said word for word what I had said and the boss was happy, patted him on the back and everyone left the meeting. So, you women who feel like an imposter, either you really don't know your job or you are letting others put you down when you know better than they do.
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Just had this where I work. A lady sends CV's to a male engineering manager. He rejects them. We wait a week, I send the same ones...we then figuratively point and raise eyebrows. We set this up as we were suspicious...
 
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brownmane said:
... So “flying by the seat of your pants” is a very apt term some days. I wonder if jobs that have a greater aspect of this are the jobs in which there are greater percentages of people who suffer from the impostor syndrome?
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I see what you're saying, but ... The reported survey results don't provide any solid clues as to whether this might be the case. The results were sorted out by general career fields, and this doesn't necessarily reflect the degree to which any given person is operating on the basis of his / her own independent judgment or preferences.

Moneypenny found the following careers to be the ones with the highest rates of workers feeling impostor syndrome.
  • Pharmaceutical companies (28.6%)
  • Marketing, advertising and PR (25.6%)
  • Social care (20.0%)
  • Transport and logistics (18%)
  • Energy and utilities (18%)
  • Creative arts and design (18%)
  • Law (17%)
  • Teacher training and education (17%)
  • Sales (16%)
  • Engineering and manufacturing (14%)
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JahaRa said:
Wow, I always had the opposite problem in a male dominated job. Feeling like no one heard me and I had the answers, knowledge or experience they were looking for. I literally sat in a meeting where the boss said "we have a problem.... and I need you all to come up with a way to resolve it" Several people suggested things but were shot down because it would not resolve the problem. I had an idea and siad it and got ...crickets... (I am not a timid person, I know I was heard) then someone else said something and it went around the table with no viable solution and finally the guy sitting next to me said word for word what I had said and the boss was happy, patted him on the back and everyone left the meeting. So, you women who feel like an imposter, either you really don't know your job or you are letting others put you down when you know better than they do.
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Did you speak up and say that it was your idea? I hope so.
I witnessed many things in my years working for 'corporate America', and, speaking as a woman, I would never do it again.
 
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